In November of 1961, legendary coach Arthur Lydiard told the 1960 800m gold medalist, Peter Snell, to go run a marathon. Before that, Lydiard had Snell incorporating the Waiatarua circuit, a grueling, 22-mile long run up and down the Waitakere Ranges in New Zealand, as part of his 100-mile training week. What was a man who would race for less than 2 minutes doing running for 2 hours? This type of training was completely unheard of for middle-distance runners back in those days.

But it paid off.

Only two months after his Lydiard-mandated marathon, Snell ran a world-record mile (3:54). And in the 1964 Olympics, he won gold in the 800 and 1500m events.

The long run has been popular ever since.

Why is this? What are the physiological changes long runs produce that are beneficial to someone who is racing for a short period of time? According to Running Times columnist and coach, Greg McMillan, there are three key physiological adaptations that occur in the body during a long run: enzymatic, capillary and musculoskeletal. When you run long, you increase enzymes in your muscle cells and grow capillaries, which are the small vessels that surround the cells. These important changes allow more oxygen to be delivered to working muscles. You also strengthen your muscles, tendons and ligaments. "These adaptations help you in shorter races like the 5K because it's still primarily an aerobic activity," McMillan says. "The more oxygen that you can deliver to the working muscles, the better your performance will be. And the stronger your muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments become, the more you are capable to conduct better race-specific training like intervals."

Two-time Olympic trials qualifier turned elite coach Joe Rubio looks at long runs holistically. He points out that "much of anyone's success has to do with committing to be the best they can, ensuring there is no stone left unturned. A problem occurs when athletes stereotype themselves. Whatever a runner 'can't' do limits their success. Whether an easy long run actually does anything physiologically significant is secondary to the mindset that, 'I want to be good, people who have been good do long runs, I'm doing long runs.' You don't have to like them, but if you want to be good you're doing them."



How Far Is Far Enough?

For non-marathoners, the right long-run length "depends where you are in your running career," McMillan says. For someone not accustomed to running long, he advises working up to 90 minutes to properly stimulate the body's adaptations. McMillan then suggests that athletes increase the duration of their long runs up to 2 hours, provided 2 hours doesn't "beat them up."

Rubio has an alternative approach. Instead of prescribing a minimum time limit, he breaks out the long run using percentages of weekly mileage. He has his athletes running long twice a week during the bulk of the season. The first long run is 20 to 25 percent of weekly mileage at an easier pace; the second is approximately 15 percent of weekly mileage and preferably on a hilly course. Progression Is The Key

Both Rubio and McMillan agree that runners training for shorter distance events need to progress the pace of their long runs.

For the first of his two weekly long runs, Rubio recommends a pace that is generally 70 to 75 percent of an athlete's current 5K pace. However, in the second long run, Rubio tells his athletes to run it at 80 percent of current 5K pace in the last 30-50 minutes of the run.

For those just starting to run long, McMillan advises not paying attention to pace in the beginning. "If you need to slow down, that's OK," he says. Once 90 minutes feels comfortable, when you don't feel you're straining, McMillan recommends finishing the last 15 minutes "a little bit quicker."

According to McMillan, the pace you run depends on your race goals. He says, "If you are racing one specific distance, you should tailor your runs as you get closer to your competitive season. If someone is just going to run a 5K, then they should run for 90 minutes and then finish the last 5 minutes really fast. If you are racing a variety of distances, you should run a variety of long runs and finish them at a variety of paces."

What The Pros Are Doing

One of the best-qualified athletes to speak about long-run training is Jen Rhines. Following the typical path of a professional runner, Rhines began with the shorter distance early in her career. She then moved up to the marathon, but decided in 2007 to concentrate on shorter distances again. That year, Rhines set her 1500 PR (4: 09.52) and was ranked ninth in the world in the 10K. Last year, she made it as far as the Olympic 5K final.

Rhines still runs long. She admits she has a "really good aerobic base now." Some things have changed for her, however. Her long runs -- once nearly 3 hours and done at a "pretty easy" pace -- have been cut in half and include either mid-run pickups for 15 minutes, 15 x 15-second intervals, or progression runs, where she increases the pace every 30 minutes.

Fellow Olympian Dan Browne has a similar approach. When not training specifically for a marathon, Browne's long runs are 15 miles. Like Rhines, Browne picks up the pace gradually. "I like to teach the body to work harder when it's tired. The more opportunities you do that, the less scary it becomes in racing," he says.

Browne admits he gets fit from long runs just like he gets fit from his speed work. "It takes a combination of speed and strength to run any race. You have to constantly push the body as far as you can. It's one of the things Alberto [Salazar] used to tell me. He'd say, 'We're going to push the strength ceiling and then push the speed down as fast as we can go. That is going to bring down your overall pace.'"

What may be more surprising than Rhines' and Browne's long-run regimen is 5K specialist Chris Solinsky's. He goes as long as 2 hours in the fall and brings the pace from 6:30 per mile down to 5:30. In the winter, he picks it up, starting at 6:00 pace and finishing at 5:00 pace, or about 45 seconds per mile slower than his 5K race pace. By the spring, as he returns to the track for high-quality interval sessions, he eases the pace and reduces his long run to 90 minutes to be fresh for his workouts.

Why does a runner who races a 13-minute 5K run for over 1:45 more than his longest race?

"It teaches your body to be efficient. Before I did long runs, when I was in high school, I was a lot less efficient than I am now. The long runs groom your body into running as effortlessly as possible," Solinsky says.

All these wonderful adaptations that occur in the long run beg the question: Why not run as far as humanly possible? Why not go out for a 3-or 4-hour run?

Rubio urges caution here. In the case of going too far, "The athlete is placing extra emphasis on a single aspect of training which, over time, leads to breakdown. The idea is to be able to walk away knowing you can do more. Extra long runs limit the amount of work in other areas the athlete could do."

Browne notes the principle of diminishing returns. "What you get out of the extra miles will cost you in speed work later on. When I brought my mileage up over a certain level, the quality of my speed work diminished."

McMillan agrees. He notes, "If someone is not training for the marathon, they better make sure that kind of run isn't taking too much out of them. The most specific training is going to be your other workouts so you want to make sure you aren't fatigued going into them."

Long Run Preparation And Recovery

The day before the long easy run, Rubio has his athletes do either long intervals or a tempo run to ensure the long run is kept easier. The day immediately preceding the mid-week long runs, he prescribes short intervals to allow the athlete to perform the mid-week, longer run at the increased pace suggested. Rubio considers both long runs a moderate workout. "Not a big deal really, just making-a-deposit-in-the-bank sort of run; the interval or tempo work are the hard workouts for the week," he says.

McMillan shares a similar philosophy: "You hope that the long run isn't an event that you have to get geared up for. You should be able to accomplish it without carbo loading. You know that you have succeeded with your long run when you don't have to do anything to prepare for it."

Target Race Distance Longest Weekly Run as Percent of Weekly Mileage Out of Peak Competitive Season Pace for Long Run Out of Peak Competitive Season (%/mile slower than goal race pace) Longest Weekly Run as Percent of Weekly Mileage During Peak Competitive Season Pace for Long Run During Peak COmpetitive Season (%/mile slower than goal race pace) 5K 20% 20-30% 15% 30-35% 8K-10K 20-25% 20-30% 15-20% 25-35% 15K-HM 25% 20-25% 20% 23-30%

The pace recommendations in this chart stem from the idea that as your peak races approach, your long runs should become easier so that you're better rested for other key workouts and races. As an example, say your goal 5K race pace is 6:00/mile. Early in the seaon, your long run pace would be between 7:12 and 7:48 pace. (Goal pace of 6:00=360 seconds; 20% slower=360+(360 X .2), or 432 seconds (7:12/mile); 30% slower=360+(360 x .3), or 468 seconds (7: 48).) As your key races approach, you would do your long runs slower, between 7:48 and 8:04 pace.

For a podcast with Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein on how he does long runs when peaking for different distances, click HERE.

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