This summer a reporter from RunnersWorld called and asked to do a story on advice for what to do when your goal marathon gets cancelled.
After everything that happened surrounding the NYC Marathon in 2012, it would have been a good headline.
I didn’t think it would make for a great article, citing the fact that in my years of coaching, the cancellation of the NYC Marathon in 2012 was the first time I’d seen this happen on a very large scale and the situation was very rare.
It looks like Congress is making me eat my words. Sorry RunnersWorld. My bad!
How to adjust if the Marine Corps Marathon is cancelled
Get prepared, but don’t linger on it
I am writing this on Wednesday, October 16th. As of yet, nothing is decided and race organizers have promised to have a definitive answer by Saturday, October 19th. The worst thing you can do for your performance, regardless of what happens, is get stressed and emotional.
The first step is to get prepared if the race is cancelled. The bright side (if there is any) is that the race is giving you a week’s advance notice.
- Head to Marathon Guide’s list of marathons and find a race that works for you logistically in the next 1 to 5 weeks. This could be something that is close to home, easy travel or maybe even a race you’d thought of doing next year.
- The window of 0 – 5 weeks (week 0 being the same week as Marine Corps was scheduled to run) is the optimal time frame. Obviously, weeks 0 through 2 mean you don’t have to change much from where you’re currently at training wise. Weeks 3-5 give you enough time to put in a few harder weeks of training and re-taper. While beyond 5 weeks is fine for another race, I have found that athletes have a hard time getting back in the right mental and physical “gear” to have a good training segment. It usually leads to mental or physical burnout.
- Once you’ve made your plans, put the whole situation out of your mind. Run what you have planned this week and avoid obsessing over it. You can’t change it and you can’t effect the outcome.
Don’t stress about something you have no power over. Not only is this frustrating, but it takes physical and emotional energy that you want to conserve for race day.
How to adjust your training if the race is cancelled
If the Marine Corps marathon releases it’s decision on Saturday that the race is cancelled, it’s time to get your training in order. Here’s how:
If your backup race is 1 week away
If your backup race is within one week of the originally scheduled race, simply run 12-14 miles as a long run either Saturday or Sunday and repeat the last two weeks of the taper. You won’t lose any fitness and it’s better to be cautious and give yourself some extra rest. If you’ve tapered correctly, this week wasn’t super easy anyway.
If your backup race is 2-3 weeks away
Run 14 for your long run if the race is 2 weeks out and 16 for your long run is 3 weeks out. Perform this long run either Saturday or Sunday, whichever is best for you.
Next week, plan to get in two moderate workouts. One a little speedier, but still threshold based and another a longer tempo. Here are some suggestions:
2 weeks
2 w/u, 6 x 1-mile @ 10k-12k pace w/90 sec, 1 c/d
2 w/u, 6 mile tempo run @ 10 sec faster than MP, 1 c/d
Long – 14-16 easy
And then restart the taper
3 weeks
Week 1
2 w/u, 7 mile tempo @ Goal MP, 1 c/d
2 w/u, 3 x 2 miles @ 10 sec faster than Half Marathon Pace (HMP) w/3min rest, 1 c/d
Long – Same distance as your last long run, but all easy pace
Week 2
2 w/u, 6 x 1-mile @ 10k-12k pace w/90 sec, 1 c/d
2 w/u, 6 mile tempo run @ 10 sec faster than MP, 1 c/d
Long – 14-16 easy
…And then restart the taper
This should provide enough training to keep your fitness up and rebuild your confidence without getting you too tired. Obviously, you can tinker with the exact numbers to fit your previous training.
If your backup race is 4 or more weeks away
This is where it gets difficult to assign training without knowing your background. For Team RunnersConnect members, this will automatically be taken care of for you in your training plan on the site. For others, here is my general advice:
- This weekend do a hard long run. I would repeat whatever long run you last had. If it was something like 20 with a fast finish, perform that workout again.
- Next week perform a hard week of training. It doesn’t need to be spectacular, but you do want to get in a good 10-day training block where you can get your fitness back up after the taper and prepare your body to run hard in a few weeks.
- Beyond that, it gets difficult to provide specifics without knowing your goals or training history. But, I’d suggest 2-3 weeks of harder training with a 10-day modified taper.
Best of luck
I sincerely hope the race is not cancelled. If the show does go on, don’t forget to check out or very in-depth Marine Corps race strategy guide.
If the unfortunate happens and the race is cancelled, hopefully this advice can help and many of the other great marathons are able to accommodate some extra runners and provide you a chance to show your fitness.
Regardless, get organized and try not to stress about the situation until you know for sure the outcome. Good luck!
