Marathon Pace Over/Unders

Marathon Pace Over/Unders

Workout - Marathon Pace Over/Unders

  • 15min @ 5'45''/km
  • 3 lots of:
    • 1.0km @ 3'50''/km
    • 1.0km @ 4'10''/km
  • 10min @ 6'00''/km
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A quick breakdown of the over/under tempo session featured in “My new favourite Tempo/Threshold session for MARATHON training (Over/Unders)” from This Messy Happy. The full video has more details.

Key points

  • Over/unders alternate short bursts just above and just below your target marathon (or half-marathon) pace. The recovery portions are built in rather than separated.
  • Works in any training phase: 45–75 min total, with a 15-minute easy warm-up and optional drills afterward.
  • Don’t spiral over missed sessions. Focus on the bigger picture.
  • Interval length, the over/under gap, and session duration adjust as you move into race-specific work.

Workout example

  1. Warm-up: 15 min easy jog (add running drills if you want).
  2. Main set (30 min in the video, can range from 30–60 min):
    • Pick a base marathon pace (for example, 4:00 min/km for a measured marathon target). No marathon experience yet? Start ~15–20 s slower than your goal.
    • Over/under intervals: cycle between 1 km 10 seconds faster than your base pace, then 1 km 10 seconds slower. Example: 3:50/km (hard) then 4:10/km (recovery). Keep switching for the full main-set duration.
    • Adjust the gap by feel: 5 s, 10 s, or 15 s over/under. Avoid large swings (>30 s) to keep injuries off the table.
  3. Cool-down: 10–15 min easy jog, stretch.
  4. Optional variations:
    • Shorter main set (20–30 min) for early season or when fatigued.
    • Longer main set (40–60 min) as you approach the marathon block.
    • Adjust interval length (e.g., 800 m or 2 km) while keeping the over/under principle.

Run this over/under session this week. Adjust paces in your Pacing app to match your marathon target.

References

Inspired by This Messy Happy

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