I followed that principle (nobody wants to train to walk the marathon) for all of my training, but then found I frequently walked the aid stations in order to eat and regroup, even in the Ironmans where I did run more of the marathon. In Florida, when I finally did basically run/jog the entire marathon (because it's pancake flat ), I still walked most if not all aid stations. Since the aid stations are about 1 mile apart, it's manageable chunks, and I found I was able to "run" faster between them. This year, I did more of my long runs thinking about that strategy, but so many things are different from year to year that I'm not sure I'll be able to tell how it pans out.

I get that you can't run every long run at your race pace, but I'd rather have as much be on autopilot as possible without demoralizing myself into thinking I'm failing because I'm walking. I want to train for success, not necessarily train for the ideal. I'm not going to win, podium, or even qualify for Kona (yet? dream...), so I'd rather focus on being smooth, easy, and consistent. For me, a race where I run even or negative splits would be amazing, regardless of walking aid stations.