How I Ran a Sub-3-Hour Marathon While Maintaining Muscle

Running a sub-3-hour marathon is a dream for many runners, but maintaining muscle mass while doing so? That was a real challenge once I started to take running seriously.

I’m 6’2” and weigh 185 pounds. When I ran my first marathon, I was losing weight and significant muscle mass from running all the miles during race training.

As a lifelong athlete turned hybrid athlete, I set out to prove it was possible to break 3-hours and maintain muscle. The result: a 2:57:31 marathon finish without sacrificing size or strength.

Here’s how I structured my training, nutrition, and recovery to accomplish this outcome — and how you can adapt these principles to your own goals.

The Foundation: A Balanced Approach to Training

Running dominates marathon preparation, but for me, maintaining muscle required a dual-focus approach. I paired a tailored running program with a strength-focused lifting regimen to ensure I could achieve peak endurance without losing the gains I’d built in the gym.

My running plan centered on three key components: easy runs, long runs, and speed work.

The basic weekly structure involved six runs: 4 easy runs, 1 long run, and 1 speed workout.

• Easy runs: These made up the bulk of my weekly mileage and were completed at a conversational pace (Zone 2 heart rate, approximately 135-145 bpm for me). Easy runs are critical for building aerobic capacity and preventing overuse injuries.
• Long runs: Starting at 12-14 miles in the early weeks and peaking at 20-22 miles, long runs were the cornerstone of my training. I incorporated marathon-pace miles (approximately 6:30/mile) toward the end of these runs to simulate race-day conditions.
• Speed work: Weekly track sessions focused on intervals like 400s and 800s, gradually increasing intensity and volume as training progressed. This component sharpened my speed and mental toughness.

Sample week (beginning of training)

A standard week at the start of my training might have looked like this:

Sample week (peak of training)

By the peak of my training, the weeks had built into something like this:

To counteract the muscle loss that often accompanies high-mileage running, I followed a structured push-pull-legs lifting split. This approach allowed me to adjust intensity and volume based on my recovery.

• Push days focused on chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. Primary lifts included incline dumbbell bench press and dumbbell Arnold presses, complemented by accessory work like tricep extensions and lateral raises.
• Pull days centered on back, biceps, and core, with movements like weighted pull-ups and dumbbell rows.
• Leg days built strength and durability with squats, Romanian deadlifts, and accessory exercises like leg presses and calf raises.

Key principles:

• Perform primary movements (e.g., squats, bench press) for 4 sets of 5-8 reps.
• Add secondary movements (e.g., dumbbell rows) for 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
• Incorporate supersets (two movements done back-to-back before resting) for accessory work to save time and increase intensity.
• Core work 2x per week: hanging leg raises, reverse crunches, stability ball rollouts, side planks, ab wheel rollouts, and more.

These lifts usually take about 45 minutes if I'm focused and stay on task.

Putting it all together, a good week of lifting and running during the build will look like this:

This is a serious time commitment. The weekdays are probably about 2 hours of total work if done efficiently. The weekend long runs are roughly 2-3 hours, depending on total mileage. I do my weekday workouts between 9-11am (between my early morning and afternoon focus work blocks). Given the summer weather and my family commitments, I will typically do weekend runs at 5am so I can be done by 7:30am before my son wakes up.

You can scale up or down this plan to meet your time availability and goals, but full marathon training while maintaining strength and muscle mass is probably not for those who are ultra-tight on time.

Training at this level demands precise nutrition to fuel performance, support recovery, and maintain muscle mass. I tracked macronutrients daily, ensuring a calorie surplus as mileage increased.

Macronutrient targets (peak training):

• Protein: 225g (1.2g per pound of body weight)
• Carbohydrates: 400g (critical for endurance performance)
• Fats: 125g (healthy fats for hormonal balance and recovery)
• Total Calories: 3,625

Common food sources:

• Protein: Eggs, egg whites, chicken, beef, turkey, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, whole milk and whey protein.
• Carbs: Rice, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, raw honey, steel-cut oats, and fruit.
• Fats: Avocado, nuts, grass-fed butter, olive oil, and fats from the meats.

Supplementation also played a role in meeting specific needs:

• Magnesium-based formulation for sleep.
• Greens powder, fish oil, and vitamin D for daily nutrients.
• Creatine and whey protein for muscle maintenance.
• Electrolytes for hydration during long runs.

The important thing is to figure out your current baseline and build from there. Track your macros for a few days and see where they end up. If your weight has been constant, you’re eating to a good baseline at your current training level. If you are losing or gaining weight, you’re eating to a deficit or surplus at your current training level.

If you are going to be training hard, getting 1g of protein per pound of body weight is a good baseline. You can fill in carbs and fats behind that based on personal preferences and goals related to body weight.

The greatest threat to achieving your running goals is injury. With high training volumes, recovery became a daily priority to prevent injury and maintain performance.

• Daily recovery routine: Included foam rolling, lacrosse ball foot rolling, and massage gun work (5-10 minutes daily).
• Mobility work: Pre-training circuits with movements like hip switches and reverse lunges improved flexibility and reduced stiffness.
• Cold plunge and sauna: I alternated between morning cold plunges (3-6 minutes at 37-39°F) and evening sauna sessions (20 minutes at 200°F) to optimize recovery and stress management.

The morning cold plunge is 3-6 minutes in 37-39 degrees right when I wake up. The evening sauna is 20 minutes in 200 degrees right before bed. I do one contrast session (a few rounds of alternating between sauna and cold plunge) each week.

Obviously, most people won’t have access to this stuff, but you can do the morning cold in the shower if you don’t have a cold plunge and a hot shower before bed if you don’t have a sauna.

Here’s how I structured my days during peak training:

Morning:

• 5:30am: Long run or speed workout.
• 7:30am: Quick breakfast and family time.

Midday:

• 9:00am: Strength training session.
• 10:30am: Protein-rich meal and hydration.

Evening:

• Foam rolling and mobility work.
• Sauna session or stretching before bed.

Training for a sub-3-hour marathon while maintaining muscle is demanding but rewarding. This is NOT a beginner's program. I’ve been training as an athlete since I was 16 before becoming a baseball player at Stanford. Please be sure to consult with experts (doctors, trainers, nutritionists) before making any dramatic changes to your routine. But I’m hopeful that sharing what worked for me can be useful for some of you on your own fitness journey.

Here are my takeaways for anyone looking to balance endurance and strength:

1. Prioritize easy runs. Over 50% of your runs should be low-intensity to build aerobic capacity and reduce injury risk.
2. Lift smart, not hard. Focus on compound movements and adjust volume based on recovery.
3. Fuel the engine. Don’t skimp on carbs — they’re essential for endurance training.
4. Make recovery non-negotiable. Dedicate time each day to mobility, stretching, or recovery tools.
5. Stay consistent. Progress comes from stacking good days, one after another.

By combining strategic training, precise nutrition, and intentional recovery, you can achieve incredible results without sacrificing your health or strength. Whether you’re aiming for a marathon PR or looking to optimize your fitness, these principles can help guide your journey.

Good luck, and remember: Consistency is your secret weapon.