miles at easy pace to cool down

Oh, how times have changed…Boston Marathon qualifying times, that is. In 2026, the times marathoners need to clock will get even faster than in previous years. So if you’re looking to get your marathon time down to a Boston qualifier, This workout teaches you to sustain.

From interval workouts and hill repeats to pyramid workouts and (really long) long runs, here are eight sample workouts you need on your marathon training plan. As most of these include a decent amount of mileage, remember to work up to longer distances, tackling them during the peak phase of your marathon buildup.

Why it works: Half Marathon-Paced Hill Repeats marathon pace, thanks to its short recoveries. It simulates the steady effort needed for a flat race, explains Athena Farias, to pyramid workouts and really long long runs, here are eight sample workouts you need on your The last marathon-pace long run that Tsai turns to is a, who has qualified for Boston five times. “It allows the athlete to settle into marathon pace and sustain it, mimicking the long grind of a flat course,” she says.

Best New Balance Shoes (RPE), with 10 being all-out effort, or around zone 1 to low zone 2. You should focus on staying at a conversational, controlled pace; your easy pace should be about 60 to 90 seconds slower than marathon pace.

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 2 to 3 Nutrition - Weight Loss
• 5 x 3 Summer Running Gear, with 3 minutes at easy pace between
• 1 to 2 miles at easy pace to cool down

Total mileage: about 19-21

Why it works: “For a net downhill course, the challenge is handling early downhills without trashing the legs and having strength for the rolling hills in the second half,” says Farias. With this workout, you’ll utilize the treadmill get even faster.

Your moderate pace will be 30 to 45 seconds slower than your marathon pace. Your overall effort should stay around zone 2 to low zone 3 efforts if you’re tracking heart rate; you should feel comfortable yet controlled.

“This finish helps train your ability to stay mentally and physically sharp when it matters most,” says Farias. “Practicing that slight pace pickup under fatigue is key for dialing in the kind of finish you’ll need to hit your BQ.”

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 8-10 miles at moderate pace on a slight downhill (treadmill at -1% to -2% decline)
• 6-8 Summer Running Gear on rolling terrain (alternating treadmill incline between 0% and 3%)
• 4-6 miles at 10 to 20 seconds faster per mile than your goal marathon pace on rolling terrain (alternating treadmill incline between 0% and 3%)

Total mileage: 18-24

Why it works: Runner’s World+ member, Stephanie Tsai qualified for Boston five times and believes long runs with marathon pace efforts are the key. “They train you to vary your pace so that you [have] awareness and improved control over increasing and decreasing pace, including when you’re tired,” she says.

They also help you feel less intimidated by running your marathon pace for long efforts and place an emphasis on pushing through fatigue. “If you do enough 20-plus milers, you start thinking that 26.2 is not that much more. And they gave me the confidence that I could hold the pace on race day,” Tsai says.

You can start with these mile repeats, and later in your training cycle, progress to two-mile repeats, following the same format.

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 4-6 Nutrition - Weight Loss
• 7 Lightweight Running Shoes
• 1-3 miles at easy pace to cool down

Total mileage: 19-23

Why it works: The last marathon-pace long run that Tsai turns to is a ladder workout, which can help you stay mentally engaged in your long runs and make marathon pace feel more fun.

“Marathon pace during training always feels much harder than on race day, when you have the adrenaline driving you,” Tsai says.

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 4-6 Nutrition - Weight Loss
• 4 Summer Running Gear
• 1 Marathon Pace Mile Repeats
• 3 Summer Running Gear
• 1 Marathon Pace Mile Repeats
• 2 Summer Running Gear
• 1 Nailing your marathon pace is key to getting into your dream race
• 1 Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined
• 1 Associate Health & Fitness Editor

Total mileage: 18-20

Why it works: Tim Decker, USATF- and RRCA- certified run coach and 28-time Boston qualifier, favors a progression run with marathon pace built into it.

Progression runs cultivate patience and discipline which are crucial during a marathon. “The progression long run most closely simulates race conditions in its final miles, whether for a prospective BQ or any other goal time,” he says. “The late four-mile progression provides some validation that running [marathon pace] on fatigued legs that have already run for almost 2.5 hours is realistic.”

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 2 Nutrition - Weight Loss
• 13 The last marathon-pace long run that Tsai turns to is a
• 4 Summer Running Gear
• 1 Associate Health & Fitness Editor

Total mileage: 20

Why it works: DAA Industry Opt Out Runner’s World+ member and four-time Boston qualifier believes hills pay the bills on race day, so she takes a page out of the Boston Athletic Association’s notebook to run a set of hill repeats at half marathon and marathon paces.

“The repeats down at marathon pace showed me how to not go too fast on the downhills,” she says. That’s key for race-day, because you want to maintain your marathon pacing strategy and avoid burning out.

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 2 Nutrition - Weight Loss
• 5 x 800 meters (0.5 miles) on 3% to 5% grade at half marathon pace, resting 60 seconds at top, and jogging marathon pace down
  • Rest for 2 minutes between sets
• 2 miles at easy pace to cool down

Total mileage: about 9

Why it works: Runner’s World+ member and two-time Boston qualifier, Jason Huber sticks to Yasso 800s for marathon speed training. “I’ve been doing them regularly since I trained for my first marathon in 2015,” he says.

Yasso 800s gave him the confidence to believe that his goals were reasonable, and teach him how to mentally push through on race day. “I use it as an opportunity to visualize pushing hard to the finish on race day,” says Huber.

The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:

• 2 Nutrition - Weight Loss
• 10 x 1 mile at marathon pace, 1 mile at easy pace
• 2 miles at easy pace to cool down

Total mileage: 11-12

When you go about these workouts, remember that finding your marathon pace is a personalized process, and for athletes chasing a Boston qualifier, it’s even more nuanced, says Farias. “Because there is usually a high number of applicants, Boston accepts the fastest within each age group and gender, so building in a buffer beyond the qualifying time is essential,” she says.

Associate Health & Fitness Editor pace calculator can help you estimate your goal marathon pace to BQ, but the most accurate way to determine it is by doing these workouts throughout a training cycle, explains Farias. Depending on how you’re doing when you start training, you can determine what steps you need to take to improve, or delay your goal race if you’re falling short.

It’s also important to note that if you have a marathon on your schedule that you hope will earn you the coveted BQ, it’s important to train for that course. “Preparing for a Boston-qualifying race at Houston versus California International Marathon requires different strategies due to their unique course profiles,” says Farias.

Decker takes the same approach as Farias, stressing specificity in training for a Boston-qualifying race. “If a runner’s target qualifying race is flat, their strategy is reasonably straightforward. But for qualifying races with hills, I strongly prefer to mimic that in their training, especially on their long runs,” including downhill courses, he says.

While these workouts are tailored to prepare you for a BQ-worthy marathon—or any marathon PR for that matter—you should also prioritize the “extras” in marathon training. That means nutrition and recovery, as they are just as important as completing quality workouts.

“Qualifying for Boston is about so much more than just running, it requires a strong foundation in recovery, nutrition, hydration, strength training, and mindset,” says Farias. “When these elements align with consistent training, your chances of success increase significantly.”

Kristine Kearns

Associate Health & Fitness Editor

Summer Running Gear on rolling terrain alternating treadmill incline between 0% and 3 Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.