Inside the Training Diary of Clara Evans
Introduction
2023 was an incredible year for British Marathon Running. Six of the top ten British female marathon times and three of the top ten British male marathon times were run in 2023.
One of 2023’s breakthrough performances came from Clara Evans, who improved her marathon best by over six minutes. She now sits seventh on the British all time list and is the holder of the Welsh Record.
Starting the year at the Seville Marathon, breaking the 2 hour 30 minute barrier for the first time, Clara then clocked 2:25:01 at the Valencia Marathon in December.
You can follow Clara on Instagram for more insight into her training and racing. Clara also coaches for the Sweat Elite Coaching Academy.
The training block we are going to dig into here is the 10 weeks prior to the Valencia Marathon.
About Clara
Coach: Chris Jones
Sponsors: Asics
Outside of Running: Part time
Career Highlights:
9th - Commonwealth Games Marathon 2022, 2:38:03
22nd - World Road Running Championships 2023, Half Marathon, 70:53
20th - Valencia Marathon 2023, 2:25:01
Personal Bests:
5 km: 15:52
10 km: 33:14
Half Marathon: 70:53
Marathon: 2:25:01
The Race
Event: Valencia Marathon 2023
Location: Valencia
Result: 20th, 2:25:01
Training Principles
Clara started and finished 2023 racing a marathon in Spain. After clocking 2:29:24 in Seville Marathon in February (almost a two minute improvement on her previous best), Clara didn’t run another marathon until the Valencia Marathon in December.
That 2:29 clocking was both positive and a negative. Another improvement, and a step in the right direction, but not as good she felt her training would have suggested.
I was happy because it’s a PB, but I wasn't happy because it wasn't really where I was at. I really wanted to run 2:28. It was a bit bitter sweet and it took me a long time to get over it. Emotionally and physically.
The break after Seville allowed Clara to recharge. To build back to a place where she could push herself in training and racing. There was a spring and early summer racing shorter distances but Clara admitted that motivation wasn’t too high.
It wasn’t until she headed to Font Romeu toward the end of the summer, with her autumn race schedule mapped out, that training really started to click again.
I did the races in the summer and then I took another break. I really didn't do that much. I didn't really commit to the training until we went to Font in the summer.
It was about mentally getting back into that place where you like you can push yourself. To that next level. Like when you're in a race, it is hurting, and you can keep pushing. It took me a while to to be able to do that.
Valencia made sense as a target marathon. It allowed enough time to build back into top shape and worked well with other target races - particularly the World Road Running Championships, which took place in September in Riga, Latvia. Valencia has also developed a fierce reputation for fast times.
After some weeks training in Font Romeu in the summer, Clara returned to the UK to run 71:23 for 4th Place at the Big Half in London at the start of September.
This performance meant that Clara was selected for the same distance in Riga later in the month. It also showed that her fitness was progressing in the right direction after a couple of disappointing results earlier in the summer.
A further improvement at the World Road Running Championships (running 70:53 for 22nd place and team bronze) gave Clara further confidence heading into the marathon preparation.
I was like right. I'm improving. I'm getting fit.
Valencia Marathon was Clara’s 9th marathon and she (along with her coach Chris Jones) has built up an understanding of what works for her in training. That understanding had helped Clara to drop her Marathon time from her 2:55:49 debut (in 2016) to her 2:29:24 clocking in Seville at the start of 2023.
The basics of Clara’s training - high mileage, long runs, hard sessions with a mix of intensities - remained the same through this training block. However, Clara had tended to struggle in the last quarter in previous marathons, losing time near end of the race. That is probably a familiar feeling for a lot of people who attempt the marathon distance, so I was interesting to know what Clara and Chris changed in this training block.
Those changes came primarily in the timing of the altitude training and the specific marathon sessions.
In the build up to Seville we did a long altitude block and came down two weeks before. We changed that around so I did two shorter altitude blocks and was home for five or six weeks before the race.
That made a massive difference because [for Seville] I was fit but I got too fatigued going into the race. I was at my fittest three or four weeks before the race. So we broke it up a little.
Breaking up the intense training at altitude into two shorter blocks (one before Big Half and one after the World Half) perhaps allowed Clara to balance the fatigue which inevitably comes during marathon training. Racing two half marathons in September also broke up a block with the necessary tapering and recovery for these races.
I got a few more down weeks naturally in the block. In the past, I haven't raced as much in the block so I wasn't actually getting those down weeks and think that makes a difference.
The key sessions in this block were long and the pace tended to increase through the session - from a little below marathon pace to marathon pace or a little above.
I did more of the progressions and things like the 10 miles followed by 15 by a km. Normally I'd only do 15 by a km but this time we put a tempo block before the reps. To drag it out a bit. Drag out the distance.
It's practicing picking up because I've always got to 30 km in the marathon and then died. Chris really wanted me to negative split this one. So we practiced that.
These sessions were highly specific to the demands of the marathon - including upwards of 30 km of near marathon pace running.
It was interesting to me that there were only three of these really big key sessions in the 10 weeks before Valencia marathon. These sessions would be a big training stimulus and it seems that Clara and Chris found a good balance with them.
I think that's kind what we learned; to space the bigger sessions apart. You'll run better, you'll feel better coming off it, and then feel better into the race. Not not too fatigued.
It was also interesting to hear how Chris would adapted sessions on the fly to ensure that they were appropriate. Sessions were shortened, lengthened, or changed depending on how Clara felt on the day and the overall training balance.
The long marathon sessions were balanced with shorter sessions at a mix of paces and intensities and long runs at an easy intensity. Whilst these sessions were not 30+ km monsters, they provided a different sort of stimulus which was probably no less important.
I'm maybe somebody who doesn't have natural speed. I'm not really speedy but I can run the marathon pace. I love those sessions. So we try to keep this short faster stuff in because I would lose that quite quickly. Maybe some people don't need that in the block, but I definitely need a bit.
For the majority of the training block, the goal wasn’t to run a 2:25 marathon. Clara had her eyes set on a more modest 2:27-2:28 (still very fast). However the pacers provided by Valencia marathon presented Clara a choice: run with a pacer targeting slower than her PB, or run with a pacer slightly faster than her goal (2:26 or 73 minutes through halfway).
It is an interesting dilemma - do you take a risk on race day or play it safe? Ultimately, Clara and Chris were confident enough to target the faster pace group. The training had gone well and it was only a small difference from the top end of her expectations (30 s faster at halfway).
We thought it was worth going with the faster group and seeing what happened. Maybe I didn't really have the confidence going in, but as the race was progressing, I got more and more confident.
It is a risk that paid off. Clara not only ran with the pace group to halfway (in 72:57) but managed the negative split that her and Chris had been preparing for (running 72:04 in the second half). Clara’s 5 km splits were between 17:16 and 17:20 for the first 30 km, before picking up to 17:10 and 16:44 for the splits from 30-35 and 35-40 km.
Looking back at Clara’s training and reflecting on our conversation, it is clear that the big training weeks and tough specific sessions were an important part of Clara’s marathon preparation, but also finding the right times to do this work.
Full Training Diary
Notes:
2 strength sessions a week. Generally on session days, but sometimes the day after. Tuesday or Wednesday and then Friday or Saturday. Around 30-40 minutes.
Occasional strides and short hill sprints after easy runs
Physio or sports massage every week.
Week 1
25/09/2023: 7 h 1 m — 93.2 km (57.9 mi)
Monday - 40 easy (7:52 /mi) | 55 easy (7:44 /mi)
Tuesday - 4 x 1 mile (2 mins) in 5:44, 30, 31, 21, 15 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (7:36 /mi)
Wednesday - 60 easy (8:34 /mi)
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 40 easy with 6 x 15 s strides
Saturday - 45 easy with 3 x 15 s strides
Sunday - Race: World Road Running Championships, Half Marathon - 22nd, 70:53
Travelled to Riga on Thursday for the World Road Running Championships. Taper week before racing on Sunday.
Week 2
02/10/2023: 10 h 26 m — 132.2 km (82.2 mi)
Monday - 40 easy (7:13 /mi)
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - 55 easy (7:45 /mi) | 40 easy (7:59 /mi)
Thursday - 55 easy (8:05 /mi) | 45 easy (8:35 /mi)
Friday - 75 easy (7:44 /mi) | 40 easy (8:01 /mi)
Saturday - Short Track Session, 15 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (7:29 /mi)
Sunday - 2 h 40 m long run (7:14 /mi)
Travel to Font Romeu on Tuesday. Easier week after racing and travelling to altitude.
Week 3
9/10/2023: 13 h 47 m — 184.6 km (114.7 mi)
Monday - 55 easy (7:35 /mi) | 30 steady (6:18 /mi)
Tuesday - 50 easy (8:03 /mi) | 2 miles (90 s), 10 x 800 (45 s), 2 x 1 mile (90 s) in 11.27, 2:45-41, 5:34-32, 15 warm up, 25 warm down
Wednesday - 35 easy (7:19 /mi) | 1 h 35 m long run (7:54 /mi)
Thursday - 60 easy (7:27 /mi) | 50 steady (6:29 /mi)
Friday - 75 easy (7:24 /mi)
Saturday - 10 miles in 3:40 /km (1 mile), 15 x 1 km (60) in 3:27-16 /km (23.6 mi in 6:40 /mi total) | 35 easy (7:19 /mi)
Sunday - 85 easy (7:11 /mi)
First full week at altitude. Two harder days on Tuesday and Saturday with the first specific marathon session in this block on Saturday - 10 miles tempo followed by 15 x 1 km.
Week 4
16/10/2023: 13 h 32 m — 179.3 km (111.4 mi)
Monday - 55 easy (7:30 /mi)
Tuesday - 16 x 200 (200 jog) in 34-31, 15 warm up, 30 warm down | 55 easy (7:50 /mi)
Wednesday - 65 easy (7:51 /mi) | 30 easy (7:54 /mi)
Thursday - 40 easy (7:51 /mi) | 90 easy (7:44 /mi)
Friday - 35 easy (7:22 /mi) | 40 easy (8:01 /mi)
Saturday - 11, 11, 5, 3 km progression in 3:54, 39, 31, 28 /km, 15 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (7:45 /mi)
Sunday - 1 h 45 m long run (7:01 /mi) | 40 easy (7:45 /mi)
Travelled to Bristol for work on Wednesday and back to Font Romeu afterwards. Another Tuesday/Saturday week with Saturday as a specific marathon session - 30 km progression.
Week 5
23/10/2023: 11 h 22 m — 138.5 km (86.1 mi)
Monday - 60 easy (7:31 /mi) | 65 easy (7:59 /mi)
Tuesday - 45 steady (6:34 /mi), 15 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (7:55 /mi)
Wednesday - 40 easy (8:28 /mi) | 85 easy (8:25 /mi)
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 1 h 45 m long run (8:35 /mi) | 45 easy (8:36 /mi)
Saturday - 12 x 600 (50 s), 10 x 300 (50 s) in 2:10-2:03, 59-57, 20 warm up, 20 warm down | 40 easy (7:29 /mi)
Sunday - 40 easy (7:26 /mi)
This wasn’t intended to be a lower week. Clara had food poisoning on Wednesday (still ran) then a full rest day on Thursday to recover.
Week 6
30/10/2023: 12 h 47 m — 162.8 km (101.2 mi)
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 45 easy (7:20 /mi) | 3 x 4 miles (1 km) in 22:38, 22:05, 21:21, 15 warm up, 15 warm down
Wednesday - 40 easy (7:40 /mi) | 80 easy (8:07 /mi)
Thursday - 45 steady (6:43 /mi) | 80 easy (8:10 /mi)
Friday - 2 miles (2 mins), 14 x 400 (45 s) in 11:16, 82-70, 15 warm up, 20 warm down
Saturday - 55 easy (8:03 /mi) | 45 easy (9:03 /mi)
Sunday - 3 h 5 m long run (7:44 /mi)
Travelled back from Font Romeu on Monday. Weekly structure changes back to Tuesday/Friday sessions with Sunday easy long run.
Week 7
6/11/2023: 13 h 25 m — 173.8 km (108.0 mi)
Monday - 50 easy (7:24 /mi) | 75 easy (8:15 /mi)
Tuesday - 40 easy (8:00 /mi) | 2 x 4, 3, 2, 1 mins (1/2 recovery), 15 warm up, 15 warm down
Wednesday - 40 easy (7:51 /mi) | 60 easy (8:02 /mi)
Thursday - 55 easy (7:53 /mi) | 45 easy (9:15 /mi)
Friday - 40 easy (7:50 /mi) | 15, 10, 5 km progression in 3:40, 33, 25 /km, 15 warm up, 15 warm down (22.7 mi in 6:11 /mi total)
Saturday - 40 easy (7:12 /mi)
Sunday - 2 h 33 m long run (7:39 /mi)
Last big specific marathon session on Friday - 30 km progression.
Week 8
13/11/2023: 12 h 56 m — 168.5 km (104.7 mi)
Monday - 40 easy (8:06 /mi) | 35 easy (7:24 /mi)
Tuesday - 80 easy (7:48 /mi) | 60 easy (8:16 /mi)
Wednesday - 40 easy (7:59 /mi) | 55 easy (8:04 /mi)
Thursday - 40 easy (7:35 /mi) | 55 easy (7:47 /mi)
Friday - 15 x 1 km (40 s) in 3:30-18, 15 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (7:35 /mi)
Saturday - 40 easy (7:48 /mi), 65 steady (6:19 /mi)
Sunday - 2 h 20 m long run (7:00 /mi)
Single harder session on Friday. Otherwise a normal training week.
Week 9
20/11/2023: 10 h 10 m — 134.4 km (83.6 mi)
Monday - 20 easy (7:17 /mi) | 50 easy (7:24 /mi)
Tuesday - 2 x 5k, 2k, 1k (70, 60, 180 s) in 17:01, 6:53, 3:20, 16:58, 6:54, 3:18, 20 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (7:33 /mi)
Wednesday - 40 easy (7:32 /mi) | 55 easy (7:35 /mi)
Thursday - 25 easy (7:42 /mi) | 65 steady (6:34 /mi)
Friday - 70 easy (7:43 / mi) | 40 easy (7:53 /mi)
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 2 x 2 mile (2 mins), 5 x 200 (200) in 11:12, 10:59, 31-30 | 15 warm up, 15 warm down | 40 easy (8:05 /mi)
Start of taper. Shortened marathon specific session on Tuesday.
Week 10
27/11/2023: 7 h 9 m — 101.6 km (63.1 mi)
Monday - 55 easy (7:40 /mi)
Tuesday - 30 easy (7:50 /mi) | 2 x 1 mile (70) in 5:38, 5:25, 20 warm up, 15 warm down
Wednesday - 35 easy (7:24 /mi)
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 65 easy (7:51 /mi)
Saturday - 40 easy with 5 x 15 s strides
Sunday - Race: Valencia Marathon, 20th, 2:25:01 (5:32 /mi, 3:26 /km)
Thursday travel to Valencia. Easy week with some marathon pace and short strides before the race.
I hope you found this article interesting. I think there is so much to learn from how people train. You can’t take one persons training and apply it to yourself, but I hope you find little lessons and takeaways which you can apply in your own training.
If you are a coach or athlete and want to collaborate on an article like this - please reach out. I’m always interested to talk to people with different approaches and different experiences.