His favorite marathon-prep workout is a 4- to 5-mile tempo run on the track, where he aims to average sub-6:00 with a negative-split effort.

photo: courtesy Antonio ArreolaĪntonio Arreola: 60, 5’ 8”, 165 lbs San Jose, CAĪrreola alternates 60-mile weeks with one 70+ week per month. Here are some of the favorite marathon-test workouts used by runners chasing 6DS3 this year. When you stand on the marathon start line, you’ll feel confident that you can knock out 26.2 miles at 6:52/mile or under.

But if things go well, the reward is substantial. You probably need a couple of days just to psych yourself up for it. Some call it a “marathon test” workout, some “marathon prep,” and some just say “It’s my ‘go-to’ workout.”īy any name, this one hurts. But nothing is more important than confidence-the firm belief that you can crack the 3-hour barrier.įor most runners, including the 6DS3 aspirants who will be aiming to break 3:00 hours again this year, confidence comes from a high-effort workout. What does it take to run a sub-3-hour marathon for five decades, going on six? It takes a lot: good health, great motivation, consistent training, a sound diet, an eye on the bathroom scale, and much more. In our first article about the 6DS3 group, we introduced a few of them and in our second article, shared their secrets to longevity. Now that the 2020s have rolled around, some of them are still fit and fast enough to aim for their 6th decade sub-3. A few tough men-and one woman-have run a marathon under 3 hours in every one of the five decade since the ’70s.

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