Rich's Marathon Pace Simulator
Workout - Rich's Marathon Pace Simulator
- 2.0km @ 6'00''/km
- 2 lots of:
- 8.0km @ 5'45''/km
- 5.0km @ 4'28''/km
- 2.0km @ 6'45''/km
to import the workout after you install it.
Quick Summary
A breakdown of More problems! (It’s a calf) | 3:10 Brighton Marathon Training Ep 7 featuring Rich Keeble. If you’re training for a marathon, this episode is worth watching—we’ve extracted the key workout for you to implement in your own training. Watch the full video to catch all the context and nuance.
Key Points
- Navigating injury: Rich dealt with a nagging calf and groin issue, which led him to skip several scheduled hard sessions. The episode underscores how crucial it is to respond to your body’s signals and take recovery days when they’re needed.
- Scaled-back volume: His plan called for 84 km that week; he ended up at roughly 48 km. Going forward, he’s capping long runs at around 32 km to prevent pushing into overtraining territory.
- Long-run design: The original 34 km session switched between easy stretches and marathon-tempo blocks, structured as 8 km easy followed by 5 km at race pace.
- Experimenting with fueling: Rich tested gels during training—one gel on a shorter 20 km outing, then ramped up to six on a 28 km evening run. The takeaway: practice your fuel strategy during hard efforts.
- Tempo and interval work: He hit 2-minute repeats at ~3:55 / km, ran a 5 km tempo at ~4:12 / km, and tackled marathon-pace segments at ~4:28 / km.
- Smart training touches: Lean on easy runs to bounce back after tough sessions, work on calf mobility daily, and add basic leg-strengthening exercises for durability.
Workout Example
34 km mixed-pace long run (scale the distances to suit your own program):
- Warm‑up: 2 km easy
- Run this sequence 4 times:
- 8 km at conversation pace (roughly 5:30–6:00 / km)
- 5 km at marathon race pace (Rich ran ~4:28 / km here)
- Cool‑down: 2 km easy
Should a calf or groin twinge crop up, dial back the distance, spend time stretching, and pick the workout back up the following week at a lower volume.
Closing Note
Test this mixed-pace long run yourself, dial your paces into your own target marathon time, and stay attentive to any discomfort—rest days and fuel matter as much as the training load itself. The Pacing app makes it simple to adjust your intervals to match what you’re working toward. Enjoy the run.
Head over to Rich Keeble’s channel to watch the full episode, including commentary on his training targets and what’s coming next.