Hansons marathon pace calculator.
Free calculator for the Hansons Marathon Method. Enter your goal marathon time to get Easy, Marathon Pace, Strength, and Speed paces — in minutes per mile and per kilometer.
- Easy runs 6 days / week
- Marathon Pace tempo 1× / week
- Strength workout 1× / week
- Speed workout 1× / week
- Long run 1× / week (easy)
Recovery and easy runs. Conversational pace. The bulk of your weekly mileage.
Goal race pace. Practised in 8–10 mile tempo segments and the final long runs.
Slightly faster than MP. Builds lactate clearance and mental toughness for late-race surges.
Short intervals at 10K-ish pace. Improves running economy and turnover without excessive fatigue.
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BQ-specific builds with course-specific preparation for the Newton hills and Heartbreak Hill.
Hansons works best with a coach who knows the method.
The template gets you to the start line. A coach adjusts the paces when life happens, tweaks the long run when you're fatigued, and makes sure your strength sessions don't drift into anaerobic territory.
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Frequently asked
What is the Hansons Marathon Method?
The Hansons Marathon Method is a popular training program built around high cumulative fatigue — back-to-back hard days and consistently high mileage rather than single monster long runs. It uses six weekly runs with four structured workouts: easy, marathon pace (MP), strength, and speed. The philosophy is that running on tired legs teaches your body to perform when glycogen-depleted, mimicking the late-race feel of a marathon.
How do I calculate my Hansons paces?
Enter your goal marathon finish time. The calculator converts that to marathon pace (MP), then derives easy (MP + 1:00–1:30/mi), strength (MP – 0:10–0:12/mi), and speed (MP – 0:25–0:30/mi). These ranges match the Hansons protocol and adapt to your exact goal.
What is Strength pace in Hansons?
Strength pace is 10–12 seconds per mile faster than marathon pace. In Hansons, strength workouts are run at this slightly faster clip to build aerobic strength and improve lactate clearance without the full stress of VO2 intervals. It's roughly half-marathon to 10-mile race pace for most athletes.
What is Speed pace in Hansons?
Speed pace is 25–30 seconds per mile faster than marathon pace. These are shorter intervals (400m–1mi) designed to improve running economy and VO2 max. It's roughly 10K race pace for athletes with a realistic marathon goal.
Can I use Hansons for a Boston Qualifier?
Yes — Hansons is a proven BQ builder because the cumulative fatigue approach prepares you for the Boston back half. I've coached multiple BQ athletes through Hansons-based blocks, often layering course-specific work (Newton hills, downhill quad prep) on top of the standard template.
What's the difference between Hansons and other marathon plans?
Traditional plans peak at a single 20–22 mile long run. Hansons replaces that with a 16-mile long run at easy pace plus a weekly 8–10 mile MP tempo. The total weekly volume is similar, but the stress is distributed across more days. This reduces injury risk for some athletes while building marathon-specific durability.