Don't under estimate the long run.....

I believe the long run is one of the meat and potato elements of a solid running program , especially for the distance runner. It is the staple of marathon runners and for anyone who followed Coe, Snell and the likes both these middle distance legends Incorporated the long run into their program.

For me I see it serving a number of purposes. The first, in the marathon runners case, is that it provides you with a chance to spend time on your feet. This in turn teaches your body to function efficiently over a sustained period of time as well as, in the latter stages of the long run, understand a little about running strong despite feeling weary. lastly it helps build endurance strength.

How long becomes the ultimate question and I guess ultimately this depends on what your standard run is and what you are preparing for in the first place. An ultra runner would run substantially longer that a marathon runner who in turn would expect to cover more ground that a 400m runner. The main aim though is time on your feet to build strength.

From the wombats experience when I was running at my best I was doing regular long runs and even at times when my training suffered it was mu long run that I kept as a constant and in doing so this allowed me to retain a significant degree of strength that I may have other wise lost.

I know this sounds logical however I have beaten runners who were faster than me but not as strong and in turn I have been beaten by runners who I was faster than but not as strong as. The strong runners are usually the guys who make the long run for home when the kickers are happy to wait and not waste strength on a long drawn out battle..

If you are not doing this in your program then it is something that you need to consider....

Barrel on wombats...