This marathon training program is intended for those runners who are aiming to complete a marathon in three months time.
It is assumed that you are able to currently run a half marathon (21 km) at a comfortable pace. It is also expected that you have a solid fitness base for your marathon preparation.
For invaluable information on the marathon training program and an explanation of all the workouts please click here
The following marathon training program has distance recorded in kilometers. To convert kilometers to miles divide the kilometer distance by 1.6 (eg: 42 km divided by 1.6 = 26.2 miles).
If you feel that you do not have sufficient base fitness then our beginner marathon training program maybe better suited to you. To view it please click here
To read about a new concept in marathon training programs involving only three runs a week please click here
| Wks To Go |
MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Recov Run 5km | day off | Medium Long 13km |
Recov Run 6km | Aerobic + strides 10k incl 4×100 strides | day off | Long Aerobic Run 22km |
56k |
| 11 | Recov Run 5km | day off | Medium Long 15km |
Recov Run 6km | Aerobic + strides 12k incl 5×100 strides | day off | Long Aerobic Run 25km |
63k |
| 10 | Recov Run 6km | day off | Medium Long 17km |
Recov Run 5km | Aerobic + strides 11k incl 6×100 strides | day off | Long Aerobic Run 30km |
69k |
| Wks | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | TOT |
| 9 | day off | Anaerobic Threshold 11k incl 3x1600m repeats with a 3min recovery | Med Long + strides 14km incl 6x100m strides |
Recov Run 5km | Strength Endur 10k incl 4x2min hill repeats | day off | Long Aerobic Run 22km |
62k |
| 8 | day off | Anaerobic Threshold 10k incl 3x1600m repeats with a 4min recovery | Recov Run 5km |
Strength Endur 10k incl 5×2 min hill repeats | day off | Recov Run 5k |
Marathon Pace Run – 22km with 15km at target marathon speed | 52k |
| 7 | day off | Anaerobic Threshold 12k incl 4x1600m repeats with a 4min recovery | Med Long + strides – 15km incl 6x100m strides |
Recov Run 6km | Strength Endur 10k incl 2k tempo then 4×2 min hill repeats | day off | Long Aerobic Run 32km |
75k |
| Wks | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | TOT |
| 6 | day off | Strength Endurance 12k incl 2k tempo then 5×2 min hill repeats | Recov Run 5km |
Tempo 10k with 2x10min tempo efforts with a 3min recov | Aerobic + strides 10k incl 5×100 downhill strides | Recov Run 5k |
Long Aerobic Run 22km |
64k |
| 5 | day off | Strength Endurance 10k incl 1k tempo then 6×2 min hill repeats | Recov Run 5km |
Tempo 11k with 3x8min tempo efforts with a 3min recov | Aerobic + strides 12k incl 4×100 downhill strides | day off | Long Aerobic Run 35km |
73k |
| 4 | day off | Strength Endurance 13k incl 3k tempo then 4×2 min hill repeats | Recov Run 5km |
Aerobic + Strides 12k incl 5×100 downhill strides | day off | Recov Run 5k |
Marathon Pace Run – 26km with 22km at target marathon speed | 61k |
| Wks | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | TOT |
| 3 | day off | Strength Endurance 12k incl 2k tempo then 5×2 min hill repeats | Recov Run 5km |
Tempo 14k with 3x10min tempo efforts with a 2min recov | Aerobic + strides 10k incl 6×100 downhill strides | day off | Long Aerobic Run 28km |
69k |
| 2 | day off | Anaerobic Threshold 15k incl 4x1000m repeats with a 3min recovery | Recov Run 5km |
Tempo – 10k with 4x5min tempo efforts with a 3min recov. | Aerobic + strides 8k incl 5×100 strides | day off | Long Aerobic Run 16km |
54k |
| Race Wk |
day off | Recov Run 6km | Tempo 10k incl 4km at marathon race pace |
Recov Run + strides 8k incl 5×100 strides | day off | Recov Run + strides 5km incl 3x100m race pace strides |
RACE marathon 42.195km |
29k + race |