How to Train for a Marathon the Right Way — Lessons from 20 Years of Science

Olympian and author Pete Pfitzinger, co-author of Advanced Marathoning, joins us to talk about the new 4th edition of his classic marathon training manual. We explore his philosophy on marathon training, how he updates the book for 2025, and how new tech like super shoes, hydrogels, and heart-rate variability are changing the sport. Learn how to build your best marathon plan, balance work and recovery, fuel properly, and avoid common mistakes that derail runners. ➡️ Advanced Marathoning (4th Edition) is available now wherever books are sold. This episode is brought to you by the Wahoo’s KICKR RUN – go to https://⁠wahoofitness.com⁠ and use promo code MHRUN to get 25% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY, plus a free $319 KICKR Headwind Fan with your treadmill order! Timestamped Chapters 00:00 – Intro & New York City Marathon wrap-up 02:25 – Who is Pete Pfitzinger? Origins of Advanced Marathoning 04:58 – Why “Advanced” doesn’t mean elite 09:58 – The philosophy behind Advanced Marathoning 13:57 – Common reader questions & schedule adjustments 15:58 – What changed in the 4th edition 19:04 – Nutrition breakthroughs: carbs, caffeine, protein 21:26 – Double thresholds & why they’re not for everyone 23:26 – When to double runs and how to avoid overtraining 27:58 – The mid-week medium-long run 30:09 – Running economy explained 33:13 – Should everyone race in super shoes? 35:12 – Biggest marathon mistakes runners make 37:09 – Learning your own physiology 39:32 – Long runs, recovery, and realistic training 46:19 – The new science of nutrition and recovery 50:47 – The future of marathon training 52:15 – Pete’s Mount Rushmore of running books 📩 Questions about training, race previews, or to send us your hot takes? Email us at podcast@marathonhandbook.com. 🎤 Leave us a voice memo for our mailbag episodes: marathonhandbook.com/podcast 📸 Instagram: @marathon.handbook 📘 Facebook: @marathonhandbook 📰 Join 265,000+ runners getting our daily newsletter: marathonhandbook.com/newsletter 👍 Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments. 🎧 Audio version available wherever you get podcasts + watch the video version on Spotify. 📺 Subscribe on YouTube for weekly running deep dives. #marathontraining #runningpodcast #petepfitzinger #advancemarathoning #runners #superShoes #marathonhandbook #longrun #runningtips #marathoncoach