Thomas Watson

Feb 3, 2025 | marathonhandbook.com | Thomas Watson

In a dramatic about-turn from previous statements, Parkrun look set to “bring back the stats” and allow runners to once-again have access to historical running times and statistics — including course records, first finishes, and age-graded and category records. In a note seen by Marathon Handbook’s editorial team, Mary Taylor — the founder of the Bring Back The Stats petition — shared the outcomes of a call she had with Parkrun management, including CEO Russ Jefferys.

Jan 29, 2025 | marathonhandbook.com | Thomas Watson

This year at the Houston Half Marathon, Conner Mantz set a new American record of 59:17, emphatically breaking the previous record by 26 seconds, set way back in 2007 by Ryan Hall. What was heartening for some of us that were paying attention — including Mr Hall, I’m sure — was that for the commentary and analysis of the Houston Half Marathon noted one crucial difference between Mantz’s and Hall’s respective performances: Mantz was wearing super shoes, and of course Hall, back in 2007, was not.

Jan 27, 2025 | marathonhandbook.com | Thomas Watson |Katelyn Tocci

Staying motivated during training can be one of our biggest challenges, especially when the weeks start to stretch on and the long runs get longer. The excitement of starting a new training cycle can wane as the miles pile up, and it’s completely normal to feel your enthusiasm dip from time to time. Whether it’s dealing with bad weather, juggling a packed schedule, or simply feeling burned out, marathon training requires just as much mental strength as it does physical endurance.

Jan 14, 2025 | marathonhandbook.com | Thomas Watson

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but less and less people just go for “a run” these days. Instead, recreational runners are letting devices guide their running habits: they go out for a 30-minute threshold run and adapt their pace based on what the heat rate monitor strapped to their chest or wrist tells them. What’s changed? The wearable smart watch or ring—and all the data it throws at us—is now on every runner’s wrist or finger.

Jan 7, 2025 | marathonhandbook.com | Thomas Watson |Amby Burfoot

Our editor-at-large, Amby Burfoot, recently sent me a new study that looks at the training practices of over 150,000 recreational marathon finishers – and my observation is that most of us are probably overengineering our marathon training. How? First, let’s look at how these guys sorted the data. It’s the first time a study has analyzed marathon training strategies against finishing times on this scale – it breaks down the training habits of runners in the 16 weeks preceding their marathon.