Training Like An ELITE MARATHON Runner For 7 Days *Brutal*

With the 2024 Paris Olympics just around the corner, the marathon event is definitely going to be one to watch! But have you ever wondered what those elite athletes go through day in and day out? Well, Mark attempts to see how difficult it is by following a week's sessions' of British Olympic Marathon hopeful, Phil Sesemann's! What could possibly go wrong?!😅 #trainwithCOROS
00:00 Have you ever wondered how an elite marathoner trains?
00:14 Phil Sesemann - 2 hr 08 mins elite marathoner and Olympic hopeful
01:09 An elite marathoner’s training plan to be the best
02:49 The easy runs for the week
03:14 Day one of the marathon plan
08:26 Day two
11:04 Day three
16:15 Day four
19:35 Day five
22:10 Day six
23:45 Day seven and final day of the marathon plan
24:15 Personal thoughts of the training week
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[@gtn]

Do you think Mark did well to be an elite marathoner for a week?

[@joslinaritonang2498]

Yes, absolutely

[@BagOfH0lding]

Average heart rate 139 at 5 minutes per KM 0.o Thats amazing

[@HenkieHeadache]

No. Mark said he ran too hard in the 1st run. He went even faster in the (same) 2nd easy session. No wonder why he was bunked. It's kinda stupid to do so, if you know how it should be done. Phil gave a simple explanation why easy should be easy.

[@derrickmurray3782]

What makes him think he can jump into 200km a week without decades pf build up More pointless content

[@peterfranzjr.1190]

Mark is less scared of swans than Si is of cows

[@larrylem3582]

GTN Coach's Corner: "My name's Mark and I increased my training load by 200% in a week. Is that bad?"

[@dorins3787]

Yes.

[@pauljennings2425]

😂

[@gtn]

Hahahaha how does your own medicine taste Mark?

[@panzerveps]

Plot twist: this was the recovery week

[@dominofuel8050]

Would've been one of Kiptum's recovery weeks.

[@theunknown21329]

Off season weeks lol

[@gtn]

* Mark has left the chat

[@tf-ok]

His average heart rate of 136bpm for a 4'56" pace is impressive.

[@neilfox9540]

I just checked mine for comparison as I did a 7k a few days ago with same average. I got 143 ave HR. My max is about 185 and resting just under 50.

[@tf-ok]

@@neilfox9540 that's impressive too! My sub 5 mins pace usually sends my BPM to around 155-160 🥹

[@yannickm1396]

That does not say allot without knowing max heart rate.

[@wendifx]

its best KM not avg pace in total run

[@jonatascardosodesouza8350]

He used to be a Pro Triathlete...

[@HenningColin]

I did a 100 mile week a few years ago and I took the week off work to do it - I was floored. To do 200km with sessions in there whilst working and having a newborn is mindblowing. Amazing effort, Mark! Out of curiosity, what was your weekly volume when you were pro?

[@lizzierayner8054]

23:48 held up by some excellent company on that last run 😉

[@gtn]

Thanks for joining in! 🙌

[@Thrash155]

The Key, I've taken out of all of this is the Build Up and Neuromuscular Endurance. These runs take years to build up to and Mark is No slouch and, in my opinion, still an elite runner. All kinds of respect to the dedicated runners who put these kinds of miles/kilometers in. Crazy.. :)

[@gtn]

This is some crazy distance 🤯Having that muscular endurance will really make a big difference

[@jameseden9380]

Love that the swan still had a go despite your fearless woahs. Probably heard you call him a rozzer.

[@apostolisparga]

3 something pre kilometre? That's my cycling pace 😂😂

[@gtn]

💨

[@NoorSmal]

Great effort! I wonder how this compared to the 7 marathons in 7 days in terms of feeling and fatigue.

[@neilfox9540]

I can't actually believe how chirpy and fresh Mark looks after these sessions. It would be good to know what a 'normal' week of training Mark does to put the additional load into context. One thing I don't understand about all these double days is how and when the body is able to adapt without rest? Is a good nights sleep and right nutrition really enough?

[@gtn]

That's an interesting point! It'll probably depend on who's doing the training and what you're used to 👀

[@jonahwoolley4465]

Yeah, like I'm already pretty tired with my current training schedule, and if I do a double day (which I do on occasion, an intense run in the morning and a strength session in the evening), I'm dead destroyed and 100% need a rest day to recover and adapt. A schedule this intense would do me no good, at least in my current shape, since as you said I'd never adapt without the rest. But I guess elite marathoners are just built different, and probably used to this volume so their body adapts quicker.

[@craig123456543]

2:28 Prefer Kilian's peak week? Also coincidentally 203km but with 9,000m elevation thrown in. Plus, 105km with 1800m elevation on the bike! 😂 (Strava 6-12 May)

[@markthrelfall3577]

😂

[@connorgray2896]

Insane

[@stevo68]

When I was in the army, back in the dark ages, I got to the point where pushing myself became almost addictive. But these elite athletes are just not human.

[@damodaraomalley3974]

cool video man, i felt your face drop when he told you it was a full marathon distance in the middle of an already busy week

[@zikriaiman2583]

Loving this video! Also the new Retro Pack Coros Pace 3 are looking stunning! keep it up!

[@TheChez1230]

Legend!! 🎉

[@theboybrand]

What an effort! 👏 I was surprised you didn't pick up an injury!

[@philipeick-vocalmusic]

Very interestingly set up - cool video!

[@nyparkc_TV]

Wow~ That's amazing! I run 15km three times a week in a park in Korea, but I find it difficult to breathe.

[@isaacplaysbass8568]

Wow, impressed. My legs woukd not b ready for this!

[@gtn]

Mark's just about got through 😉

[@michaelhatch1994]

I was beginning to wonder what country you lived in that it never rained. You have restored my faith in English weather. It should be considered that your 3:30 kms are really my 7:00 kms.

[@markthrelfall3577]

😂

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

Great video and you and the "elite maratron runner" are great inpertions to me who can bearly do 2k steps a day every day because of pain in feet and legs though I just got new max custion runner that help a ton.... Which it was great to see you humbled by a 1% alflete and you ddid great you nknew your limits and handled the let down with honor and grace!

[@trinerd]

Kipchoge does a lot of his easy runs at 5 min/km, so the rest of us have no business trying to build mileage running faster than that. I ran with a club that had us doing all long and easy runs at 4:30/km and ended up running a marathon 9 minutes slower than when I was not even looking at my watch during easy runs.

[@charlesdufour9276]

22:30 The look that says "Foolishness this is, my young padawan".

[@JamesSmith-iz3pl]

Well done Mark, very impressive. Beautiful landscape you were running in. I'm now in Sydney but it reminded me of where I lived and ran in the UK. Kennet and Avon canal?

[@sebastianschreiber5302]

Its also quite nice to see you "blow up" on an easy run. Cuz that recently happened to me. That never happened to me on an easy day before.

[@oskarboberg4815]

Mark is a beast

[@leebrown3645]

Who'd have thought that running over 200km a week would have been so hard....?😉😁 Mark must have been mental to try this one. Brave man 😉

[@gtn]

Hahaha now you don't have to try 😉

[@sebastianschreiber5302]

Mark runs in england but the weather looks more like spain. What black magic is this. :D

[@sebastianschreiber5302]

and at the end of the week the weather is back to normal

[@gtn]

We have the odd week 😉

[@gabrieldillet3666]

Great video and dedication from Mark ! Funny how there's no speed work!

[@garrettturbett593]

It’s baked into the longer runs: 3-4x 5k in the 30k and the progressive 40k. And an elite marathoner won’t be hanging about on those sessions. But training for an elite runner is very individualised. For example, a runner has very good speed then doing more sustained threshold work might be what they more for the marathon.

[@gtn]

This was all about keeping it steady 👌

[@stefanhansen5882]

Interesting. I'm curious to know how long you typically run in a week.

[@melibaut]

You're run to/from work is gorgeous! I'd rather have a family of geese than the crazy drivers on my commute!

[@gtn]

Hahahaha that's very true! Could you ride to work?

[@user-lv7fx7ff5e]

My peak week for my 3rd marathon was 145 km (I work from 8.30 - 17) According to Monday - AM - 11k in 1h 12m = 6.35 min/km pace🤔 PM - 15 k 1h 12- 4.8 min/km pace so Phil really runs at that pace??? As his Marathon pace 3.02 min/km Thanks for video and answer)) All the best from Russia 🤩

[@jeroencox6264]

I think this would've been better if you had based it upon hours instead of distance. That would've probably scaled a lot beter, when I am coaching I always give the athletes their workouts in hours/minutes. This makes it easier for them to listen to their body and go at their own pace.

[@sebastienbrochard9812]

Lol ... a big running month for me is 120km!? ... 😂

[@blubbblubb6239]

I really wonder, how one can have enough energy for such a training besides a full time job. Left alone a little family and a renovation going on. I often struggle with training even on days without work and I know many like me...

[@zwengji]

Discipline and making it a priority

[@treesoul00]

It’s about 18 miles a day like he says halfway through the video. I was doing 15 miles a day and kept it up for three weeks but the blisters were brutal. Still not totally healed. And I’m nothing close to elite so it was turtle time. It wasn’t all at once either but it was all my extra time. No time for watching any TV, I would have kept it up if I had a treadmill with a screen. Only time off my feet to rest was basically just sleep. I stopped bc I want to do more cycling instead.

[@panzerveps]

He's got the advantage of having this as his job, so he can do some of the efforts while at work.

[@abhi4121]

Hi Mark. Very impressive week indeed. Quick question: i noticed your cadence is around 160 in most of these runs. Is this something you would work on to increase your cadence? I’ve found it virtually impossible to increase my cadence..

[@pauljaffray6437]

Well done. I did 600k last August. Certainly felt alot fitter after 🙂

[@gtn]

That's super impressive! Where you training for anything?

[@katiev6456]

Let's face it the real grafter/ endurance hero here is Cassie at home with the baby while mark has fun trotting around the countryside!

[@Nyelands]

What model is the black and white On shoe on the shelf in the studio?

[@maximeleon5794]

Does anybody know the name of the software/app he uses to plan his runs with a weekly view?

[@JackCastle]

This is built within coros watch app

[@bigjohn2811]

Runs based on time would work better. Lower fitness runners are spending more time at those effort levels compared to higher fitness runners. Limiting runs to 60 to 65 minutes, except for hard sessions including long runs, would better for most people.

[@lfcamerican4366]

Not sure if running to pace and running on soft surfaces works. You're slower on the softer surface, so you run harder to maintain pace, so your form drops, and then you do more damage than the soft surface mitigates. Run to duration and HR/Power and you can run on whatever surface, gradient, or temp you want.

[@juul8933]

Something else.. if running 200km/week.. you need new shoes every three weeks or so? what?

[@Denchouz]

За три дня пробежал брат😅

[@the23er]

Had an incident with geese protecting their duckling a few weeks back, been pretty careful with them since then.... i dont want anything from them, yet they dont believe me.

[@markthrelfall3577]

😂😂

[@CoelhoSports]

20miles a day x 6 days a week? That's doing more harm than good.

[@mathiasreubens3098]

What i really wonder is how many shoes they use in a year 😅

[@gtn]

We've got some content on that coming... keep your notification on 👀

[@stevo68]

When I was young and left for my basic training, I took some of the shittiest shoes I could find. I thought it wasn't going to be worth wearing good ones because of the punishment they'd be enduring. It was one of the stupidest decisions I made.

[@karstenmeinders4844]

I think it's crazy, even hazardous to run 200 k without building up for it. Or did Mark? Nevertheless, a bold endeavour!

[@markthrelfall3577]

As I state, it’s not wise you jump straight in on this. Whilst I didn’t build up to this, due to life the past 6 months, I have got a lot of conditioning and mileage in my legs from years of this. Still I chose to scale a couple of bits back, for this reason

[@kvErsatz]

Great effort, but also a great way to get injured really fast =)

[@SBoots29]

Well, good on you Mark. First, how do you find the time? Home life, A beautiful family to take care of and work. That's a job in it self. Then this brutal training block. Not for me. Cheers

[@dmitrijleonov5217]

156-160 cadence seems a bit low for the pace you run at, dont you think?

[@markthrelfall3577]

Tend to be around 165-170 when at race pace. But yeah, I was on the low side here. Possibly due to lack of consistent running for the past 6 months or so

[@ulfeliasson5413]

I did 185km one week, At a 6 min/km pace, Not like those lazy bums who are finished after 1,5 hour per day...:-) i will never understand just how fast they are. Depressing really.

[@ironman140.6]

Hi Mark, why did you attempt to do this what was the point?

[@markthrelfall3577]

For entertainment. I could have just dialled in to a call and list out a week of training, or I could have fun attempting it, and showing you it at the same time. I was more than happy to do this, and found it really interesting

[@dudeshiya]

his lips seem to indicate he is dehydrated LOL God. 200-250 weekly! That is insane! Definitely not healthy for the body.

[@KlemenSuligojTri]

Took me way too long to realize this is basically an ad...

[@markthrelfall3577]

Coros are a partner of ours and allowed me access to Phil and his training. It wasn’t branded or an ad in any way. I threw to their site because, well how often do you get access to an elite marathon runner’s training 😂

[@Archeris]

Sadly the whole of youtube and Social Media are basically there to sell you a product. Of course its fun to see these people attempt stuff like this, but don't forget what social media and KZbin have become.

[@markthrelfall3577]

@@Archeris Also, let's not forget that these videos are free to watch. We rely on our amazing partners to be able to produce these for you :)

[@Archeris]

@@markthrelfall3577 I know, I know. It's just hard to know when people are genuine about certain stuff or are just saying it because they have to sell a product. Makes it hard to see/enjoy certain content haha.

[@sebastienpoirier40]

Thank you for doing them, we love it. Most of us also understand that although this is free to watch for us, there is a cost of doing it, and having help by partners is expected.

[@Piipolinoo]

There is like no knowledge gain from a stupid "experiment" like, even less for the viewer

[@jt.8144]

waste of bandwidth. THUMB DOWN.

[@28mouse85]

As much as i love phil. And this was a great video. But hes one of the very few who run over 160k/100mile per week. I know many professionals or elites who do less than 140k per week.

[@danieljones3306]

It depends on what distance they specialize in but the majority of elite marathon runners will be doing 100+ miles a week which is pretty standard.

[@28mouse85]

@@danieljones3306 no. They do not. Probably around 20% do over 100 miles per week. Majority do less. People see kiptums training plan and think thats what everyone runs when they couldn’t be more wrong.

[@danieljones3306]

​@@28mouse85Kiptum is an extreme example though and from what I've heard he was running around 180mpw. I definitely don't think most pros run that much but If we're talking about those that are running 2:05-2:10 then I'm pretty certain more than 20% will be running over 100mpw

[@28mouse85]

@@danieljones3306 kiptum and cam levins are the only marathon runners im aware of who regularly ran over 170 mpw whilst at peak of training. Eliud and emile cairess are around 130mpw. There are alot of examples who run 100+ per week. And yeah ur probably correct the % will be much higher the quicker you go especially sub 2:08. But those in between the 2:25-2:10 time majority are under 100miles per week.