The 3 Best Treadmill Workouts for Marathon Runners

Run a personal best in your next marathon by practicing the best treadmill workouts!

By Coach Chris Knighton

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Introduction to Treadmill Running Workouts for Marathon Runners

Performing treadmill running workouts in your home is a great way to get a high-quality workout done in minimal time and with little fuss. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just starting out, the treadmill allows you to control pace, incline, and duration. Treadmill running is perfect for marathon runners who are managing a busy schedule or are tight on time. Treadmill runs can be performed during the hottest, coldest, and worst weather days, and are great for parents who need to get a workout in but might not be able to leave their kids alone at home by going on a run outdoors.

Check out my list of the best treadmills for marathon runners!

What Are The Best Treadmill Workouts for Marathon Runners?

1/1 Fartlek

The 1/1 fartlek is a signature running workout of mine.

It is a great way for marathon runners to work on their speed while training for an endurance race.

My workout was featured in Redfin.com’s article, 9 Home Workout Ideas from Redfin:

One of Coach Chris’s go-to recommendations is a quick, yet effective workout that suits runners at various levels. “A simple but powerful 20-minute home running workout that can be performed by almost any runner is the 1/1 Fartlek. To perform this workout, start with a jog of 5 minutes, followed by a 1-minute pause for stretching. Then step back on your treadmill and perform 5 repetitions of ‘1 minute fast running, 1 minute jogging.’ Lastly, cool down with 5 additional minutes of jogging,” explains Knighton.

You never want to neglect speed when marathon training.

3 x 10 Minutes at Half Marathon Pace

Performing repeats on the treadmill at half marathon pace is a great way to simultaneously improve your speed and endurance while marathon training. Running long intervals such as 3 x 10 minutes at half marathon pace with a 3-minute jogging rest, will help make your goal marathon pace feel more comfortable to hold for 30+ minutes at a time.

Half Marathon Pace is the key “speed” training pace for the marathon and should make up the bulk of your faster workouts.

Steady Tempo of 30 to 90 minutes at Marathon Pace

There is no workout more specific when it comes to marathon training than a long and steady run at marathon pace. I suggest doing one of these runs every other week when marathon training as part of your weekly long run. Start by doing 30 minutes at marathon pace, and then gradually increase the duration which you hold marathon pace by 10 minutes or so every other week. More experienced runners will want to practice holding 14 to 16 miles at marathon pace as one of their most challenging long runs before tapering for race day.

Are Treadmill Workouts “as good” as running outdoors when marathon training?

Yes! Well… almost!

Running on the treadmill is just about identical to running outside, but you do run with slightly different form when running outside and the mental demands are different.

Running on the treadmill to train for a marathon is okay. Just do your best to get outside when you can, especially for your most important long runs!

Wrapping up…

I hope this gives you a bit more insight into how you can train for a marathon while running on a treadmill.

Did I miss something that you are still unsure about? Just email me to let me know and I’ll help you out!

Until next time… happy running!