How to Run Marathon Pace Runs (and Why Most Runners Get Them Wrong) Jack Daniels Style

Most runners obsess over mileage and long runs — but real race-day success comes from mastering one thing: holding effort efficiently for hours.

In this episode, Coach Brant Stachel (former National Team coach and mental performance coach) breaks down how to actually train at marathon pace.

Drawing from years of coaching athletes from 2:15 elites to six-hour finishers, Brant explains what marathon pace really means inside your body — from VO₂ max percentage and heart-rate zones to how it feels on the road. You’ll learn how to find your real current marathon pace (not just your goal one), how to structure M-pace workouts that build durability without burnout, and how to use them to dial in fuelling and focus.

You’ll learn:
• What marathon pace represents in VO₂ max %, heart-rate zones, and RPE
• How to calculate your true M-pace using Daniels’ VDOT tables
• Why Jack Daniels limits marathon-pace work to about 2½ hours
• How to fit M-pace sessions into a 14-day A/B-week system
• The biggest pacing mistakes most marathoners make
• How to make marathon-pace runs your best rehearsal for race day

Whether you’re chasing a Boston qualifier or finishing your first 42.2, this video shows you how to train the right zone so race day feels calm, confident, and strong.

Referenced frameworks:
Jack Daniels’ Running Formula
Renato Canova’s percentage-based pacing model
Five- and three-zone heart-rate systems