“The long run is the most important” is the message that gets screamed loud and clear to anybody who has ever signed up for a marathon.
But is it really? Well, yes and no.
The long run produces numerous training benefits for us in our quest for marathon greatness, some of them include:
Physiological Adaptations:
The long run allows the body to prepare for race day execution. It builds the physical pieces of your body that will do the work on race day. It will also allow the body to gain necessary aerobic and metabolic adaptations, helping you run more efficiently. And, if you fuel your long runs properly, it will allow your stomach to up-regulate the absorption of carbs so that you can get more carbs into your blood on race day.
Mental Adaptations:
The long run allows the runner to build the mental endurance necessary as well as to build confidence for race day. When the run includes things like race pace miles, the confidence can be bolstered even more.
Skills Gained:
Learning how to fuel and hydrate both before your long run as well as during your long run will help you know how to do it well on race day. No unexpected GI issues and you know that you’re going to get enough if you’ve put the practice in during your long runs.
However, the messaging of “your long run is most important” creates some misunderstanding that leads to problematic training practices. To understand where these problems come from, we need to first understand where the long run falls in relation to all your other training.