20 marathons in 10 days all under 3 hours

From the 21st to the 30th of May, I will be running two marathons (i.e. a total of 84.4 km) each day on 400-meter stadiums, for 10 days in a row. The primary goal is to run all marathons under the magical 3-hour. To achieve sub-3-hour marathons, I need to run at a pace of 14.1 km/h, which translates to a speed of 4 minutes and 16 seconds per kilometer. Since I need to allow some extra time in case of unplanned stops (such as restroom breaks, changing clothes, etc.), the plan is to run an average of 100 seconds per stadium lap. This makes the average kilometer pace 4 minutes and 10 seconds, resulting in a marathon finishing time of 2 hours and 55 minutes.

The idea of running on the stadium came to me after participating for the first time in a 24-hour run on a 308-meter stadium in Ida-Virumaa in 2022. Despite very changeable and challenging weather conditions, I managed to set an Estonian record (245,17 km) for the 24-hour run there.

Running on a stadium has its pros and cons, but for me, the pros outweigh the cons. Mentally, it's very challenging to run 2110 stadium laps in 10 days. Hopefully, changing stadiums will alleviate this somewhat. In addition, running around the stadium for such a long time puts extra pressure on the muscles - to alleviate this, I plan to run half the time clockwise and the other half counterclockwise whenever possible. Another advantage is that it's much easier to maintain a steady pace. Last time, I completed the first marathon in 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 58 seconds.

Another advantage is that when running in the stadium it is easier to organize timing, nutrition and changing equipment if needed.
In case of windy and rainy weather, the advantage is that the water does not remain as a puddle on the running track, and I have to fight the wind for 200 meters, after which the 200 m can be taken more easily. It's also good that all the worries of running in open traffic, such as cars and pedestrians, and crossing roads, are eliminated.

Another important challenge is dealing with little sleep. Although it may seem that there is enough time between marathons to sleep, in reality, there will be very little time for sleep. Most of the time outside of running will be spent on recovery processes (such as nutrition, warming up and relaxing, including stretching, massage) - I need to consume about 10,000 kcal per day, primarily when I'm not running. A lot of time is also taken up by logistics (moving to stadiums, changing cities, preparing food and stuff for the next marathon, etc.).

Comparing this endeavor to a 60-fold ultra-triathlon, although it lasts only 10 days and is seemingly easier in terms of the mental aspect, the complexity lies in the physical aspect. During an ultra-triathlon, the muscles largely recover from the previous day's marathon with swimming and cycling, and then running with warmed-up muscles is much easier. Now, however, I have to run twice as much, do it at a faster pace, and have only a few hours for recovery between marathons.

Although I probably can't foresee all the difficulties and unexpected obstacles today, some of the toughest moments are likely to be related to lack of sleep and starting a run with legs still stiff from a previous marathon. But time will tell what difficulties and unexpected things await me and how I will manage to overcome them.

I will start documenting each day in the blog, noting how much time each marathon takes, how much energy I expend, what my heart rate is while running, how much I sleep, etc. Live results will be available during the challenge HERE.

You are welcome to cheer me on and, if you wish, try to run the last kilometers of the marathon with me!