07/07/2026
I ran a 2 hour 57 marathon.
Here is what actually worked for me this year:
Twenty weeks with no shortcuts, ordinary things done properly, over and over. Accumulated and progressed with my kms over many weeks.
Strength and fundamentals first. I lifted through the whole build, because runners who only run eventually break down, and the strong ones are the ones still holding pace when it falls apart at 33km mark and onwards.
I trained faster than I raced. My longest run was 30k, three weeks out, at 3:59/km. On the day the average race pace was 4:11, so goal pace felt like cruising when it counted. It still hurt a lot in the end.
I stopped guessing with supplements and nutrition. I keep coming back to my DNA report, checking again and again, and blood work which I tested. Dosed vitamin D and the rest to what my body actually needed, not what someone else told me to take. To be clear, that corrected what was missing. Last year I had that stress fracture in my shin in the left leg. It supported me this time with 45% more running. Bones were stronger and I could actually tolrate the load.
I treated recovery with respect. A weekly sauna and a magnesium pool. Rest days when needed. Not always but managed 90% of the time.
I fuelled properly. Looked for the most natural gel on the run. Maple syrup based with cold pressed lemon and salt, three ingredients, nothing new on race day and nothing my gut had not already handled on long runs.
And I ran my own race. I held my pace while people went out too hard around me. Some people cramped, threw up and more..
Sub-three was never a doubt in my mind. Your body will do what you prepare it to do.
That is the whole secret, and it is available to anyone willing to do the boring things well.
Natural, hard work, dedication, simple, practical, tested and prepared.
