[Closed] What ride distance is equivalent to running a marathon?

I guess it depends what you are more conditioned for. I've been riding off and on for about 25 years but only running for a year.

Not run a marathon yet. But a half marathon off road felt like a 50 mile xc ride for me. But, with riding you can rest while coasting. You can't while running.

I really don't think it equates I'm afraid, running longer distances just takes a greater toll on the body because of the impacts involved and takes longer to recover from.

Marathon pros do one or two races a season (and I know racing a marathon will mean I personally can't put in a good shorter race for 4-6 weeks afterwards) - compare that with grand tours or even the classics season in cycling.

The longest mtb ride I've done is a race in north Spain (10000 del Soplao) and it's about 160km with close to 5000m climbing. And I still felt more beat up after running a road marathon (and aiming for a decent time).

Conditions and terrain will be a massive factor. As is intensity. And body shape.

However, in triathlon training the basic rule of thumb used to be 1 mile of swimming = 4 miles of running = 16 miles of (road) biking.

Now clearly if you are swimming doggy paddle in arm bands that would not work for you, but it's a starting point.

So a marathon = 104 mile road bike ride.

I've done 100 miles on road. Very slowly. Furthest I've ever run is 10km.
People who run marathons are superfrickinghuman.

I don't think I could run a marathon at all, because my feet and knees wouldn't take it. I don't run enough and I'm heavy.

I did ride 285km off-road once and I was battered, but I think that equated to about ooh, 15-20 miles of running for me. Having said that, I know runners who do marathons a few times a year but can't cycle much more than that distance without being knackered.

However, in triathlon training the basic rule of thumb used to be 1 mile of swimming = 4 miles of running = 16 miles of (road) biking.

For me, it'd be probably 800m swimming/5km flat running/40k generic road cycling.

For me, it’d be probably 800m swimming/5km flat running/40k generic road cycling.

I suspect that's because you are currently basically a cyclist having a bash at triathlon. Your other 2 disciplines are not as well adapted to....yet!

As suggested, in terms of physical effort I'd consider it to be around 100-120 miles of solo road riding, though I can do those back-to-back but can't comprehend two marathons on subsequent days as my legs are bad enough after one.

I think you’ve got the comparison between the aerobic side for which 1mile run equals 4mile ride probably isn’t far off.

But then there’s the physical side. No amount of riding for me is going to recreate the chaffed thighs,nipple rub, toe nail shredding, thigh pounding impact of a marathon. I found it just hard on my whole body.

Conditions and terrain will be a massive factor. As is intensity. And body shape.

If I do a trail marathon I'll be fine walking or cycling the next day. I did a 100km ultra just before Easter, and I was back on the turbo two days later, and went for a run the following day. There's no way I could do that after a road marathon, even though it's less than half the distance: the intensity and running on asphalt really hammer you.

I suspect that’s because you are currently basically a cyclist having a bash at triathlon.

Absolutely 100% correct 🙂 But I also have better aptitude for cycling and swimming than I do for running. I've done very little swimming really but I've worked on my technique and I don't embarrass myself in a tri at all (to my surprise). But I really do on the run despite having done far more running.

But then there’s the physical side. No amount of riding for me is going to recreate the chaffed thighs,nipple rub, toe nail shredding, thigh pounding impact of a marathon. I found it just hard on my whole body.

Yeah this. Only time I ever sustained a stress/overuse injury on a bike was on the 285km Ridgeway Double - the tendon running over my heel bone was agony. In terms of chafing though I did rub my arse actually raw on the Trans Cambrian Way in a day, but that was as much down to poor shorts as anything else. With good shorts I've had no issue, but if I run more than about 10km on road I always end up with blisters regardless of socks/shoes.

At least 100 miles.
A hard road marathon leaves me beaten up for 3 or 4 days, hard road century leave me tired but no-where near as broken. For context, the marathon takes me just over 3 hours, the century between 4.5 and 5 hours. But as @mogrim says, a road marathon is a very different beast to a trail marathon.
I can ride a respectably paced century with little or no prep, a marathon takes a good few months to get fit for.
You can harden your body for running and in time the chafing and battered feet subsides, but it takes longer to get to that point than it does to deal with the discomfort of a long ride.

But, bear in mind, it'll vary from person to person, and the training/fitness they have.

I wonder if the answer to the OP may be 'your mate who runs marathons is fitter than you, just leave it there' : )

Probably impossible to say. I’ve done a few road marathons and was at the time a serious runner, club runner as a junior, carried this on into the military. I didn’t find them to be overly stressful on my body, mainly because I was atuned to it from a very young age.
Road riding, I’ve done some long solo rides (200+ miles and generally fine)
I’ve done some 45 mile road races and this has absolutely destroyed me!! Every corner or turn is a sprint, every hill max effort, cresting the hill into another sprint….maybe 10 seconds of recovery…..maybe not. You feel yourself falling back toward the back of the pack, so get as low as possible and press harder on the pedals, the metallic taste in the mouth, 40 riders millimetres away from each other’s elbows and wheels. Loads of shouting. Breaks be attempted, more shouting. The stress can be as exhausting. Not all road races are like that, just some of the mixed cat races I’ve done.
I’ve finished races and thought never again…..and two days later I’m on a recovery ride thinking about my strategy for the next race!
Then again as a road runner I only ever focused on completing the run in an acceptable time, whereas in cycling I was more competitive.

The stress can be as exhausting.

That sounds great! Far more fun than four (who am I kidding?) hours of plodding along being both miserable and bored.

I think it's going to vary quite significantly for different individuals, I'd rather swim 5k than run 5k!

It would take me about 8 hours to do a marathon so probably equivalent to about a 200km road ride 🙂

Let's look at it another way rather than comparing efforts for the same individuals. Within the cycling community, what distance has the sort of status associated with a marathon for runners?

I'm going to guess at 200km. It's doable, people do it, it's intimidating to some but not those who've done it a few times. For me, 200km would be vastly easier, but that's cos I'm not a runner.

EDIT actually you could easily get the statistics from Strava.

When i was road racing as a junior i was running at quite a high level (regional team, steeplechase, 5/10000, Cross Country sort of thing), I'd rather have taken a 3 day kicking doing a stage race with seniors than (even) a 10000m. They ruin you for few days.

In fact i did, several times.

I'd say you're well into *racing* a cobbled classic territory to even be close to a road marathon. TBH, even after that sort of effort, you can be turning the pedals over within 36 hours and racing within a week.

It's the specialisation that kills you though.

I think people are looking at this wrong.

Not many people will sign up for a 200km ride but a couple of 100 people might sign up for a marathon so you're looking for a ride length that a couple of 100 cyclists might consider OK.

Not many people will sign up for a 200km ride but a couple of 100 people might sign up for a marathon so you’re looking for a ride length that a couple of 100 cyclists might consider OK.

Pretty much any healthy adult can complete a marathon with some dedicated training so what sort ride could someone who is healthy but not already a keen cyclist complete? I think the 100 miles ish on road being touted by a few posters is about right or as close as any such comparison can be.

I recently rode 100 miles for first time and it was a piece of cake

I’d die if I attempted a marathon

But then again if I was a runner 100 miles on a bike would probably be fairly brutal

I think it depends hugely what you’re trained in. My tuppence worth, riding 120 miles = a marathon

The comparison between riding multiple days on a grand tour and a marathon isn’t quite fair as the marathon runner is breaking themselves for the entirety, the gc rider isn’t. If a gc rider rode a flat out 100 mile tt I doubt they’d be ok to do another the next day

Pretty much any healthy adult can complete a marathon with some dedicated training

OP did say 'run' a marathon :-p

I always think an hours running is like 3 hours on the bike at equal intensity. No idea if that's accurate but seems to equate for me.

I always think an hours running is like 3 hours on the bike at equal intensity.

I'd have said maybe two hours cycling = one hour running, but I agree with your general point.

With that in mind, I'd go along with the suggestions of 200km-ish.

Not able to do a marathon to see for myself though, due to having wonky legs which get hurty after 10 miles.

Not able to do a marathon to see for myself though, due to having wonky legs which get hurty after 10 miles.

@chakaping, you sound a lot like me 5 years ago, in fact, I couldn't get close to 10 miles as knees and back hurt. I ran a 45 mile ultra this weekend...

I can ride a respectably paced century with little or no prep, a marathon takes a good few months to get fit for.

respectably paced (with no drafting otherwise thats another kettle of fish entirely) is what exactly? In terms of effort, not time?
Theres bound to be a good few "recoveries" where you are working at less than a brisk walk, let alone a jog.
Unless of course you are smashing out 100 miles head down on a TT bike staring at a power meter, I would say a marathon is harder.

Very few people run full marathons outside of events for fun, yet there will be thousands of cyclists in this country hitting centuries on any sunny summer weekend.

The only rides I’ve done that came close to how I’d feel after a marathon was the Dragon sportive over those bastard hills in South Wales or the Fred Whitton or maybe those 24 races we all used to “enjoy”

About 12 miles in the Chew Valley

I think people are looking at this wrong.

Not many people will sign up for a 200km ride but a couple of 100 people might sign up for a marathon so you’re looking for a ride length that a couple of 100 cyclists might consider OK.

What's the London marathon 80,000 people?

You need a equivalent distance you could get 80,000 riders to sign up for 😉

What’s the London marathon 80,000 people?

Not really comparable. It's a famous global event and has the capacity to accommodate that many runners. There's no bike event like that except maybe the Etape du Tour, and even then it's not that big. The logistics of closing and marshalling 100+ miles of road are too great. That said, the Velothon Wales one I did a while back had what, 20k riders? And it sold out fast so there's clearly demand for that kind of event. Given by the number of MAMILs grinding their way up the Tumble I think riding that distance was vastly easier than a marathon!

London marathon is just over 40K runners

Very few people run full marathons outside of events for fun, yet there will be thousands of cyclists in this country hitting centuries on any sunny summer weekend.

^^This

It's been a long time since I ran marathons (used to be 2 a year),but remembering how tired/knackered I was after one,I would say (for me) a 180ml road ride or 70ml offroad (hill dependent Obvs).

To be able to compare you need to know some key points;
- How fast is the runner running (quite a difference between barely running at 5mph at a good running speed)
- Whatever speed that is what is a comparable effort on a bike, I would imagine it is going to be a fairly high effort, say average over 20mph solo

Probably also need to be riding a fixed gear so you can't coast.

@chakaping, you sound a lot like me 5 years ago, in fact, I couldn’t get close to 10 miles as knees and back hurt. I ran a 45 mile ultra this weekend…

I've been running for three years now, and I built up gradually to 10 miles - I think I'm just very prone to knee issues, I struggle to make it past about 13km without pain.

No biggie, I just do 5km a couple of times a week and the odd 10km to see if I still can.

I would guess about 150KM

I've run a marathon. It was hard work and now it's ticked off the list not something I'll ever be repeating. Never really compared it to a bike ride because riding a bike is way more enjoyable! Have done 100 mile days off-road and while I was probably as knackered as the marathon I would still say the marathon was harder because it's less fun. Maybe I should have done the marathon with some mates.

Thinking about it, maybe it's the lack of enjoyability that makes a marathon hard, so maybe it's not distance on a bike. Maybe the equivalent is riding Afan on a BMX or Dyfi on a Penny Farthing?

Maybe I should have done the marathon with some mates.

Or stopped for coffee / cake / beer a couple of times.

Probably 150-200 miles

200 if you're a decent rider

but even then you have taken no real impact, not really comparable

Very few people run full marathons outside of events for fun, 

You might be surprised by the numbers that knock out marathon distance or near it regularly.

It's a really good question, when i watch the London marathon on TV you see runners doing 4-5hr marathons and chatting as they go round, that says to me it's not high intensity aerobically and therefore is a 4-5 hour bike ride similar. But it's clearly no-where near. I'd do the second tomorrow (today if I didn't have meetings!) whereas I'm another wonky kneed individual and I'll never do one now (did several halves in younger days)

Yet Ellen van Dijk broke the hour record yesterday and will have emptied the tank in one hour, to the point of falling off the bike levels of fatigue, even the marathon in 2 hour types aren't that empty at the end. So, cycling's harder if you want it to be.

In the end - no really meaningful comparison.

I do remember reading in the early days of popular marathons that the top (2 and bit hour as they were then) runners only have maybe half a dozen race pace marathons in them because of the cumulative effects. Maybe nutrition and recovery has changed that but is it still true to an extent?

I do remember reading in the early days of popular marathons that the top (2 and bit hour as they were then) runners only have maybe half a dozen race pace marathons in them because of the cumulative effects. Maybe nutrition and recovery has changed that but is it still true to an extent?

Apparently not:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliud_Kipchoge#Career

You might be surprised by the numbers that knock out marathon distance or near it regularly.

I probably do four or five a year (at least), and I've got friends that do considerably more than that. Mostly trail running, although I do have one friend that's done at least 3 road marathons this year already.

If you remove the physical impact aspect as it's very hard to replicate the pounding of a road marathon, then you are looking at distance and time. Using Ironman times would be a good ballpark. Now whilst the bike leg of an IM is more an object in fuelling and getting you ready for the run,the run isn't a fair indication of your standalone marathon time. So I'd say a fair measure and you'd also have a load of data to pull from. You also won't have a particularly bike centric viewpoint.

Without dipping into this data I'd say a sub 4 mara would be equivalent to a sub 6 112mile ride.

blockquote>You might be surprised by the numbers that knock out marathon distance or near it regularly.

There's a difference between running the distance (or close to) and replicated the intensity of a marathon distance. I run 20+ miles probably 15 times a year but that's not at marathon pace or intensity.

Yet Ellen van Dijk broke the hour record yesterday and will have emptied the tank in one hour, to the point of falling off the bike levels of fatigue, even the marathon in 2 hour types aren’t that empty at the end.

Not sure I'd agree with that. Spend any time at the end of a marathon and you'll see plenty of people unable to stand up.
You're also comparing a pro athlete with an amateur. The former can and will go much deeper than the average amateur.

Without dipping into this data I’d say a sub 4 mara would be equivalent to a sub 6 112mile ride.

I think this is not far off at all.

although I do have one friend that’s done at least 3 road marathons this year already.

A friend's wife did 56 last year inc several back to back....

She also did several ultra runs of 100 miles, most of which weren't even in the UK...

She's not normal......

Very few people run full marathons outside of events for fun,

when I was running regularly, my then G/F and I would often run 20 miles off-road in the Chilterns following MTB routes I knew. I think most folks who don't run those sorts of distances overestimate how difficult it is. Once you've built up the ability to do that sort of mileage, it really isn't that hard. We did a couple of years of both doing 3 or 4 marathons a year, but would often do 15-20 miles on the spur of the moment on a weekend.

I think someone up thread suggested it, but I'm very certain that a "regular Joe" with sufficient time and (I hesitate to use the word training, as it's not really, It's just building the distance in your legs) could run a marathon. Same as I think you could also do 150-200kms on a bike. Once your legs are used to it, humans are really really good at this sort of low energy long distance stuff.

Without dipping into this data I’d say a sub 4 mara would be equivalent to a sub 6 112mile ride.

That seems right within the context of an Ironman, based on my own experience.

Iron-distance 1: bike leg = ~5h26m, marathon = ~3h39
Iron-distance 2: bike leg = ~5h21m, marathon = ~3h50

Standalone marathon time: 2h35m and change

I've never done a 100mile standalone TT to compare as well though.

A friend’s wife did 56 last year inc several back to back….

She also did several ultra runs of 100 miles, most of which weren’t even in the UK…

She’s not normal……

TBH I don't see that as being too hard, the main things stopping me from doing that are time and money (and I'm not sure I particularly want to). Again, this is assuming a relatively low intensity. You can't aim for a marathon PB time if you're doing one a week.

Running a marathon is not racing a marathon. My sister finishes marathons for fun, including off road ones and back-to-back, with little to no training. If you say race pace (sub three hours for a fast club rider), then perhaps a 100 mile TT in sub 4hrs or a 280 mile 12hr TT. When I did the Tough Mudder with her, despite zero running training, I was demonstrably fitter then she was when it came to running up hills.

But i was wondering what’s the equivalent in biking terms.

I've come back to this again after a bit more thought.....and realised I'm not sure what the question is!

What do we (you) mean by equivalent? The 'morning after' impact on the body, the energy consumed by an equivalent intensity of event, the amount of training needed to get to 'club standard' in the events, the amount of training it would take a total noob to get around it for the first time?

"Very few people run full marathons outside of events for fun, yet there will be thousands of cyclists in this country hitting centuries on any sunny summer weekend."

That's because they know that running just sucks, or at least running for ages on tarmac does.

I run a bit, from half marathons upward to ultras and multi-days. Predominantly off-road and with mountains when I can. I also ride a fair bit, again predominantly off-road and I don't avoid hills. Though riding tends to be for fun and fitness where running I'm doing races.

I'd say a ratio of 4 to 1 is in the ballpark and what the watch calorie burn reflects. Of course there are exceptions to the rule like an hour at max heart rate for a CX race or descending an Alp in a mountain ultra, but averaging out over time, for me, 4miles bike is around 1mile run (ish).

I’ve come back to this again after a bit more thought…..and realised I’m not sure what the question is!

The only way it can be read is 'Is there a cycling equivalent to a marathon which achieves the same aspirational effect'. It can't be read as 'how long does it take me - as opposed to you or anyone else - to train for or recover from a marathon', because we are all different.

And, of course, there is no equivalent because a marathon is a randomly set distance based on an ancient story. If cycling had an equivalent legend about a bunch of Greeks who pedalled the 73.5 leagues (pick your distance, any distance!) to the Battle of Plataea on their fixies then that would be our equivalent.

The question could similarly be phrased as 'what's our equivalent of the Americas Cup' or which cycling discipline is our foot golf? Different sports don't necessarily have any similarity or equivalence.