How Winter Running Builds a Sub-3 Marathon Base

Your fall marathon is done, and your next race isn’t until spring. What do you do now?

This time in-between training blocks is called the “season-before-the-season”. How much should you be running and how should you handle this time to build a strong base and hit your next training program strong?

You need to be training all year round, but the body and mind can only handle so much. An 18 week marathon training program is intense, the season-before-the-season is a time to recharge and target weaknesses, and improve your aerobic engine. 

No Such thing as an Off Season

If you look in any running textbook there are no sections for an off season. This is a concept that most coaches don’t follow. Take it out of your vocabulary. December and January, commonly the in-between months when you haven’t started your next training plans, are key months that can help you hit sub 3 in your next marathon.

As a serious runner with running goals, you can’t just run a 12 week training block for a spring and fall marathon and take time off running the rest of the year. At best you’ll make slight progress but more likely you’ll just plateau as a runner. If you take an off season, a complete break from running for a month or two over winter, it will be extremely difficult to see the elusive sub 3 marathon time.

Choose right intensity

The season-before-the-season is not about extending your marathon training. It’s about targeting weaknesses. There are 3 common weaknesses that most runners struggle with: Strength, speed, or their aerobic engine.

Strength

Strength training is the key to injury prevention. Adding in 2 strength sessions per week will transform how resilient your body is. 

This is a period where you have a bit more time and less fatigue and can schedule in the much needed strength training that is too often neglected during peak weeks of marathon training.

The optimal amount of strength sessions for someone focused on running is 1 – 45 minute lower body session and 1 – 45 minute full body session per week. That is enough to be seeing gains in your strength while not sacrificing on your running.

Speed

Too often marathon runners only train for the marathon and they never take the time to fit in top end speed training. The faster your top end is, the faster you can run the marathon. Feel like your aerobic engine is strong but are lacking speed? Incorporate 1-2 speed sessions per week and reduce or skip your long run.

1 workout at threshold and 1 v02 max workout per week is a good winter season structure if you want to focus on speed.

Aerobic Engine

Most runners are limited in their marathon performance by their aerobic engine. It’s the single biggest metric for getting a marathon PB. If you started running as an adult and have only been at it for a few years, then aerobic development should be top priority throughout the year.

I check out Reddit’s r/advancedrunning subreddit frequently. There are always people who comment on running their first marathon with 4 months of training and hitting 2:50. Later we only find out that they were a D1 athlete in University. I’m exaggerating a little bit but my point is that we can compare ourselves to the successes of other people not knowing what their background is. 

Aerobic development isn’t the sexy hero workouts, but the long continuous monotony of lacing up the shoes and hitting the pavement. There is no pay to win. No hacks or tips to become better. It’s what I love about the sport. The winter season is the perfect time to strengthen yourself mentally by hitting the roads with miles upon miles to develop your aerobic engine and hit the next level in your running.

In the “season-before-the-season” your mileage goals should be to maintain around your last marathon build, or to increase it. If you peaked last block at 40 miles, spend the winter season getting used to 40 miles as your default. Then if your next block peaks at 55 miles (90kms), then it won’t be a stretch for your body.

This isn’t extended marathon training

When many runners finish their fall marathon if they missed their goal time they often want to hit the ground running and keep pushing. They don’t want to lose fitness. They want to take revenge on their time since they were so close but just barely missed it.

The problem is that marathon training is hard, it’s intense, and it’s stressful on the body. If you do it for an extended period of time your body won’t be able to absorb the training.

If you take some time to recover but then start your marathon training 20-24 weeks out from your marathon instead of a typical 12-18 weeks out, the risk then becomes reaching your peak fitness too early. 

Let’s say you finished your last race in October and your next one isn’t scheduled until May. You take 4 weeks post October race to recover. You still have 10-12 weeks over winter before your next training block begins.

Take this time to build or maintain mileage, do the much needed strength training that may have been neglected, take a break from the mental load of marathon training by enjoying running again. Turn off mile splits on your watch and run just by feel for a few months. 

What A Winter Week Might Look Like

Plain and simple let’s take an example:

Runner 1: Last training block they peaked at 40 miles (65 km’s), running 5 days per week, no history of strength training, no history of injuries. Marathon time of mid 3 hours.

Winter Season: Focus on Aerobic development. Add 1 day per week of running, with 1 rest day. Add 1 day of strength training focusing on lower body. Aim to run 6-8 miles (10-13 km’s) per day at an easy pace. Long term goal of getting up to 60-70 miles (100-110 kms).

Runner 2: Marathon PB of 3:01, peaked their last block at 70 miles (112 km’s), run 6-7 days per week, and did regular strength training. They could either focus on speed or focus on aerobic development.

Winter Season: Reduce intensity but maintain mileage. Aim for 55-60 miles (90-100 km’s) per week. Focus on Lactate Threshold workouts once per week.

Summary

The season before the season is the most overlooked phase of marathon training. Winter isn’t about extending your marathon block or chasing fitness peaks—it’s about building durability, fixing weaknesses, and strengthening your aerobic base so your next training cycle actually works.

There is no true off-season for serious runners, but there is a smarter way to train between races. Winter is the ideal time to maintain or gradually increase mileage, add consistent strength training, and selectively work on speed or aerobic development without the physical and mental stress of marathon-specific workouts.

Runners who use the winter months intentionally—rather than taking extended layoffs or forcing marathon intensity year-round—enter their next training block healthier, stronger, and better prepared to chase a sub-3 marathon.