Marathon training plan

If you’ve got a big run on the horizon, getting a marathon training plan into place will be one of your first tasks. You’ll be putting your body through a lot on race day, so it’s important to condition your muscles and your mind to be prepared for the exertion.

Depending on whether this is your first ever marathon, or you’ve done a couple of long runs before, the way you train will be slightly different. For new runners, it’s all about building up with the purpose of finishing the race. For more experienced runners, your goal will normally be to improve your race time – these two scenarios will require a slightly different marathon training programme, with more experienced runners focusing on longer training runs and faster speeds.

We’ve put together a beginners’ training plan for marathon running to get you started. For more experienced runners, adjust the plan below to increase speeds, times and distances.

How a marathon training plan conditions your body

A marathon is a major endurance test, so it’s essential to get your body conditioned for the race ahead. The idea behind a marathon training programme is fairly simple – it’s about gradually building up distance, intensity and speed to help improve your overall stamina and resistance while also giving your body enough time to rest and repair.

The typical training plan will take somewhere between 16 and 20 weeks. Each week will be a combination of shorter runs plus one longer run (usually on a Sunday) which gets incrementally longer over the course of your training. You’ll also have at least two days of rest per week – and sometimes mix in one or two non-impact exercises such as swimming or cycling. The final three weeks before the race will see you ‘taper’ down the amount of running you do – leaving your body time to rest and repair before the big day.

Food and your marathon training

The general advice for your pre-marathon eating is to simply follow a ‘healthy’ diet. You may have pictured yourself eating tons of carb-heavy spaghetti, but the main goal is to eat healthily. If you drink, reduce the amount of alcohol you consume, eat lots of greens, oily fish and lean meats. Keep the carbs for before longer runs – otherwise it might just be converted to fat.

What if I miss a few days of my marathon training programme?

Don’t worry! Unless you’re a pro athlete, life is likely to occasionally get in the way of your training sessions. If you’ve missed a couple of shorter runs, you can probably just carry on with the plan as it was. On the other hand, missing out longer runs is a bit more of a problem – it will be worth adjusting your schedule to get those key long runs in there.

A training plan for marathon beginners

Follow this plan if you have little to no running experience (if you’re more experienced, amp up speeds and distances proportionally). Remember to get the right running shoes and equipment before you get started too.

Note that we’ve described running and jogging – these are obviously subjective. On a scale of 1–10, where 1 is strolling and 10 is sprinting, a jog should feel around a 4, a run 6–7.

By following this marathon training programme, your mind and body will be ready to take on everything the marathon has to throw at you. Good luck