↵ BROWSE ALL +65 ATHLETES / Grete Waitz
↵ BROWSE ALL +65 ATHLETES / Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz
Norwegian Grete Waitz’s training progressed from a junior mid-distance runner through her career to a marathon runner as a senior. Along the way she held multiple world records, world champion titles, an Olympic medal, and 9 New York Marathon victories. Below you’ll find her training as a 21 year old a couple weeks out of a world championship 1500m competition, and then her training as a senior marathoner.
Waitz training diary 1974, leading into her World Champs 1500m bronze
- ‘Easy’ runs at between 3:30-4:00min/km pace.
- Gifted speed, her pb as a 19y/o: 2:05.7 for 800m, 4:17 for 1500m. Between 17-19y/o she ran between 5-7 times/week at fast steady speed.
Waitz marathon training:
- Personal best: 2:24:54 in London (20/04/1986)
To paraphrase Weitz, hard to easy approach is relative and depends on the individual and their stage in career. Some only need 1 session per week, others can handle 3-4, whilst some also are able to have moderate days between hard and easy days.
SAMPLE WEEK GRETE WAITZ’S TRAINING IN 1986 (peak marathon performance) | ||
DAY | MORNING | AFTERNOON |
MONDAY | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 |
TUESDAY | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 | 6-8 x 1000m intervals, 1-2 min rest |
WEDNESDAY | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 | Rest |
THURSDAY | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 | Fartlek, 13km; several 500m sprints |
FRIDAY | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 |
SATURDAY | 10-15km in 40:00-60:00 | 15-20 x 300m |
SUNDAY | 20-33km fast pace distance run | Rest |