3 Theories on How Long the Marathon Long Run Should Be

The marathon long run is the sacred cow of distance running. We can experiment with midweek workouts, singlets, gels, shoes, pre-race pasta and anti-chafing cream, but the weekend long effort is here to stay. But how long is just right? To get you answers, we've researched the top philosophies and distilled it down to three core philosophies. 

Three Popular Philosophies on the Marathon Long Run

To cut through the noise out there, we turned to three marathon training experts to get their prescription for the marathon long run. Hal Higdon, the Hanson brothers and Jack Daniels. Each has a different philosophy on the role and application of the weekend long run. 

1. The Hal Higdon Philosophy: 20 Mile Long Runs

The Higdon method is one of the most popular training method followed by beginners. And why's that? Hal Higdon is a renowned running coach with 34 (!) published books on training and decades of experience—so revered that the New York Times called him the king of running plans. The guy's like the McKinsey of the running world; nobody ever got fired for hiring McKinsey, and nobody ever doubted their training when following the Higdon method.

Coach Higdon has 14 different main marathon training plans that largely fall into three categories: beginner, intermediate and advanced. These plans max out at a 20 mile long run, done once for novice runners and three time in the advanced plans. He advises to cap long runs at 20 miles to conserve energy and allow the body enough gas in the tank for the workouts during the week. 

"Although some experienced runners do train longer," Higdon writes, "I see no advantage in doing 23, 26 or even 31 mile runs. (I’ve tried that myself in the past, and it just wore me out.) Save your energy and concentrate on quality runs the rest of the week. Consistency is most important."

2. Hanson Method Long Run: 16 Mile Long Runs

Keith and Kevin Hanson are a pair of brothers who pioneered (or rejuvenated, if you look back far enough to the annals of distance running) a hard-charging training style that focuses on rigorous quality. Their approach is unique in that it caps out marathon training long runs at 16 miles. This is because their programming includes multiple tough sessions during the week and has athletes maintain a relatively high mileage level. The theory is that you'll be running the long run on fatigued legs from the weekday sessions, so 16 miles is all you need.

The Hanson method has a big emphasis on working at goal marathon pace during the week, so even though you're not getting a 20-miler on the weekend, there's still sufficient aerobic stimulus to challenge your body and create adaptations. Elite athletes have followed this method to Olympic qualifying times and other accolades, most notably the American female runner Des Linden who trained in the Hanson style before winning the Boston Marathon in 2018.

Is 16 Miles Really Long Enough for Marathon Training?!

The marathon is supremely mental, even more so mental than physical some may argue. So while the physiological benefits of doing 16 mile long runs to allow for harder training during the week may be valid, it's important to acknowledge the psychological component as a well. If you're a first time marathoner and want the peace of mind of seeing a 2 in the first slot of the double-digit long run, that's a rationale desire. So it's up to you whether 16 miles 

3. Jack Daniels: No Longer than 2:30

Jack Daniels is a legendary American marathon coach who has a PHD in exercise physiology and resume that includes coaching Olympic-caliber athletes. He invented the popular VDOT training system, which measures your fitness based on recent race results. If you've ever used a race pace conversion calculator, you've likely seen the the VDOT system in action.

The Daniels philosophy limits the long run to 2 hours and 30 minutes or 22 miles, whichever is shorter. The theory here is similar to Hal Higdon's—there's more harm than benefit once you get past a certain point and have reached the zone where your body is ultra-fatigued. The difference between the plans is the opinion on where that zone of ultra-fatigue lies.

How to Decide Which Long Run Philosophy to Follow

If you're a beginner, pick one of the coaching styles that makes sense to you and stick with it through at least one training cycle and goal race. It doesn't matter which coach you follow. You can even pick a name out of a hat. But it's important to follow one style at a time and not mix and match, so you can know what works for you. After completing a training block following one program, you can evaluate your next move based on your race result and enjoyment of the training.

More advanced runners should combine the coach philosophies with their own personal experience. For example, if you know you get into injury territory when running consistent 18 mile long runs during a marathon build, cap your long-run at 16. You can even follow one of the programs from Jack Daniels or Hal Higdon that asks for longer weekend efforts but cap them at the level you know you can safely manage.

How Many Long Runs Should You Do Before the Marathon?

For intermediate and advanced runners, most plans limit the 20 mile long run to two or three weekends of the training block. For the rest of the weeks (and every week if you're following Hanson), you'll be running ~16 mile long runs.

The marathon is a long and taxing race that's as much a mental slog as it is a physical test. It rewards runners who have built their aerobic endurance and mental fortitude over the course of years, not months and weeks. Doing an extra one or two 16 mile long run may be helpful for your confidence on race day, but it's not likely to increase your fitness materially.

Because marathon training is nearly as demanding as the race itself, one of the key challenges to running a successful race is—quite simply—showing up to the start line healthy. So if you're a new runner and feeling something's not right one weekend, the mentally resilient thing to do is sit it out, not gut it out. Sometimes it's counterintuitive to do what's best for your body, but health is the main priority through any marathon build. 

How Many 20 Mile Runs Is It OK to Do Before the Marathon?

If you're an experienced runner with a few marathons under your belt and a clean recent injury history, then running 20-mile runs a few times during a training cycle is should be OK as long as you've comfortably done them before (disclaimer: of course working with a licensed coach and physical therapist is important for training at this level safely). 

Final Thoughts

Running is a great experiment. We're all individual test subjects with unique DNA, biomechanics and psychological particularities. Following a standard marathon training plan with prescribed long run distances during the initial stages of your running journey is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the rhythm of structured traning, but once you have more experience, you can modify the training based on what works for you. Happy experimentation.