Lee Grantham's Marathon Speed Session
Workout - Lee Grantham's Marathon Speed Session
- 15min @ 6'30''/km
- 12 lots of:
- 1min @ 5'30''/km
- 1min rest
- 12min @ 6'30''/km
to import the workout after you install it.
Intro
“Marathon Mastery: Secret Tricks to Slash Your Running Time!” by Lee Grantham packs a lot of useful advice—and we’ve summarized the key takeaways so you can start implementing them right away. For the full breakdown, watching the original video is worth your time.
Key Points
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Race‑line awareness: Course study (particularly on city marathons with marked race lines) helps you take the best route through turns. Stick to the optimal line, especially on left-hand bends, to cut out the extra 150–200 m per km that come from drifting wide. Spend time visualizing the route before race day arrives.
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Speed work: Build short, quick efforts (think 1–10 minute intervals) and hill repeats into your plan to sharpen running economy. Our Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them guide digs deeper into programming these sessions. Running faster than goal marathon pace makes that goal pace feel more manageable when it matters.
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Visualization: Imagine yourself running the quieter sections of the course—the parts where you’ll be solitary. Think through your focus strategy and recall the fitness you’ve built in training.
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Nutrition & carbs: Target 75–80 g of carbs per hour starting from the gun (roughly 3 gels at 25 g each per hour). For a sub-3-hour marathon, that works out to about 9 gels for the race. Pack a 500 ml bottle with a sports drink to pick up extra sodium and magnesium—that small 3-second-per-km pace boost from better fueling is worth the weight.
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Planning: Scout where the water stations are and what fluid they’ll offer. Bring extra gels and your own bottle so you’re not caught short when energy dips.
Workout Example
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12 × 1-minute intervals at 10–20% faster than marathon goal pace—for most runners, this lands somewhere around their 10K effort. To dig into 10K-specific training, check out our piece on Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance.
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Recovery: One minute of easy running or walking between reps.
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Goal: Build speed and make goal marathon pace feel more sustainable, especially over the first 30 km. This kind of speed-work strengthens your aerobic system—and the same principles behind Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time translate directly to marathon efficiency.
Closing Note
Try these ideas in your next training phase. Adjust the speeds to match your own targets in the Pacing app, then track how your marathon time improves. Enjoy the process! 🚀