Marathon Training Plan: How to Build a Program That Fits You

How long does it take to train for a marathon?

It depends on your running history. Before we give anyone a plan we ask two questions: what is your goal for the marathon, and how long have you been running? Your plan can only work from your current form, and aerobic capacity takes years to build. These are the guides we use.

Can you get through a marathon on four weeks of training? Yes, you can get there. You will have a lot of pain on the day.

A big time goal can take longer than one build. One example: Daniel, a TriVelo athlete, took three years of attempts to break three hours.

Is a 12, 16, 18 or 20 week marathon training plan enough?

For a runner with a base, it can be. For a first marathon, usually not.

• The long run sets the length of the plan. Work backwards. As an example, say your longest run so far is one hour and you are building toward four hours. At 10 to 15 minutes more each week (15 is pushing it for some people), that takes about 18 weeks, and we like that run done about six weeks before the race.
• If you only have 16 weeks. If your marathon is 16 weeks away and the ideal for you is 24, look for the middle ground and accept a shorter build. Grant came to us wanting to run a marathon with little running behind him. For him, Gerard's view was: "You've got literally 16 weeks to train for a marathon, and in my opinion, that's just not enough."
• 16 to 20 weeks with a base. One way to use it: long runs and strength for the first couple of months, then some sessions at marathon pace each week in the last six to eight weeks.
• 25 to 30 weeks. For most runners this is what we call a proper marathon program. In a plan that long, race specific work is kept for the last six to eight weeks.

Here is one real example of a 25 week build. Billy came to TriVelo after running 4:11 at the Great Ocean Road Marathon, a hilly 44.6 km course. He had been running 30 to 50 km a week at the same pace every day, with no recovery.

We restarted him at 20 km a week. He built in steps of three or four weeks, with an easy week after each step, up to big weeks of 60 to 90 km. Every fourth or fifth week his long run became a progressive fast run: 10 or 16 km at first, then 21, 25 and 30 km. One year later, on the same course, he ran about 3:51. That is a PB of 20 to 21 minutes. These are Billy's numbers, not a template.

How to train for a marathon: the build

• Start slow and build. Progressive overload is the main principle. A rushed build risks injury.
• Frequency first, then volume, then intensity. Get used to running often. Then run for longer. For newer runners, hard running comes last.
• Build in steps. One pattern we use is two or three weeks up, then one easier week.
• Strength before speed. Easy long running and strength work come first, on hills if you have them. Faster work, such as fartlek or 1 km repeats, comes later, and only when you can handle it.
• Finish with race pace. The last six weeks or so are what we call the race ready period. Runs get shorter and you practise the pace you will hold on race day.

Lauren came to TriVelo with a marathon PB of 4:12. She ran three times a week, 25 to 45 km in total, and every run was at the same intensity. Over 14 months we built her to four or five runs a week and 60 to 80 km. She ran 3:29 at the Gold Coast Marathon. That is one minute per kilometre faster.

Marathon training schedule: how the week is built

For most of the runners we have coached, five runs a week is about the optimum. Not everyone can do five, and some of our athletes run marathon PBs on three or four with cross training. The five are usually an endurance run, a recovery run, a strength run, a tempo run and a run at race pace.

Here is one hypothetical week, as an example only. Run Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Monday and Friday are for recovery or easy cross training. Wednesday is the easy run, because it sits between two harder days. Where the days go depends on your own week.

• Vary your runs. If every run is at one pace, you stay the same runner.
• Cross train if you can swim or ride. Unless you are a professional, you don't need to run seven days a week. Easy swimming and riding give you aerobic work and keep you off your legs.
• Limit hard running. For most age group runners, short fast track repeats are a risk. For those runners we prefer tempo running between 10 km and half marathon pace, and hill repeats.

One example: Gary, 62, is a TriVelo athlete whose marathon times were in the 4:20s. His goal was 4:10. He runs three to four times a week, and at his peak that was 50 to 58 km. His harder work comes from the bike. He ran 4:17, then 4:07, then 3:53 with the second half faster than the first.

The long run

For most runners this is the key session. The other runs matter just as much.

• Run to time. Build toward the time your marathon will take. As an example, a 3:30 marathon runner might reach about 3:00 to 3:20 in one training run before race day. We don't ask for 42 km in training.
• Keep it easy. On most long runs, stay in zone two as much as you can. If the long run is too hard, you can't back up for the next run.
• Add hills if you have them. As one example from our athletes, 300 to 400 m of elevation in the endurance run builds the strength to hold your pace late in the race. Not every long run needs hills.
• Time the longest one. As a guide, we like it about six weeks out, and it is a one-off. One thing we have learned: for most runners, a 35 km progressive run two weeks out is too close to the race.
• Run some of them faster. Every four to six weeks, a runner who is ready for it does a long run at or near race pace. How far is different for each athlete. Lucas, whose story is below, did 25, 30 and 32 km. Lauren's longest was 35 km.
• Slower runners need a different approach. A five hour marathon runner can't do a five hour training run. As a guide from Jordan: if your longest run is two hours and race day will take four and a half or five, you need to have done a three hour run. One method we used with Billy was to split some long days: two and a half hours in the morning and one hour in the afternoon.

A marathon training plan for beginners

Going from the couch to a 5 km to a marathon is a massive step.

• Work up through the distances. 5 km, 10 km, half marathon, then the marathon.
• Don't run every day. Most new runners' bodies won't cope with that load yet. If you can, swim or ride between the important runs.
• No hard running at the start. If you have no running history and your marathon is six months away, we give you no hard running. The injury risk is too high.
• Watch the weekly volume. Many programs we see go from 25 km a week to 60, 70 and 90 very quickly. Week after week over 60 km is tough for a beginner.
• Respect the event. We see it often: runners who go in under prepared come out very fatigued or injured. After one recent big city marathon, many could not train properly for four to six weeks.

Hills and strength training for a marathon

In our programs, most marathon strength work is done on hills, for runners who have hills to train on. Most runners don't need to be fast in a marathon. They need to be strong enough to hold their pace and not fade.

• Hilly endurance runs, at an easy effort.
• Hill repeats, on another day. As one example, Lauren built from four by two minutes to six, then eight, at a steady pace. They are not sprints.
• Run hills by feel. Up a hill, the effort should feel like your target flat pace. The pace on your watch will be slower.
• Build it slowly. If long runs are new to you, start on flatter courses. Hills too early can injure you.

Other strength work can help too. Jordan stayed injury free through his own high volume marathon build, and Gerard credits Jordan's functional strength work.

Marathon pace: how to find yours

Your marathon pace comes from what you have done in training. When an athlete brings us a race plan, we ask one question: where have you done this in training?

We test regularly, and we mean field tests, not lab tests.

• 5 km parkruns, 10 km time trials and half marathons. Billy, for example, did eight to ten 5 km time trials in his 25 weeks. The first was at 5:09 per kilometre. He later ran his whole marathon at 5:10.
• Progressive runs. You start below your race pace and finish above it. This is practice for race day as much as a test.
• A race pace test every four to six weeks, for runners who are ready for it. For example your own half marathon, 30 km or 36 km at race pace. It is not a weekly session.
• Test on a course like your race. If you tested on flat ground and the race is hillier, you are probably further from your goal time than you think.

From these we give a range and not one number. Twelve weeks out it is a guess. A week out we know.

One guide we use to estimate a marathon from a half marathon: double your half marathon time and add some minutes. How many depends on your experience and how much endurance work you have done.

This only works if you have done the endurance work. A 5 km time on its own does not give you a marathon time.

Yasso 800s. This is an older predictor that some runners use: ten 800 m repeats with three to four minutes of rest. For a 3:30 marathon goal each 800 takes 3:30. For three hours, 3:00. If your goal is under four hours and you can't run ten 800s in under four minutes each, think twice about the goal. Use it with care: Gerard once ran his 800s in 2:30 to 2:35 and was nowhere near 2:30 marathon shape.

Where marathon pace sits. In Ep 167 Gerard sets training paces from threshold pace, which is the pace of your best 10 km or your best one hour. Tempo runs are sub threshold, between 75 and 90 percent of threshold pace, and feel like somewhere between 10 km and half marathon pace. Marathon pace is slower again. As a rough example he put it at about 75 percent of threshold.

Examples of times and paces from the podcast:

Five or ten seconds per kilometre adds minutes by the finish.

Lucas, a firefighter on shift work in northern Australia, came to TriVelo after a marathon he did not finish. He wanted to break four hours, which needs about 5:40 per kilometre. He ran the first half at 5:20 and hit the wall at 30 to 32 km with full body cramp. A year later his numbers told a different story. His first 5 km with us was at 4:33 per kilometre. Ten days before the marathon he ran a 10 km time trial at 4:12, and inside his 32 km race pace run he ran a 1:41 half marathon. We told him he was a 3:20 to 3:25 runner. He ran 3:24.

How to hold your marathon pace on race day

What we see at most marathons is a constant pattern: the majority of the field starts too fast and fades. The few runners with a faster second half normally have the best outcome. This is what we ask our athletes to do.

• Make the first kilometre your slowest. Go easy for the first few kilometres, then get to your marathon pace and hold it.
• Check early. The watch is mainly for the first two or three kilometres. One tip we give: find a 500 m marker in your warm up and check your pace there.
• Don't bank time. Going out fast to build a buffer doesn't work.
• Expect it to feel too easy. If you are fit and tapered, the first 20 km should feel like the easiest 20 km you have run in a long time.
• Decide later. As a guide, judge how you are coping at about 25 to 30 km. If you want to push, wait. Gerard: "At 35k you think you've got this, then prove it."
• Run hills on effort. On a hilly course your pace will change and your effort should not. One example: for Billy, a 5:10 average meant about 5:30 uphill and 4:50 downhill.
• Aim to hold pace. A negative split means the same time or a fraction quicker in the second half. A 10 second gain, an even split or a 10 second loss are all good running.
• Don't be too cautious. That can cost four or five minutes.

Gerard's rule of thumb: once you slow by more than 30 seconds per kilometre, it quickly becomes a minute, and you can lose 30 minutes.

Marathon taper

Taper is individual. These are the principles we start from.

• As a guide, do your longest run about six weeks out. After it, the duration comes down and the intensity goes up slightly.
• In the last weeks you are not trying to improve. Stay healthy and keep what you have. Sleep, nutrition and hydration matter more than hero sessions.
• Reduce the volume and keep some intensity. How much of each is different for each runner.
• A last hard effort can help some runners. Lucas ran a 10 km time trial ten days out. Jordan raced a 5 km parkrun flat out the week before, and his legs were still sore on the Tuesday of race week. If you are tired, use a 5 km as a confidence booster only.
• Find your own taper. No two people get the same result from the same taper. Try a harder one and an easier one before races that matter less.

Nutrition for marathon training and race day

• Practise on your long runs. If you give yourself a 30 week program, that is about 28 long endurance days to do it. Try a little more, then a little less, and see what happens.
• Find your own numbers. Gerard: "There is not one rule that says you should have 60 g of carb per hour."
• Carb load with food you have practised. Don't try something new the night before or on race morning.
• Have a hydration plan and stay with it. One example of what can go wrong: in his first marathon Jordan stopped taking fluid and electrolytes when his bladder felt full. He cramped at 36 km and believes that was part of it.

Common marathon training mistakes

These are the ones we see most often.

• Not giving yourself enough time, so the long run builds too fast
• A longest run that is far short of your race time (Gerard's example is 90 minutes)
• Easy runs too close to race pace
• Track intervals before you have a base
• Dropping the long run for speed work
• A goal pace you have never run in training
• Following other runners in the first few kilometres
• Adding a marathon to your season without planning the recovery

Listen to the full episodes

• How To Prepare For A Marathon Properly, Ep 167
• How To Execute The Perfect Marathon, Ep 257
• Fix These Marathon & Ironman Mistakes, Ep 246 (Lucas's story)
• How To Run A Faster Marathon, Ep 295 (Gary's story)
• How She Went From 4:12 to 3:29 in the Marathon, Ep 181 (Lauren's story)
• Improving Your Marathon PB By 21mins, Ep 239 (Billy's story)
• Ultimate Race Predictor Training Sessions, Ep 215
• Why 99% of Triathlon Amateurs Never Hit Their Potential, Ep 296
• Ironman Coaches React to the Worst Trends in Triathlons, Ep 298 (taper)
• Ironman Coaches React To Kona World Champs Carnage + Marathon Race Review, Ep 301 (Jordan's first marathon)

Related

• Half Ironman training plan
• Half marathon training plan
• Heart rate training zones
• Zone 2 training
• VO2 max training