A lot of long tempo runs, many long interval sessions, and stints at altitude. These 10 workouts helped the top American men and women prepare for the hills and competition of the New York City Marathon and helped them feel upbeat (in most cases, anyway) that they’re ready to race.

Who: Molly Huddle, 32

When: 3 weeks before the race

Location: A warm day in Phoenix

Surface: Dirt road, no hills

Workout:

3-mile warmup

3 x 3 miles at 5:10–5:15 pace.

Recover for two minutes between each.

About 2 miles cool down.

“I didn't think I could do it, especially running the session on my own,” Huddle said. “It was hard, but I did it, which is very encouraging for New York.”

Huddle said she has been averaging 110 miles per week, transitioning from Olympic 10,000-meter track shape to the marathon.The other key element to prepare for her debut marathon was the long run, for a maximum of two and a half hours, also in the heat of Phoenix.

“So many people have given helpful advice about my first marathon. Geoff Smith said it simplest: ‘Treat it like a long run,’” she said. “My coach tells me not to listen to any more advice now the race is so close.”

Who: Dathan Ritzenhein, 33

When: End of September

Location: Rockford, Michigan

Surface: Smooth asphalt rail trail slightly uphill in one direction, downhill in the other.

Workout:

15-mile run

One mile at 5:05, next mile at 4:55. He continued alternating the pattern through the workout.

His average pace overall: 4:57

This workout was to practice running at marathon pace and an alternating faster pace to prepare for surges on race day. He ran it alone, because the end of the marathon might be solitary, and he practiced taking fluids.

Hardest Tuneup Race: In mid-September, Ritzenhein ran 60:12 at the Great North Run Half Marathon in England, finishing second to Mo Farah. “That was an all-out race effort,” Ritzenhein said. “You don’t ever do a workout that’s as hard as a race. I used it to gauge my fitness and was very happy with the results.”

Who: Tyler Pennel, 28

When: 2 weeks before the race

Location: Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Surface: Paved, flat

Workout:

3 x 1K

4 miles steady

1 mile float

2 x 1K

3 miles at marathon pace

1 mile float

2 miles faster than marathon pace

1 mile float

2 x 1K

4 x 400

"This is a marathon specific session, geared toward running at a good pace late in the race, and it went well. It was all flat, but I get hills almost every day, and I run well on hills,” Pennel said. “I've got five years of high mileage so a good base. The main thing I’ve learned is to recover, so often my recovery days are now at easy pace, say 7:30 miles, instead of everything close to 6-minute miles."

Who: Esther Atkins, 30

When: 4 weeks ago

Location: Greenville, South Carolina

Surface: Asphalt bike path, with hills

Workout:

23 miles, including 17 miles at 6:15 per mile pace

"My coach doesn't like me to do super hard sessions, because I have a tendency to overdo,” Atkins said. “So we go more for regular sustained runs at marathon pace, or marathon effort—and those can be very different things. This was one of several similar workouts."

She said a cold restricted her training about three weeks ago but she’s ready to PR. “The key thing will be to have some company,” she said. “I posted a blog inviting anyone who wants to run 2:30/2:32 to work with me.”

Who: Craig Leon, 32

When: 2 weeks before the race

Location: Eugene, Oregon

Surface: Paved, hilly

Workout:

10 miles

10K at marathon pace

1 mile easy

2 miles at marathon pace or faster

1 mile easy

1 mile at marathon pace

Cool down

A total of 24 miles, finishing at 5:00-minute mile pace

"My strength is my strength,” Leon said. “So I stopped focusing on speed, and focus now on my strength, through the whole race. This was a hard session, but I handled it well. Sessions like that mean I could come to New York confident that I can run my own race. I'm trained for the whole marathon distance, and I won't make the mistake I did in the Olympic Trials of going out too fast for the first 10K. With no rabbits, New York is a real race, all about competition. I'm aiming for place, not time."

Leon says life has been a whirlwind, with travel to China for work, but he’s done a 20+ mile run every week since August.

Who: Kim Conley, 30

When: Four weeks ago

Location: Sacramento, California

Workout:

13-mile steady state run at marathon pace. She ran the first half with her coach and husband, Drew Wartenburg, but the last half alone. “I did it, but I found it hard to lock into the pace,” she said. “It wasn’t as easy as I had hoped.”

A 15-mile fartlek run two weeks ago went better. “This one was maybe harder on my body, and I had a faster average pace than my 13-miler,” she said. She’s been training for 10 weeks since her return from the Rio Olympics and has averaged about 100 miles a week.

Considering this is her first crack at 26.2, Conley was amazed by the amount of marathon training information available. “There’s so much more than for track training,” she said. “I was hungry for it at first but then came to realize that reading about all the different theories probably wasn’t a big help. I decided I have to find my own right path.”

Who: Matt Llano, 28

When: Six weeks ago

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona, elevation 6900 feet

Surface: roads

Workout:

24 miles, with parts at tempo pace

After three-mile warmup, four miles at about 5:05 pace, 10 at 5:45 to 6:00 pace, and four at 5:05. Ends with three-mile cool down.

The workout prepared various systems for the stresses of the marathon, and helped callous his legs to a hard road effort. “The paces are hard at Flagstaff’s altitude, and I do the workout in the middle of a continuous, high-mileage training,” Llano said.

Who: Sara Hall, 33

When: Two weeks ago

Location: Green Church Road, Mammoth Lakes, California, at 7,200 feet, with “decent hills.”

Workout:

16-mile tempo run

First 10 miles with Alexi Pappas; last six on her own.

Hall has done this workout before prior marathons, but in Flagstaff, Arizona, or Redding, California, where she lives. Hall has followed a less intense training program for this marathon than for others. She hopes that will leave her feeling stronger in the late stages. “When you’ve got four kids at home for the summer, well, things are pretty busy,” she said.

Who: Ryan Vail, 30

When: Twice during a 12-week marathon buildup

Location: Portland, Oregon

Surface: Roads

Workout:

4 miles of tempo running, around 4:50 pace

10 miles steady, usually 5:45 to 6:00 pace

4 miles tempo, around 4:50 pace

With warmup and at least three-mile cool down, the workout is more than 21 miles.

The idea of the workout is “to force a threshold effort with lots of miles on the legs,” Vail said. “The second 4-mile tempo run usually starts at about 18 miles, which is where the marathon starts to get really tough.”

Who : Neely Gracey

When: About September 20

Location: Colorado

Surface: Dirt; rolling hills

Workout:

22.5 miles at 7,000 feet elevation

"I went back and forth on a two-mile route, picking up fluid each time I came back to the start, to simulate taking the fluid at full effort as I pushed back up the hill,” Gracey said. “Over the whole run, I climbed 1,000 feet. The last 4 miles I was pushing hard, and accelerating each mile. I ended being almost sick, the first time I've had that in training."

She aims to PR in New York and says her training has gone better than before Boston. “This session should help me to come home strongly, especially with the boost of four to five weeks at that altitude,” she said.

Roger Robinson Roger Robinson won the over-40, and set an over-50 record (2:28:01) at New York, and is author of the acclaimed When Running Made History.

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