The Grand Plan

Nick Bester Sub 4 hour training plan

I am setting out my stall now. This is my plan for the next 12 months. 

My fastest marathon to date is the Whistlestop Marathon of 2005, I ran that in 3:56:46. I was extremely proud that day. I’ve run sub 4 twice since then, Twin Cities in 2008, (3:59:23) and Grandma’s Marathon in 2012 (3:59:55). 

Four hours is a good benchmark for the average runner. It’s a nice round figure. It’s also half the pace of the world record holder. It gives you something to think on when you’re out running at four hour pace.

“The world record holder runs twice as fast as this.” Mind boggling.

While I would have like to have run below four hours a few more times, things never worked out. I think I got a bit of a psychological block after a while.

Living on my runner’s high immediately after finishing in Duluth this year, I looked at Boston Marathon Qualifying Times. For my age group it’s 3:50:00. Twenty eight runners in my age group at Grandma’s posted a BQ time this year. Surely I could then? Couldn’t I?

I paused for a while. I think we all tend to get a little carried away with ideas while on our runners high after an event. 

A couple of years ago. I considered running an Ultramarathon during one of these post marathon rushes of blood to the head. So, I got off my arse, found a training plan and competed in an Ultra. I’m embarrassed to say I finished first overall in it, and in a much faster time than I expected. So I know I CAN do these things if I put my mind to it.

We all can do anything we put our minds to.

I searched around for a suitable sub-four hour training plan.

Recently, I have enjoyed following the videos of Nick Bester on YouTube. He has a great personality, and his individual training work has produced some amazing results. Anya Culling for example, went from being a 4:35:00 marathoner to qualifying to run for Great Britain (2:34:00) in the space of two years. That fact really piqued my interest. Of course I’m not going to get any personal training. But the substance of his plan structures must be basically the same across the board.

I found his website and downloaded his sub 4 plan and studied it. It’s a lot different to the Hal Higdon plans I’ve used for almost 20 years. There’s weight training in there, which would be a new experience for me. The plan also seems to contain less total miles, but more miles at a higher intensity. 

Most importantly, as Nick is based in the UK. Parkrun forms a part of the training structure. As you know, I love parkrun. Basically this plan allows me to run a flat out fast 5K every other week. I was pretty well sold at that point. 

I’m adopting the plan immediately for the Twin Cities marathon on October 1st. Now, I don’t expect to go sub 4 there this year. But I will get an idea if my 60 year old body will run that fast. I can then aim for a Boston Qualifier time at Grandma’s Marathon a year from now. 

Exciting days are ahead, that’s for sure.