Endurance running

Richard Joseph Spinelli completed a 42 mile Last Man Standing race with no formal training and no prior race experience, then ran the 2024 Austin Marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes. The seven entries in this cluster explain the distances and formats behind those results and what published research says about training for and pacing a long race. The New York City Marathon went from 55 finishers in 1970 to about 55,000 in 2024, The Guardian noted, and Outside counted roughly 500 certified backyard ultras in 83 countries in 2024.

Entries in Endurance running

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  The Marathon Distance

  From the Athens Games of 1896 to the 42.195 kilometre race run on roads worldwide.

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  Marathon Training Principles

  Four research findings on how amateur runners prepare for 26.2 miles, one study at a time.

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  Marathon Pacing and Even Splits

  Checkpoint data from very large fields of finishers, and what it says about spreading effort over 26.2 miles.

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  Negative Splits in Distance Running

  Finishing faster than you started: the physiology behind it and the limits researchers place on it.

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  The Austin Marathon

  Texas road race first run in 1992, followed mile by mile from start corral to Capitol finish.

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  Ultramarathon Running

  The sport beyond the marathon, sorted into fixed distances, fixed times and the formats in between.

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  The Backyard Ultra Format

  A race that ends only when every rival stops, taken apart one hourly lap at a time.