Hannah Zarzecki broke a four-hour marathon for the first time after eight attempts by working with a new coach. At the London Marathon in April 2025, she finished in 3:43:58.
Zarzecki had been chasing a sub-4 goal for years while following various training plans. After finishing the June 2024 Grandma's Marathon in disappointment, she met Maria Romano, a New York Road Runners coach, during a post-race conversation. Romano offered to coach Zarzecki in exchange for a ride to the airport.
Romano's training approach differed from Zarzecki's previous methods. She had Zarzecki increase weekly mileage to 60 miles per week, up from the 30 miles she had been running. Romano taught her to run the first half of long runs slowly and the second half at marathon pace. On easy runs, Zarzecki learned to run very slowly, at about 11-minute miles, to allow proper recovery.
Zarzecki also made several other changes. She started using an ice bath followed by a hot tub after runs a couple of times weekly to improve recovery. She rotated through three to four pairs of shoes, giving each pair several days between runs so the foam could recover. During races, she fueled with gels every 5K.
At London, when Zarzecki considered quitting, she thought of Midge, her 20-year-old dog, for whom she was fundraising through her charity bib. She increased her pace in the final two miles and finished in 3:43:58. She later improved her time by another 10 minutes at Arizona's Mesa Marathon in February 2025. Zarzecki will compete in the 2026 New York City Marathon as part of the Runner's World+ team.