Progressive Marathon Pace Long Run

Aug 13, 2025

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Intro

“BEST LONG RUN YET? 23 Mile Progressive LONG RUN” from The FOD Runner has practical lessons. Here’s the breakdown so you can run it.

Time-on-feet approach: 2.5 hours rather than a fixed distance. You can respond to how the day feels.
Progressive buildup: start at around 7:00 min/mi, then bump pace every 30 minutes to 6:20-6:30 min/mi (faster than marathon pace).
Regular fuelling: 100-calorie gels (Morton 100) every 30 minutes worked better here than larger 160-calorie gels, which caused stomach trouble.
HR check: low-150 bpm zone. The run held 140-151 bpm.
Negative split: paces dropped from 7:00 to 6:42 to 6:36 to 6:27 min/mi. Strong mental finish.

Progressive long run: 2.5 hours (around 23 miles).

0-60 min: comfortable cruise at around 7:00 min/mi (HR around 140 bpm). First gel at 30 min.
60-90 min: step up to 6:45 min/mi. Second gel at 60 min.
90-120 min: around 6:30 min/mi. Third gel at 90 min.
120-150 min: 6:20-6:27 min/mi (just under marathon goal pace). Optional fourth gel at 120 min.
Wind down: easy rhythm, HR in the low-150s.

Scale these paces to your marathon goal. Start relaxed, pick it up progressively, refuel consistently.

Run this progressive long run and adjust pace steps to your marathon target. Log splits and gel timing in the Pacing app.