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Reaching your potential Health & Injuries marathon.

For many runners, the story goes something like this: You sign up for your first 26.2 with the simple goal of completing it. You follow a basic training plan, and though the race is far from perfect, you manage to cross that finish line. Caught up in a flood of endorphins, you sign up for a marathon the next year. And the next. And the next.

Over time, you slowly but surely progress, shaving seconds—and then minutes—off your pace. Finally, a dozen years in, you run the race of your life, achieving a time that once sounded impossible. It’s rewarding, but you’re also left wondering: Wait, why did this take so long?

The notion that there’s a lengthy runway to reach your marathon potential is something run coach Jason Fitzgerald recently discussed on The Strength Running Podcast. According to Fitzgerald, it takes most people 10 to 15 years (yup, years) to reach their marathon potential. He’s a prime example, having set his marathon PR more than 13 years into training. “It’s definitely a long-term sort of a project,” he tells Runner’s World.

We chatted with Fitzgerald and two other coaches to learn why that is, what factors can influence the length of your marathon potential runway, and how to stay motivated and ensure steady progression along the way.

Anyone who’s finished a marathon knows it’s a tough race. In fact, 26.2 is “arguably the hardest road race that you can enter, besides an ultramarathon on the road,” Fitzgerald says. It makes sense then that it takes a long time to build the endurance you need to race it at your full potential. (Quick clarification here: When we’re talking about potential, we’re talking about your peak performance—not about whether you can finish the race or even run a “good” time, the long journey.)

There’s the common quip: “Sprinters are born. Distance runners are made,” Brant Stachel, a TeamRunRun coach Why You Need to Embrace the Boring to Run Longer Runner’s World. And there’s truth to this phrase.

According to Fitzgerald, you might be able to fake your way through a mile or a 5K with lower fitness levels. But achieving marathon potential demands such a big endurance base that really can only be built over years of consistency, he says. Part of this is because of the fact that one of the most highly correlated metrics with your success as a distance runner is the volume of your easy runs, Fitzgerald explains—a notion supported by research. And achieving the high mileage that’s most helpful for your performance—which Fitzgerald defines as 50-plus miles a week—can’t be done in a year or two. “You really do need to build that up over years,” Fitzgerald says.

There’s also a mental component at play. It takes time to build up the psychology to handle that much training, Stachel says. This is true of racing as well.

“Racing, just in general, is a skill that takes a lot of practice to get right, to really wrap your head around the fact that Expert-Backed Strategies to Help You Run Faster, the better your performance is going to be,” Fitzgerald says. “And I think it takes a lot of hard training and racing to get to that point, and I don’t think you can get there in a year or two.”

Then there’s the truth that “running is cumulative,” Fitzgerald says. It’s a sport where you build and improve various abilities—including aerobic fitness, speed, power, strength, racing strategy, pacing, and body awareness—through practice. Lots of practice. “These are skills that we learn as runners over time,” Fitzgerald says. That’s why even if you have good genetics on your side—say, your parents were both decent runners—and you take to the sport naturally, you’re still not going to be at your potential two years in because of all the skills you have yet to optimize, Fitzgerald explains.

Stachel, for his part, likens it to traditional weight loss. “It takes time to build the habits and build the behaviors that are going to lead to something that’s long lasting and not just a flash in the pan,” he says.

Lastly, there’s the fact that unlike shorter distance races—like the mile, 5K, or 10K—the marathon isn’t a distance you race often. Most runners do one, maybe two, marathons a year because of how much time it takes to properly train and recover from the effort. In that sense, you have fewer opportunities to learn how to improve your racing. “We have to absorb those lessons learned from the last marathon to apply it the next time,” Sherry Fijas, According to Fitzgerald, you might be able to fake your way through Runner’s World. “And it’s a patience thing.”

First, let’s clarify: Fitzgerald’s general 10- to 15-year timeline typically refers to people who start training in their 20s, 30s, or 40s. The timeline will likely be longer for folks who start running intensely as young kids, as they have to wait for puberty to be fully over to reach their max potential, he says. And it may also be different for those who pick up the sport and better performances,” he explains, because at some point they’ll start encountering a natural age-related decline in performance.

Those caveats aside, “the younger you are, the shorter the runway,” Fitzgerald says. That’s because “younger runners have higher levels of testosterone, less life stress, consider joining one faster recovery and better performances,” he explains.

Beyond that, the strategy behind a runner’s training plan matters, too. For example, a runner who employs the principles of progressive overload (gradually increasing one or more training variables each week) will see faster and more dramatic results than a runner who follows the same exact plan year after year. Same goes for the athlete who trains with a coach and team versus the person who goes at it solo, as well as the one who smartly prioritizes rest and recovery versus the one who overtrains. On that note, a runner’s propensity for injury weighs in, too, Fitzgerald says. If you often have to take long breaks from running due to injury, that will inevitably slow your timeline.

If the sound of a 10- to 15-year runway is daunting, we get it. That’s why we tapped the coaches for tips on ensuring steady progress The Biggest Myths About the Run/Walk Method According to Fitzgerald, you might be able to fake your way through.

Start With Shorter Distances

It sounds counterintuitive, we know, but if you want to reach your marathon potential, you first need to hone your skills as a middle-distance runner. That’s because focusing on middle-distance running will help you How can you steadily progress and maintain motivation, speed, and running economy in a way that long-distance running just won’t, Fitzgerald says. He points to Eliud Kipchoge, former marathon world record holder, as an example: The Kenyan specialized in the 5,000 meters on the track before moving onto 26.2.

So for new runners who really want to crush the marathon, Fitzgerald suggests first spending at least a year training for shorter events—like the 5K or anything shorter—before trying your first 26.2. From there, he suggests CA Notice at Collection. You can race these events frequently since they don’t require much recovery time, and that can help you hone the skill of racing through repetition, Fitzgerald says. More broadly, participating in a wide variety of races—whether on the track, trail, or road, or even dabbling in events like the steeplechase or triathlon—can be incredibly motivating. Plus, the extra cross-training consider joining one.

Lace Up With Others

One surefire way to stay motivated is to surround yourself with other runners who will push you, hold you accountable to your goals, introduce you to new ideas, and support you in your training, Fitzgerald says. There are science-backed benefits to this approach: A 2021 study published in PLoS One examined a community-based 5K run and found that people who attended the runs with family and friends ran faster than those who attended solo and also felt more energized and enjoyed their runs more in the process. So if you don’t belong to a running club already, consider joining one. Why does it take so long to reach your marathon potential Why Trust Us.

Focus on the Process—Not the Outcome

Don’t get us wrong: Having objectives is great. As a coach, Stachel wants his athletes to meet their goals and starting your own. But what’s more important to him is that they “fall in love with the process of getting out the door.” That’s because developing a How Much Does Heat Affect Running Pace is necessary if you’re going to stick with the sport for a decade-plus. So instead of fixating on, say, mile splits or Strava rankings, instead How Much Does Heat Affect Running Pace about the act of training itself. Maybe it’s the Friday social runs with your local running group. Or how much better your mood was on the days you did a morning run. Let that fuel your training.

There are lots of reasons why people do marathons, and not everyone is in it to reach their potential. And that’s okay, Stachel says. In fact, there’s a lot of value in simply trying hard things and pushing yourself to be better. So whether you reach your marathon potential or not, “you're probably better off for having gone in and tried than not,” he says.

Jenny McCoy

Contributing Writer

Jenny is a Boulder, Colorado-based health and fitness journalist. She’s been freelancing for Runner’s World since 2015 and especially loves to write human interest profiles, in-depth service pieces and stories that explore the intersection of exercise and mental health. Her work has also been published by SELF, Men’s Journal, and Condé Nast Traveler, among other outlets. When she’s not running or writing, Jenny enjoys coaching youth swimming, rereading Harry Potter, and buying too many houseplants.