I get the impression the key to a not too terrible marathon run is getting plenty of distance under your belt in the run up - while not scaling up the distance so rapidly that you injure yourself
That's the first 2/3 of it; the last third is to go into the marathon with a realistic goal based on your training, and execute your plan rather than getting caught up in the excitement.
I will say though that I think easy mileage is more important than threshold and intervals. I prefer strides to fartlek (accelerate for a 6-count to as fast as I can run with good form, hold that for a 10-count, decelerate for a 4-count, and only do 4-6 of these toward the end of an otherwise easy run). That's enough to keep me from being bored by all the easy running, without overemphasis on fast running.
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That's the first 2/3 of it; the last third is to go into the marathon with a realistic goal based on your training, and execute your plan rather than getting caught up in the excitement.
I will say though that I think easy mileage is more important than threshold and intervals. I prefer strides to fartlek (accelerate for a 6-count to as fast as I can run with good form, hold that for a 10-count, decelerate for a 4-count, and only do 4-6 of these toward the end of an otherwise easy run). That's enough to keep me from being bored by all the easy running, without overemphasis on fast running.