Running a marathon is already a great feat. For Adrian Lehmann, a professional marathon runner from Switzerland with several inspiring results in World Athletics, it has a more powerful meaning as he aims to represent his country during some of the most important marathon races in the world. On April 23rd, Adrian competed in the Zurich Marathon with an impressive finish time of 2:11:44, earning the 2023 Swiss Champion Title. Let’s dive into Adrian’s data leading up to this achievement.

Adrian’s watch: COROS PACE 2

Analysis software: COROS Training Hub

Image credit: Lucca Blum

Preparation For The Race

Adrian first focused on building up Base Fitness for the first two months this year before diving into specific marathon training prior to Berlin Half-Marathon in early April. Then, he tapered through April before Zurich Marathon on April 23rd.

We can see with the Intensity Trend metric in the photo below that Adrian dropped below 0 during taper. This is a good sign as it means his current training was easier than what he is used to.

Athletes can access their Training Status on the Training Hub to assess the short- and long-term stress of workouts on their bodies.

2023 Zurich Marathon Analysis

Adrian approached the Zurich Marathon with a competitive mindset. Looking back at his data from the race, we can notice a consistent pace throughout the race. He completed the first half at roughly 1:05:51 and the second half at around 1:05:53.

Athletes can look back and analyze their race through the Training Hub desktop software.

Diving deeper into his race analysis, we can notice that Adrian maintained a race pace of 3’06″/km while his threshold pace was closer to 3’00″/km. Elite marathon athletes can complete a marathon closer to their threshold pace compared to amateur runners.

Additionally, Adrian maintained an average HR of 153bpm, just a few beats below his Lactate Threshold. Getting too close to his threshold HR would have led to accumulated fatigue and potentially slowing down near the end of the race.

Athletes can access training zones for HR and Pace in the Training Hub.

COROS Training

We want to give a special shoutout to Adrian Lehmann for his amazing performance at the 2023 Zurich Marathon and earning the 2023 Swiss Champion Title!

For all COROS athletes, the Training Hub is a great place to take a step back and analyze your race through meaningful metrics and data to help you best prepare for your next event. Whether you’re looking to improve your overall fitness or dial in your race day strategy, COROS is here every step as you head out on your next journey to explore perfection!