Renato Canova
Marathon Training.

Who is Renato Canova

Canova started as a coach in Italy and moved his work to East Africa from the late 1990s. His athletes have won medals from the 3000 m steeplechase to the marathon. He has written and spoken openly about his methods for years, which is why so much of modern marathon training borrows his language.

Specific endurance

Canova's core idea is that general fitness, a big aerobic base, is the foundation, but it is specific endurance that wins races. Specific endurance means being able to hold race pace for the race distance. You build it by running more and more volume close to race pace as the race gets nearer.

Canova built much of his method with Kenyan athletes in the Rift Valley. The weekly rhythm around those sessions is in how Kenyan runners train.

He describes training as a funnel. Early on, paces are spread wide: slow aerobic running and fast short work. As the race approaches, both ends move towards race pace, and the sessions get longer at 90 to 105 percent of it.

Canova sessions you will hear about

• Long progressive runs. 30 to 40 km that start easy and finish near marathon pace.
• Long intervals at race pace. For example 5 x 5 km at 98 to 102 percent of marathon pace with short, moving recovery.
• The special block. Two hard specific sessions on the same day, for example a long race-pace run in the morning and another in the afternoon, followed by easy days. It is an elite tool, not one to copy.
• Alternations. Continuous runs that switch between slightly faster and slightly slower than race pace, without stopping.

What normal marathoners can take from it

• Base first, specific last. In the last 8 to 10 weeks, put more of your quality running near goal pace.
• Make the long run specific. Add a block at goal pace to the end of some long runs. See the long run.
• Know your real pace. Canova's percentages only work if your race pace is honest. Use the race time predictor from a recent race, not a wish.
• Skip the special block. Two hard sessions in one day needs elite recovery. One good specific session a week is plenty.

Building up to your first marathon? Start with 10K to marathon.

Sources: Renato Canova's published lectures and interviews on specific endurance and marathon preparation, and his long-running posts on coaching forums. Session examples are typical structures, not individual prescriptions.