Typos + Half Marathon

by Magnus Midtgård
(Bergen, Norway)

Half marathon on tough course calculation :

"Hi Marius!

I am well into the 3:30 plan, fun stuff!

I just wonder about some ambiguous info in the plan - perhaps there are typos?

- In Week 4, Session 1 it says in Session Info "30 min + 2 min rec. + (10 x 30 sec. 30 seconds rec after each 30 rec.). However, in Speed Info, it says "30 min Effort 4 + 20 sec Effort 4. Should the Effort 4 intervals be 20 or 30 seconds long?

- In Week 4, Session 3 it says in Speed Info "Vary between 2 min Effort 3 + 2 min Effort 3 (you change every 2 min)". I guess it should say "Vary between 2 min Effort 3 + 2 min Effort 4"?

Then over to my half marathon question: My plan is to run the Fjord Norway Half Marathon in Nordhordland outside Bergen 22 days before the actual Marathon, which is Berlin Marathon. Even though you recommend the half marathon to be ran 4 weeks before the marathon, I have noticed that you have stated that anywhere between 6 and 3 weeks before is fine. However, my question relates to what to do with the finishing time: The Fjord Norway Half Marathon is a relatively tough half marathon, with four bridge crossings. The Berlin Marathon, on the other side, is probably the fastest course in the world. How should I deal with this when using my half marathon finishing time to calculate how fast I should go on the actual marathon?

Looking forward to your answer!

Best regards,
Magnus, Bergen

Answer: Hi Magnus and thanks for your questions.

As for the typos, I'm so sorry for that. It should be variation between Effort 3 and Effort 2 (not 4) in your first question and 30 seconds in the second question.

When it comes to your half marathon as a marathon calculation - it is a tricky one for obvious reasons. You will have to deal with approximates on it and one of my best suggestions is to look at the top times of the race (top finishers) and compare the top runners with their year bests on flat courses. Usually that will give you a good indication as the better runners seem to vary less in performance and can give you a good indication of how hard the half marathon route actually is. Based on that, calculate what the time is "worth" on a fast course.

This is the best suggestion I have for you, but it will usually give you a pretty good idea.

I wish you all the best with your training !

kind regards,
Marius