Marathon Mastery: Secret Tricks to Slash Your Running Time! - Lee Grantham

Aug 13, 2025

Intro

This is a quick summary of “Marathon Mastery: Secret Tricks to Slash Your Running Time!” from Lee Grantham. It’s a great watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the tips today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points

Race‑line awareness: Study the course (especially in city marathons with race‑line markings) and stay on the optimal line—especially on left‑hand turns—to avoid extra distance (often 150‑200 m per km). Visualise the route before race day.
Speed work: Incorporate short, fast reps (e.g., 1‑10‑minute intervals) and hill repeats to improve running economy. For a deeper look at how to structure these sessions, explore our guide on Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them. Training faster than marathon pace makes the race pace feel easier.
Visualization: Mentally rehearse isolated sections of the course where you’ll be alone; plan how you’ll stay focused and draw on your training history.
Nutrition & carbs: Aim for 75‑80 g of carbohydrate per hour from the start (≈3 gels × 25 g each per hour). For a sub‑3‑hour marathon that’s about 9 gels total. Carry a 500 ml bottle of sports drink for extra sodium/magnesium; the extra 3 seconds per km is worth the added fuel.
Planning: Know water‑station locations and the type of drink offered. Carry extra gels and a bottle to avoid hitting the wall.

Workout Example

12 × 1‑minute intervals at 10 %‑20 % faster than your marathon pace. For most runners, this means aiming for their 10K pace. If you want to hone that speed, check out our strategies for Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance.
Recovery: 1‑minute easy jog or walk between each interval.
Goal: Improve speed and make marathon‑pace feel easier, especially for the first 30 km. Honing this top-end speed is a powerful tool; in fact, the same workouts that help with Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time can make you a much more efficient marathoner.

Closing Note

Give these tips a try in your next training block—customise the paces to match your own numbers in the Pacing app, and watch the minutes drop off your marathon time. Happy running! 🚀