5 Things That Helped Me Cut 52 Minutes Off My Marathon Time

We see insane marathon times on Instagram all the time, but what's usually left out is all the work it took to get there.

It's easy to compare your time to someone else's without seeing the miles, sacrifices and discipline behind the scenes.

My first marathon was the Columbus Marathon in 2018. I ran a 3:43. In April 2024, I ran a 2:51 at the Jersey City Marathon and qualified for Boston. That's 52 minutes. Here's what it really took.

1. High volume = faster times

You have to run a lot. Between 2018 and 2024, I logged thousands of miles. If I had focused solely on marathons earlier, I might have improved my time faster, but years of ultramarathon training made me extremely durable when I finally went for speed.

A lot doesn't mean 100-mile weeks, though. It's easy to scroll Strava, see people posting 100-mile weeks like it's nothing, and think that's what it takes to run a sub-3. It's probably not as much as you think. In the three and a half months before Jersey City, most of my weeks were somewhere around 45 to 65 miles, and my biggest week was around 70.

The key here is not increasing your volume too quickly. If you do, you will get injured. If you're under 30 miles a week, add about 3 miles a week. Over 30, add about 10% a week, and take a lighter recovery week every fourth week. More on that in my running tips.

2. Strength train and foam roll

Strength train so you don't get injured. I do 1 to 2 leg workouts a week, paired with my hard running days. That's plenty.

And foam roll to help you recover. It won't prevent injuries on its own, but it helps your legs feel better between runs, especially when your mileage is going up.

3. One speed workout a week + long-run workouts

Every Wednesday, I did a speed session, ranging from 400m repeats to 3-mile efforts at marathon pace.

Once or twice a month, I added long-run workouts to simulate marathon effort over longer distances. These were crucial for building strength and race-day confidence. My last long-run workout, two weeks before the race, was a 21-mile marathon workout:

• 4 miles easy
• 6 x (2 miles at 6:35 pace, 800m at 7:10 pace)
• 2 miles easy

Everything else was easy. The speed work only works if you're recovered enough to actually hit it.

4. Optimized fueling and hydration

For this race, I dialed in my nutrition:

• A 3-day carb load: 600+ grams of carbs per day. Here's exactly how I carb load.
• Race-day fueling: about 60 to 90 grams of carbs per hour. I did 80 in the race.

Most runners under-fuel and pay the price on race day. When you fuel properly, you unlock another level of performance. On long runs over 2 hours, aim for 60 to 90 grams of carbs per hour, and practice it in training so race day isn't the first time. Here's what I eat during long runs.

5. A great coach makes a huge difference

I worked with my friend Jeremy Miller, and having a coach was a game changer. We started working together the first week of January, so we only had three and a half months to prepare, so I needed a custom plan, not a cookie-cutter approach.

The accountability, structure and guidance helped me push past limits I wouldn't have on my own.

If you want to take your marathon time to the next level and you're tired of trying to do it all yourself and failing, hire a coach. It will be well worth it.

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