It should come as no surprise that elite athletes run a lot of miles when marathon training. Even so, actually hearing about what they do is still pretty mind-boggling, both in terms of the distance run and the amount of hard running they log each week.
Earlier this year I attended the launch of the Under Armour Infinite Elite running shoe, where the 2022 New York City Marathon winner Sharon Lokedi spoke about her training. Lokedi is currently preparing for the Boston Marathon, and based on the below it’s fair to say that she is putting the work in to succeed at Boston.
Lokedi said she typically runs 200-220km (124-137 miles) a week, doing doubles (two runs a day) on most days. If that amount wasn’t impressive enough by itself, Lokedi is doing most of her running at altitude in Kaptagat, Kenya or Flagstaff, Arizona, and logging several hard workouts each week as part of her training.
Here’s what a typical training week looks like for Lokedi. There are some runs where Lokedi just described them as a double, so presumably they’re a relatively short and easy run in the afternoon, after a harder or longer morning run.
Monday: Hill training—either reps or a hilly route (20-24km). Double in the afternoon (10-14km)
Tuesday: Track session (12-15km). Double in the afternoon.
Wednesday: Recovery run (20-24km). Double in the afternoon.
Thursday: Long run (alternating 35-40km one week, 30km the week after).
Friday: Recovery run (20-24km). Double in the afternoon.
Saturday: Tempo or Fartlek sessions (20km). Double in the afternoon.
Sunday: Rest day or 25-30km.
It’s obviously very important to remember when looking at a packed schedule like this that Lokedi is an elite athlete with plenty of time to rest around her running, and a full team on hand to help her with her recovery and nutrition, plus other runners to do her sessions with. This is not something amateurs enjoy, and no-one is suggesting you go and try and copy Lokedi’s training for Boston (although you should pay heed to her coach’s Boston Marathon training tip).
Lokedi says her nutrition strategy involves protein and carbs in every meal, and lots of snacks. There aren’t any real restrictions to her diet—if the body feels it needs it then just eat it. Or as her coach Stephen Haas put it: “there are no cheat meals when you’re running that much.”
