Brooks Beast Nick Symmonds Kicks Off Training for First Marathon, Last Pro Race 

Symmonds will radically change his training to go from racing 800 meters to 26.2 miles in his last race as a professional athlete

Brooks Beast Nick Symmonds is hanging up his track spikes, but his racing flats still have more miles ahead. For his last professional race, Nick will compete in the Honolulu Marathon this December with a goal of running under 3 hours.

For the athlete who specializes in the two-lap, 800-meter run, training for and running 26.2 miles will be a test and an exciting new challenge. Brooks Beasts Head Coach Danny Mackey will continue to coach Nick through this event.

“I work with middle distance runners on the Brooks Beasts, but the marathon might be my favorite event personally, so I’m excited to coach him in it,” said Brooks Beasts Head Coach Danny Mackey. “Nick is naturally competitive and goal oriented so I know he’ll commit to the training, but the marathon can be an equalizer and it will definitely test him.”

Nick will adapt his training by:

• Increasing his mileage per week by more than 25 percent to a minimum of 70 miles per week,
• Modify his lifting workouts from being explosive with heavy weights to being strength oriented, dropping weight and increasing repetitions, so his body can hold up for more than 2 hours of hard running,
• Increase the amount of long threshold and tempo runs instead of the shorter, speed intervals he currently focuses on,
• Begin to incorporate marathon race pace speed work into his long runs,
• And, to fuel for a race that’s longer than 2 hours when he’s accustomed to racing for fewer than 2 minutes, Nick will begin consuming simple carbs during long training runs to keep his energy up and prepare for the race.

“This is uncharted territory for me. I’ve met hundreds of runners throughout my career who have completed marathons, but I’ve never done one myself,” said Brooks Beast Nick Symmonds. “The challenge is exciting and I’m eager to begin training for it. I’ve got the help of Brooks Beasts Head Coach Danny Mackey, our team nutritionist and other Brooks resources to see me through to the finish line!”

Brooks’ support of Nick, the Beasts and its other sponsored athletes is just one way the brand invests into the sport and future of running.

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