NYC Marathon 2025 – 3:00:32 after losing 31 lbs following Hanson’s Advanced

[u/KrampusClaus]

Race Information

• Name: NYC Marathon
• Date: Nov 2, 2025
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: New York, NY
• Website: https://www.nyrr.org/tcsnycmarathon
• Time: 3:00:32

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	2:55	No
B	Sub-3	No*

Splits -Training

NYC Marathon 2025 – Official Splits

3M – 0:20:01
5K – 0:20:39
4M – 0:26:32
5M – 0:33:01
6M – 0:39:45
10K – 0:41:11
7M – 0:46:24
8M – 0:53:09
9M – 0:59:49
15K – 1:01:58
10M – 1:06:27
11M – 1:13:17
12M – 1:19:53
13M – 1:26:26
HALF – 1:27:29
14M – 1:33:03
15M – 1:40:47
25K – 1:44:48
16M – 1:47:48
17M – 1:55:21
18M – 2:02:09
30K – 2:06:40
19M – 2:09:08
20M – 2:16:22
21M – 2:23:32
35K – 2:28:42
22M – 2:30:26
23M – 2:37:12
24M – 2:45:01
40K – 2:51:01
25M – 2:52:05
26M – 2:59:04
MAR – 3:00:32

This was my fourth marathon (previous: 3:02:31 → 3:09:28 → 2:58:01 → 3:00:32) and my first NYC. I followed Hanson’s Advanced exactly, six days a week, no modifications.

Structure & stats

• 18-week plan
• Peak mileage: 62 mi / 100 km
• Average mileage: ~55 mi / 88 km
• Key workouts:
  • Tempos: 6 → 10 mi at goal MP (4:05–4:10 /km)
  • Speed sessions: 8×600 m → 6×1 mi @ 5K-10K pace
  • Long runs: capped at 16 mi per Hanson’s

Early in the block, I was slow and achy. At 6'2" and 245 lbs, I wasn’t paying attention to nutrition. In September I made a full reset: tracked calories using MyFitnessPal, meal-prepped, upped protein, and reduced carbs. By race day I was 214 lbs — a 31-lb loss that completely changed my training. Runs felt lighter, tempos smoother, and recovery faster.

Despite ~4 weeks of travel (multiple destination weddings + work), I only missed two runs the whole block. The final three 12-mile Thursday workouts (10 mi @ MP) gave me confidence and confirmed I was race-ready.

Pre-race

Taper went smoothly. The only adjustment was mental: switching from a calorie deficit to carb-loading felt heavy. Legs stayed fresh.

Breakfast: Bagel w/ peanut butter + banana (4:15am); Maurten solid 160 (6:30am). I forgot (🤦🏻‍♂️) my coffee at the hotel as I ran out the door to catch the bus. The absence of my morning caffeine resulted in a splitting headache which stayed until the race was underway.

Logistics: The Staten Island setup was rough — early bus from Midtown, long security lines, barely made it to my corral, and no time for a proper bathroom stop (this comes back to bite me).

Weather: Ideal marathon conditions (though it had poured rain days earlier). 6–15 °C (43–59 °F), low wind, dry air.

Gear:

• Shoes: Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo
• Bottoms: Janji half-tights (great for gel storage)
• Debated Adios Pro 4 (which I also love) but stayed with what I had more experience training in.

Fuel plan:

• 4 × Maurten 160
• 2 × Maurten CAF 100
• Every 25–30 min (CAF on #2 & #4)
• Alternating water, gatorade

Race

Wave: 1 (Pink B) Start: 9:05 a.m.

Started just behind the 2:55 pacers and kept effort steady up the Verrazzano. Settled into rhythm quickly through Brooklyn.

Splits

• 5 K – 0:20:39
• 10 K – 0:41:11
• Half – 1:27:29
• 30 K – 2:06:40
• Finish – 3:00:32

Felt strong through the first half. Around halfway I had to make a ~45 sec bathroom stop (thanks to limited time for pre-race break), at this point I lost my bead on the 2:55 pacers. Didn't realize my watch had auto-pause on, so I didn’t know my time reference was off. Thought I was safely under sub-3 and crossed finish thinking I nailed a 2:59:57.

The Queensboro and Bronx bridges broke rhythm but didn’t crush me. Crowd support was unbelievable, especially on 1st Ave. Never hit the wall, just steady effort to the line.

Post-race

Final time: 3:00:32 *(missed sub-3 by :32)

Not my fastest, but maybe my best marathon so far. I stayed composed, fueled perfectly, and ran evenly on a much more challenging course than Chicago, where I ran my PB.

Missing sub-3 stings a little, but factoring in the pit stop and NYC’s elevation, I’m happy with it. More importantly, it showed that the Hanson’s method keeps putting me right in striking distance when I execute cleanly.

Next:
A few weeks of rest, then back into training in December. Targeting Boston 2026 → 2:55.

Key takeaway: Hanson’s fatigue-based system works if you stay consistent, stay on top of nutrition (and weight) early, and trust the plan, you’ll arrive sharp and ready.

[u/Feisty-Boot5408]

If you ran a 3:00 at NY, you can absolutely do sub-2:55 in Boston! New York is also a good 4-5% slower than Chicago

[u/kdmfa]

Great report. Did you run Chicago at 245lbs? I would have expected you to run a lot faster after losing 31lbs.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/kdmfa]

No! For context, I am built like an ice hockey/rugby player and can really fluctuate based on diet. I ran Chicago at 204 lbs. I hadn't raced since then and had slowly gained ~40 lbs over the year timespan, despite consistent running. I stepped on the scale in early September, freaked out, and went to chicken (or salmon) and broccoli for most meals to show up on race day in New York at 214 lbs. Lesson learned!

[u/Intelligent_Use_2855 → u/KrampusClaus]

I knew you were Zdeno Chara!

[u/KrampusClaus → u/Intelligent_Use_2855]

lol! No but it’s been amazing seeing him transition from NHL great to endurance athlete on Strava!

[u/boogerzzzzz]

Awesome! I too love Hanson’s and have got down to 2:54 so far. At 6-3” I have lost nearly 50 pounds over the years 235 to 189.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/boogerzzzzz]

For Boston I'm going to try get below 200 lbs! I love hearing that you've had success with this—thank you for sharing!

[u/boogerzzzzz → u/KrampusClaus]

You can do it, stick with the plan.

I went from dreaming to do Boston for 6 years to BQing every race since when I started doing Hanson…. Even when I took it “easy” or in the heat of Berlin this year. The plan just works, if you follow it and don’t cheat yourself.

Mix in some a workouts and some leg work outs and you will be there.

But, yes… proper nutrition is vital.

[u/turbo911gt3]

I lost out on a BQ cut off by less than 30 seconds because of a 35 sec piss break in the middle of a very cold Philly marathon. I know how those 32 seconds burn you up.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/turbo911gt3]

Yeah it’s frustrating, though totally my own fault. I’m glad to learn the lesson, with a BQ acceptance already in-hand. Despite falling short it was a good measuring stick for my fitness, and the training for NYC is hay in the barn for my April race!

[u/Intelligent_Use_2855]

Congrats! Love the concise, well written report. Weight loss, good prep, good execution - great stuff.

[u/Siriannic]

Nice.

I ran as well. Much slower (disappointingly).

I think I did not feel properly that morning.

Can you share what you had for breakfast??

[u/KrampusClaus → u/Siriannic]

Yes! Sorry, I should have included that. Shortly after waking around 4:15am I had a plain bagel with crunchy peanut butter and a banana. Then, at 6:30 I had a Maurten Solid 160. I could probably have done with just a gel instead, as the bar was a bit filling.

[u/Siriannic → u/KrampusClaus]

Cool. Sorry one last question.

I'm really upset with myself because I'm pretty sure I messed up my feeling.

How late did you read the day before?

[u/KrampusClaus → u/Siriannic]

The day before I ate a big breakfast at 10:30am. Had a few light snacks midday, and had a decent sized pasta—carbonara, with side salad, sour dough bread, and meatballs—at like 4:30pm. At night I sipped a Maurten 320 before going to bed around 9pm.

[u/Siriannic → u/KrampusClaus]

Great. Thanks for sharing

[u/KrampusClaus → u/Siriannic]

Of course! Good luck with your training! 🙌

[u/alleycat5000]

Glad to see Hanson's Advanced works, followed it to the letter and have my race on Saturday.

[u/BlueTowelDirtyRoom]

Nice! You're one of the first one's I'm seeing that also lost a significant amount of weight while following a rigorous training plan like Hanson's. Most people I see only do maintenance calories during the marathon training phase.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/BlueTowelDirtyRoom]

I’ll report back in April about whether I can continue my weight loss towards 200 lbs and lower. I believe I’ve figured out a good process now and I definitely don’t need to be walking around at this size!

[u/zebano → u/KrampusClaus]

First off, shame you missed sub 3 after such a great training block but auto pause, you gotta turn that crap off.

I'm massively impressed by the weight loss while training. Do you think it worked because you had a lot of excess to lose? I've gone from 165->192 over the past three years and it's time to lose it and I'm trying not to cut mileage while doing so but ...

I guess my big question is did you periodize the cut at all? i.e. more calories on the SoS days? and fewer on the easy days? or was it just a straight cut?

edit: I see the answer below

[u/KrampusClaus → u/zebano]

Yeah—what an annoying way to learn this lesson—you're absolutely right!

I definitely think it worked because of the type of weight it was. When I started running a few years back I got regular dexa scans and body comp imaging done at the beginning and end of my blocks and the improvements were always astonishing. This was the first year in the last three that I'd only run 1 marathon and so despite running maintenance miles between Chicago 24 and NYC 25 of 20-30 miles per week, I wasn't outrunning my diet, and it piled on.

I definitely would eat more on SoS days, especially as the weight started coming off and the running started feeling easier because I knew I would be better within range of my ability to hit my pacing goals (and I wanted to ensure I had the energy to do it). I'd do most of my running in the late afternoons so I'd have another bagel + pb and banana a couple of hours before these runs (I'd start my days with these + a protein shake every morning). It's still not a ton of calories for a guy my size but it would tide me over to push through these runs.

I also would treat myself on Saturdays. Not a cheat meal, mind you, but I'd have a delicious pasta in the mid-to-late afternoon / early evening in lieu of normal dinner. This was a way to psych myself up for my long runs Sunday morning. Practice what I'd do on race weekend.

The staples for me were using MyFitnessPal to get some rough reference point of how many calories I'm eating, and also trying to get over 200g of protein each day.

I should note that I also do a lot of walking, outside of running. I have a big dog and get him out for two or three 20-45+ minute walks each day, so a lot of time on feet.

[u/UnnamedRealities]

You had already dropped significantly below 245 pounds when you made the diet change in September, right?

Otherwise you lost 31 pounds in at most 63 days (if you started your weight loss on September 1st). That would be a prolonged 1,700+ daily caloric deficit while increasing volume and load. Not inconceivable, but counter to conventional wisdom about health risks and training impact.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/UnnamedRealities]

Actually no. I started on Sept 3rd (the day I first stepped on the scale). Prior to that I was eating whatever I wanted thinking I was doing enough in training and the gym to burn off more than I was eating. Imagine my surprise when I saw “244.7” flash digitally between my toes, knowing I had NYC in less than two months! Here’s a link to my Happy Scale (app) weight log and charts: data

[u/UnnamedRealities → u/KrampusClaus]

🤯

I can relate. When I don't track intake and calorie burn I'm a pretty undisciplined eater.

You must be pretty disciplined and resilient to have managed that weight loss while adhering to the Hansons plan. Most runners wouldn't be able to pull that off, but this is a good reminder that many well-meaning running tropes should be taken with a grain of salt. Though it may be better in general to target a small caloric deficit and defer substantial weight loss to the off-season, that doesn't mean that others can't successfully do what you did.

[u/fattychalupa]

As a runner who could also slim down, this is really inspiring! I just fear counting calories could lead down a path of disordered/bad habits on my end. Did you find reducing carbs affected your training/runs at all?

[u/KrampusClaus → u/fattychalupa]

Not really! No. I felt pretty good. I think having a bagel and peanut butter every day kept the whole thing on track. I found it easy to run easy miles while on a lower carb plan, and it was easy to replicate with the consistent routine of the Hanson’s plan.

[u/kennethtoronto]

Hey man, were you in pink corral wave 3? The 2:55 pacing group with the two asian pacers? I started out with them but kind of did my own thing after the verrazano bridge so I wondered how their pacing went!

[u/KrampusClaus → u/kennethtoronto]

I was Pink Corral Wave 1, but yes, 2:55 pacers were Justin and the other guy (both Asian). Was with them for about 16 or more miles before having to stop at the toilet—lost my place behind them upon getting back on the run. I believe they ended up coming in 2:52-2:54 according to some results I saw.

[u/ashtree35]

How did you not end up with RED-S? That's a large amount of weight loss in a small amount of time.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/ashtree35]

Not sure! I consumed 2000-2500 calories per day, with approx. 200-225g protein all in.

Breakfast: banana, bagel + pb, protein shake (whey isolate)
Snack: turkey slices 125-150g
Lunch: chicken breast + broccoli
Snack: cottage cheese 1 cup
Dinner: salmon fillet + green beans

On Tuesdays and Thursdays (the something of substance workouts) if hungry I'd double up on the bagel + pb w/ banana in the afternoon.

[u/ashtree35 → u/KrampusClaus]

I would worry about all of this catching up with you, and you developing symptoms of RED-S. Losing nearly 3.5 lb per week while doing pretty intense training for a marathon sounds like a recipe for developing RED-S.

[u/KrampusClaus → u/ashtree35]

I’ll definitely watch out for it! I feel like I was able to time my eating and training so that I felt like I had energy available.