Breaking The 3-Hour Barrier: 11 Lessons For A 11-Minute Marathon PR.

What does it take to shave 11 minutes off your marathon time and go sub-3 hours in less than 5 months? Let me share 11 lessons I learned during this crazy journey. Let’s Freaking Go!

In April I ran a 3:10:53 (7:17 average per mile) at the Eugene Marathon with a full squad of +10 friends. Training, staying at the Airbnb, and racing all together! That weekend was a movie.

5 Months later… On October 6th I ran the Portland Marathon with Tom Peterson and the homies came out to support. May 26th I posted on Strava a public service announcement that I would run sub 3 hours and break the “gold standard” of marathons. You need a 6:52 per mile average to pull that off and in the back of my mind for 5 months was this idea that I would sit at 6:50 per mile on race day.

I was on a mission.

Reminding myself often that goals are what you want and commitments are what you do.

Sunday, October 6th was a super sunny 70-degree day in Portland. The weather showed up just as much as all the racers that day. I ran exactly a 6:50 average across the super hilly 26.2 miles. Cutting off exactly 11 minutes and 30 seconds off my time.

2:59:23

Mission Accomplished.

It was a huge day! Cheers to the 11-minute and 30 second PR. I wanted to share 11 lessons from reflecting on the race.

1. Fueling is vital. During the race roughly hit a gel every 20 minutes. That was something I had improve on a lot carbs for performance in this block. In training, it is vital but so is what you are fueling your mind with. What thoughts do you want to have? What will help you push through when things get tough? What do you feed your soul?

2. “No one made you do this.” - That hit me out of nowhere at mile 14 to 18 in South Portland/Reed College. My legs were hurting we were ripping up and down hills, I looked a few feet ahead of me at the 3:00 hour pacer and that hit me. “No one is making me do this… no one is forcing me… I can just slow down or stop if I want to…” But thennnnnn I shut that whisper down. If I can hold on for 5 steps (Clayton Young inspired) I can hold on for any distance. If there was a gun to my head or my friends and families lives on the line, I wouldn’t slow down. So why would I slow down now? “You got this legs, here we go legs, you are going to make it. just keep going” I just kept repeating that.

3. Consistent & simple strength work - strength work goes a long way. I would hit my favorite things 2 times per week. Front or Back Squat x5 x5 x3 x3 x2 x2 heavy-ish then do Glute Ham Raises, Rear Foot Elevated splits squats, back extensions, core work, and isometric calf work. Felt good push if not just hit it a little lighter. THE BIGGEST THING WAS THE DAILY DEPOSIT.

4. High Quality Speed Work - Loved the quicker than marathon pace repeat miles with 60 seconds rest between. (Next time do it in the mornings) for some reason I love running in the heat. Get tan, it’s hot, Portland summer is sick, etc - that hurt my training at times. Overcooked, not hydrated enough. I learned my lesson being Icarus a few Tuesdays these past few months.

5. It all comes down to… having fun. - fun with the workouts, fun with your friends, fun racing, training is the fun part. I keep asking myself “Am I having the most fun in the history of ever?” I learned that quote from Yogi Roth. It reminds me that the secret sauce to being your best and doing great things comes back to figuring out what fun means to you.

6. Document Publicly - Post on Strava connect with others running and share what you are doing. It isn’t about creating content it is about flying your freak flag, putting out a bat signal of what you are all about. It attracts others on the same mission as you.

7. Have a mantra. - On A Mission - People want to follow people on a mission is a quote I heard from Zach Pogrob and Sahil Bloom. Hearing that quote set my heart on fire because it is so true. Your mission gives you energy.

8. The Hype Helps - In the race your legs are fire and your heart is beating out of your chest discover a way to hype other people up. If you see someone you know just yell “Let’s go!” and their name. The people with the most energy are usually the ones giving it out! I saw Karen Gonzalez, these few dudes in first place crushing, Moi from Jiu Jitsu, Richie at the start line, Caroline before the gun went off, and my friends at different spots during the race.

9. Tell your friends you love them - Jake Holcroft aka The Hit King for Portland Pilots Baseball surprised me at Mile 23 ish. Dude rocking his polo and slacks because he was a recruit breakfast now that he is a coach for the baseball team. Starts running 6:50 pace for almost 2 miles telling me to keep going. Just a casual 2 hours and 30 minutes into a race my former student-athlete who I coached for 6 years and an incredible friend surprised me. Tell them you love em.

10. You are capable of more than you think. Commit to things in public. Do what you said you were going to do. There is so much untapped inside you.

11. You're racing with people, not against them. On race day everyone is challenging themselves to do something magical. Same distance at their pace to become who they want to be. That Magic. That’s Magis (more).

2 Extra for the 30-second PR.

1. Golf Shake Out was elite the day before. Golfed 9 holes with the squad and got a birdie on hole 8.

2. Stop pretending jet lag isn’t real - Extra Travel takes a toll. Flying back from Greece and 24.5 hr travel day caught up with me. Made a good audible on total mileage and moving speed days.

Bryant Ferate Marathon Starter Pack

Strava

Race Shoes

Training Shoes

Watch Garmin 255

Go To Speed Day Playlist Illenium

Marathon Documentaries Max Joliffe & Clayton Young

Inspiration Zach Pogrob Obsession

On A Mission George Heaton

Best Hydration Pineapple Coconut Water

Thank you for the consistent support. Getting back on the saddle of consistently writing. If you are running a marathon, starting your running journey, hitting up run clubs, honestly if you are investing in your health in any way hit me up! Would love to be a part of it and support YOU.

If you connected with this in any way let me know. Keep stacking those daily deposits and making every day the best day of the year until tomorrow!

Ferate