Training for a Marathon – Part 2: How to write a training plan
You can Google a training plan, read a book, or follow a guide provided by your chosen event. However, nothing beats a tailored plan that suits your specific needs and lifestyle.
You can work with a coach to help create this plan—or you can follow some simple steps to build one yourself.
Step 1: Select your event and work backwards
Once you’ve entered your marathon, count how many weeks remain. Most structured training plans are 12–16 weeks long, but that comes after a base-building phase where you’ve already been running consistently.
You can plan digitally or on paper. A spreadsheet is especially helpful—it lets you track total weekly kilometres and adjust as needed.
Step 2: Block out unavailable dates
Check your calendar and mark any periods when you won’t be able to run—holidays, work commitments, family events, etc. This ensures your plan stays realistic and adaptable.
Step 3: Choose a half marathon tune-up pace
Schedule a half marathon about 4–6 weeks before your marathon. This can be a formal race or a hard solo effort. Local options like Sri Chinmoy events offer affordable lead-up races that many runners use.
Your goal should be to run this as fast as you can—faster than your marathon pace. A common rule of thumb: double your half marathon time and add 10 minutes to estimate your potential marathon finish time.
Step 4: Build a weekly schedule
Decide how many days a week you’ll run. This may increase as your fitness improves. Base your running days on your personal schedule, not tradition.
Here’s an example of a traditional weekly structure:
- Monday: Rest or recovery jog
- Tuesday: Intervals or hills
- Wednesday: Longer easy run
- Thursday: Fartlek (alternating fast and slow running)
- Saturday: Moderate distance and effort
- Sunday: Long easy run
Adapt this to fit around life—kids’ sports, late work meetings, or Thursday night Padel with friends. Flexibility is key.
Step 5: Plan weekly distances and progression
Your weekly total kilometres and long run distance should gradually increase over time.
- A typical guideline: Increase your long run by about 2 km per week
- Your total weekly kilometres should rise by approximately 10%, though this rate should slow down as your mileage builds.
- In later stages, a 2–5 km increase per week may be more realistic.
Pay attention to the intensity of your training. For example, a 50 km week full of hard sessions can be more taxing than a 70 km week of easy running.
A useful rule:
Run 80% of your total weekly time at an easy pace, and 20% at higher intensity.
Step 6: Include specific sessions
Structured sessions help manage intensity and avoid overtraining. For example, here’s how an interval session might progress over three weeks:
- Week 1:
Warm-up 2 km easy.
Session: 4 × 1 km at 4:30/km with 1 min walk recovery.
Cool-down 2 km easy. - Week 2:
Same format, increase to 5 × 1 km at 4:30/km. - Week 3:
Maintain 5 reps, but increase speed to 4:25/km.
This type of progression—adding volume or increasing pace, but not both at once—helps prevent overload and keeps training sustainable.
Final Thoughts
One of the biggest benefits of writing your program in advance is that you can see potential problems before they happen. Too much too soon, or progressing too quickly, can lead to injury.
Following some simple principles—and being honest about your body’s limits—will go a long way. If you need help, consider enlisting a coach, an experienced runner, or a health professional who understands marathon training.
Good luck!
Dr Brendan O’Loughlin is an experienced marathon runner—and even more experienced at helping runners stay injury-free and achieve their goals.
