The Training Intensity Distribution of Marathon Runners Across Performance Levels

The training characteristics and training intensity distribution (TID) of elite athletes have been extensively studied, but a comprehensive analysis of the TID across runners from different performance levels is lacking.

Training sessions from the 16 weeks preceding 151,813 marathons completed by 119,452 runners were analysed. The TID was quantified using a three-zone approach (Z1, Z2 and Z3), where critical speed defined the boundary between Z2 and Z3, and the transition between Z1 and Z2 was assumed to occur at 82.3% of critical speed. Training characteristics and TID were reported based on marathon finish time.

Training volume across all runners was 45.1 ± 26.4 km·week^-1, but the fastest runners within the dataset (marathon time 120-150 min) accumulated > three times more volume than slower runners. The amount of training time completed in Z2 and Z3 running remained relatively stable across performance levels, but the proportion of Z1 was higher in progressively faster groups. The most common TID approach was pyramidal, adopted by > 80% of runners with the fastest marathon times. There were strong, negative correlations (p < 0.01, R² ≥ 0.90) between marathon time and markers of training volume, and the proportion of training volume completed in Z1. However, the proportions of training completed in Z2 and Z3 were correlated (p < 0.01, R² ≥ 0.85) with slower marathon times.

The fastest runners in this dataset featured large training volumes, achieved primarily by increasing training volume in Z1. Marathon runners adopted a pyramidal TID approach, and the prevalence of pyramidal TID increased in the fastest runners.