Summer Marathon Training Season

It is about 18 weeks from July 1 until November 1. The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and it’s held on the first Sunday of November. In early March, the New York Road Runners, the organization directing the race, inform participants of an acceptance to run this iconic marathon. Upon opening the email, after the elation of getting in, a runners realization that not only are they seven months away from race day, they are about twelve weeks away from the unofficial beginning of marathon training. 

Of course some folks will start immediately and some will start later than July 1, but by and large, droves of accepted marathoners will start pounding the pavement as the temperatures get into the 90’s. The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest and one of the most renowned but it isn’t the only marathon run in Autumn. In fact, four of the seven World Marathon Majors occur as the leaves begin to change into this beautiful oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. The Abbott World Marathon Majors was created to organize the top races in the world and create a single champion to be considered the best marathoner in the world each year. Additionally, ten years ago, a medal commemorating the six marathon majors would be given to any runner completing all six. In general, runners love medals and the world loves a true champion. With five championships, Eliud Kipchoge is largely considered the greatest of all time. We love this debates don’t we?

One could rebut that four out of seven is only gives a slight edge to the majority. While that is true, the three marathons held in Spring come with some difficulty. The Boston Marathon is the oldest, annual marathon having run its first in 1897, but it is a race that one needs to qualify in order to enter. Of course, like everything else, there are other ways to get into the race but on the surface, a qualifying time I required. Both the London and Tokyo Marathons have residency restrictions as barriers to entry. While approximately 3.5 million to 4 million runners have run these races, only about 23,000 have finished six of the World Marathon Majors.

Running in the dead heat of summer isn’t great but when compared to running in Winter perhaps the lesser of two evils become less apparent. Sunset today is about 8:20pm. Sunrise was about 5:42am. That is close to fifteen hours of daylight. Comparatively, on the same day in January, we had about ten hours of daylight with a low of 8 degrees. Let’s say that the same 18 weeks applied to Fall marathon training applies to Spring marathon training. That training begins a week before Christmas. Of course, getting into the Boston Marathon is just as exciting as getting in the TCS New York City Marathon but training begins when it is cold and dark. The better situation is clearly in the eyes of the beholder but it isn’t so cut and dry.

Is it better to slather oneself in sunscreen to run in the summer or pile on seven layers to protect from the elements? Regardless of what is the prevailing sentiment around the topic, actions, oftentimes, speak louder than words. Simply put, more people run Fall marathons than Spring. With that logic, more people run train in the summer than in the winter. Whether or not these runners prefer summer workouts to winter, they clearly prefer racing in September, October, and November.

Ironically, it is better physiologically to run in the winter. The human body has to work to keep cool. This added workload begins to take away from the energy dedicated to running. When it is cold outside our body will shiver to create heat. When it is hot outside it generates sweat to keep cool. I won’t get into the weeds about how much energy is expended to keep warm or keep cool but running generates heat, therefore the body has to use less energy outside of running. When it is 90 degrees out and you’re sweating before you take you first step, our bodies are already working and zapping the energy that will get you through the run.

There are fewer marathons run in the Summer and Winter so the optimal conditions for racing will not typically occur for training. While so many gym goers are focused on their beach bodies for summer runners are preparing for the glory of a Fall marathon. Before the official marathon training program commences there are already lots of miles baked into the runner. It’s rare for a runner to find out they have entry into a Fall race and not immediately begin training. For some, there is pure elation of getting into a bucket list race or even toeing the line in a marathon. For others, anxiety will set in. Either way typically causes a person to find a program. Even if the training officially begins on July 1, many will build a mental “pre-program program” in order to prepare for the program. Undoubtedly, there are “tips a plenty” when it comes to running in the summer but the only thing I will say about summer running to train for a marathon is it’s own entity. It has its own persona. Summer has a soul all its own and it is the tried and true conduit to that race run a hoodie weather.