“Train hard on tired legs, so race day feels easy.” The "Sweet Spot" Long Run Here is the most controversial aspect: The Hanson long run maxes out at 16 miles .

Because you run the tempo run on Thursday on tired legs, you are effectively running 10 miles at goal pace. Then you run a 16-mile long run on Sunday. You have already covered 26 miles of quality running between Thursday and Sunday. Race day is simply putting those two days together with a short break in between. Runners who switch to Hanson often report the same thing: The last 10k of the marathon still hurts, but it doesn't feel impossible.

Trust the process.

The brothers argue that a 20-mile run takes 3 to 4 hours to complete. For a 4-hour marathoner, that run is physiologically damaging. It destroys your form, requires a week to recover from, and increases injury risk. Most importantly, it trains your body to run slow while exhausted.