Marathon training plan: how to prepare for your best race ever

When it comes to running, the marathon sits at the top of the mountain for achievement. It is tough, time consuming, and requires a great deal of dedication but, most important of all, it benefits from a marathon training plan.

We’re here to help you, inspire you and motivate you as you embark on your marathon journey, and guide you on how to train for a marathon.

Create a plan

There are six elements to include if you want to make sure your 26.2-mile run (42.2km) is as enjoyable and rewarding as you expect it to be.

• Get a support team around you. That could include a masseur, or a physiotherapist, who you should visit once a fortnight. Or invest in something like a massage gun, which can help relax your muscles after a long run.
• Create two goals you want to achieve on the way to your marathon. That can be to run a certain distance or race a certain time. I recommend a half marathon after six weeks’ training and then a fast 10k race in the final month. Choose what works for you.
• Prioritise three one-hour slots a week when you will either go for a run or, if you're feeling low energy, a walk. If there was ever a magic ingredient, it should be consistency. Plans aren’t about one or two weeks; they are about the total.
• Give your nutrition some thought. Marathons are as much about the recovery process as they are the actual running. So, think about carbohydrates and, for older runners, it’s good to understand the importance of protein in helping muscles repair.
• Along with running, fit in one strength training session every 10 days or so.
• Invest in a good pair of running shoes. “It’s worth spending as much as you can afford,” says Eamonn Martin, winner of the 1993 London Marathon.

Key elements

Now you have all the marathon training elements in place, it’s time to think about how you’ll structure your fortnight.

As older runners, forget a seven-day plan, as physiology will confirm you need more time to recover. In fact, make rest a priority, plus each fortnight should have some strength training and, most important of all, your plan must be flexible.

Written plans are massively influential in ensuring success, as they add a little structure to your running. It’s easy to get a bit demotivated, but with a clear path to follow, you will feel there’s purpose to what you’re doing.

Although, I must stress plans aren’t set in stone. Life gets in the way. Your plan should include the following:

Easy runs

These are key to your success. It’s vital they are nice and slow – as slow as you like. And yes, that does involve walking. Essentially, the science behind it all is that you’re helping your capillaries become more receptive to carrying oxygen. And to do that effectively, you need to run slowly.

Too many of us (and I include myself here) clip along at too fast a pace, which in turn slows your muscles’ ability to repair. Be confident in going slow. It will pay dividends.

Tempo runs

Another way to describe a run like this is to say, ‘not fast, but not slow either’. Basically, if you’re running 30 minutes, you’re going to try and run the middle 15 minutes a bit faster. That may sound a bit simplistic but it’s what the best runners in the world are doing, for distances anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes or so.

Work out the speed by imagining that if you had to, you could do it again at the same pace. That thought process controls your initial enthusiasm. 

Intervals

Using intervals means your body will adapt to stress and learn to run faster, more efficiently. In short, running will start to feel easier. These runs are all about moving faster for a shorter distance, resting and then repeating it all five or six times.

There are no definitive distances or times for intervals, but a good guide is to decide how far you’re going to run using minutes. So, for example, a marathon runner would run intervals such as five times five minutes with one minute recovery. Another great marathon workout would be three times eight minutes with two minutes recovery.  

Long run

No marathon plan can ignore the long run, it’s important for so many reasons.  

Your 90-day marathon plan

“Over weeks and months, the body adapts, in both speed and endurance, just as it always did.

"I’ve been surprised at 80+ at how quickly it gets better at the job. I haven’t yet found the limit,” says Roger Robinson, a lifetime elite runner and author.