Marathon training plan: sixteen weeks to 26.2 miles
This sixteen-week plan is for a first marathon or a return to the distance. It uses four runs a week, long runs that build to 20 miles (32 kilometres), regular cutback weeks and a three-week taper.
Before you start
You should be running three or four times a week, covering 15 to 20 miles in total, and able to run 8 miles in one go. A completed half marathon is the ideal starting point. If you are not there yet, follow the half marathon training plan first. See a GP before starting if you have a health condition or have been inactive.
How the week is arranged
Each week has two easy runs, one faster session and one long run. A common layout is easy on Tuesday, faster session on Wednesday or Thursday, easy on Friday or Saturday, and the long run on Sunday. Keep at least two full rest days, and make the day after the long run one of them.
Understanding the sessions
- Easy: conversational pace. If in doubt, slow down.
- Intervals: efforts at about 10K pace with an easy jog between, inside a run with ten minutes easy at each end.
- Tempo: a comfortably hard, sustained effort, about the pace you could hold for an hour.
- Marathon pace (MP): your target race pace. Work it out with the pace calculator.
- Long run: easy pace, typically 45 to 90 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace.
The sixteen-week plan
Distances are in miles, with kilometres in brackets for the long run. The faster session column gives the total distance of the run and the effort inside it.
| Week | Easy runs | Faster session | Long run | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 mi and 4 mi | 4 mi with 4 x 3 min intervals | 8 mi (13 km) | Build |
| 2 | 4 mi and 4 mi | 5 mi with 15 min tempo | 10 mi (16 km) | Build |
| 3 | 4 mi and 5 mi | 5 mi with 5 x 3 min intervals | 12 mi (19 km) | Build |
| 4 | 4 mi and 4 mi | 4 mi easy with 4 x 20 sec strides | 8 mi (13 km) | Cutback |
| 5 | 4 mi and 5 mi | 6 mi with 20 min tempo | 13 mi (21 km) | Build |
| 6 | 5 mi and 5 mi | 6 mi with 4 x 5 min intervals | 15 mi (24 km) | Build |
| 7 | 5 mi and 6 mi | 6 mi with 2 x 15 min tempo | 16 mi (26 km) | Build |
| 8 | 4 mi and 5 mi | 5 mi easy with 4 x 20 sec strides | 12 mi (19 km) | Cutback |
| 9 | 5 mi and 6 mi | 7 mi with 25 min tempo | 17 mi (27 km) | Peak |
| 10 | 5 mi and 6 mi | 7 mi with 5 x 5 min intervals | 18 mi (29 km) | Peak |
| 11 | 5 mi and 5 mi | 6 mi with 3 mi at MP | 13 mi (21 km) | Cutback |
| 12 | 5 mi and 6 mi | 7 mi with 30 min tempo | 19 mi (30.5 km) | Peak |
| 13 | 5 mi and 6 mi | 8 mi with 5 mi at MP | 20 mi (32 km) | Peak |
| 14 | 5 mi and 5 mi | 6 mi with 20 min tempo | 13 mi (21 km) | Taper |
| 15 | 4 mi and 5 mi | 5 mi with 3 x 1 mi at MP | 8 mi (13 km) | Taper |
| 16 | 4 mi and 3 mi | 3 mi easy with 4 x 1 min at MP | Race day: 26.2 mi (42.2 km) | Taper |
Why 20 miles is far enough
The longest run is 20 miles, three weeks before race day. Going further in training adds a great deal of fatigue for very little extra benefit, and the recovery eats into the following week. If your long run pace means 20 miles would take much more than three and a half hours, cap the run at that time instead. The combined effect of sixteen weeks of training, not one run, is what carries you through the final six miles.
Cutback weeks
Weeks 4, 8 and 11 reduce the long run and ease the faster session. They are part of the training, not a break from it. Runners who skip cutback weeks tend to arrive at the peak weeks already tired. If you feel run down at any other point, turn that week into a cutback week and carry on from where you left off.
The three-week taper
After the 20-mile run, total distance falls by roughly a quarter in week 14, by about 40% in week 15, and further still in race week. A little faster running stays in so your legs remember the pace. Expect to feel restless and to notice small aches: both are normal. The tapering guide covers this period in detail.
Fuelling and kit rehearsal
On every long run over 90 minutes, practise the eating and drinking you plan for race day. Many runners aim to take some carbohydrate every 30 to 45 minutes from early in the run. Try options in training and never use anything new on the day. Do at least two long runs in your full race day kit, including the shoes and socks.
Missed training
- A few runs: continue as planned. Protect the long run above all else.
- One week: pick the plan back up, reducing that week's long run by 2 miles.
- Two or three weeks: step back two weeks in the plan. An 18-mile longest run is still enough to finish.
- More than three weeks in the second half: think about a later event.
Setting a goal
A half marathon run during training gives the best estimate of your marathon time through the race time predictor. Treat the prediction as optimistic for a first marathon and add a few minutes. Hold back in the first half. The marathon guide explains what to expect over the full distance, and the race day checklist covers packing and timings.