Workouts

One-Hour Workout: Lionel Sanders’ Pre-Race Run Session

Ever wondered what Sanders does in race week? Check out this run session to find out more and give it a go yourself.

May 11, 2022 Emma-Kate Lidbury

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Fresh from his second-place finish at the Ironman World Championship on Saturday, fan favorite Lionel Sanders has shared one of his pre-race run workouts for this week’s One-Hour Workout. Sanders made a late-stage pass on Braden Currie to take the runner-up spot in St. George, racing with great patience and precision to clock a 2:42:25 marathon and an overall time of 7:54:03, about five minutes behind race winner Kristian Blummenfelt.

The workout below is the final run workout that Sanders typically undertakes pre-race. It features a two- to three-mile easy warm-up jog followed by a main set of five rounds of 1K at race pace, taking one minute rest between each repeat. He’s sure to stick tightly to his race-pace effort and not exceed it, he said.

“The purpose of this workout is to keep some speed in my legs, but obviously not overdo it,” he said. “It’s typically my final workout before a big race.”

He’ll wrap up the session with another two- to three-mile easy jog, rehydrate and refuel, and then return to resting and tapering.