Marathon Training Plan
Create a Personalized Plan That Fits Your Schedule and Goals
Running a marathon takes real commitment. Get a custom marathon training plan built around your fitness level, weekly availability, and race goal. Generate your plan in minutes.
Understanding Marathon Training Plans
Running a marathon takes real commitment and is a big step from a Half Marathon. There's no way around it: completing 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles) requires months of consistent training, smart progression, and mental toughness. But with the right marathon training plan, you can get there. The key is understanding what goes into effective marathon preparation and why each component matters.
Most runners who successfully finish marathons follow structured programs that build endurance gradually over time. These programs aren't just about running more miles each week. They're carefully designed to prepare your body and mind for the unique demands of running for several hours straight. Here's what makes a solid training approach work.
Weekly Mileage: The Foundation of a Marathon Training Plan
When you're training for a marathon, your weekly mileage becomes the backbone of your entire program. Most programs have you building up to weekly totals between 60 and 100 kilometers (40 to 60 miles). This might sound like a lot, and honestly, it is. But here's why it matters: your body needs to adapt to running frequently and for extended periods.
The weekly mileage in your program does a few important things. First, it builds your aerobic base, which is the foundation that allows you to run efficiently for long distances. The more you run, the better your body becomes at using oxygen, processing fuel, and clearing waste products from your muscles. Second, higher weekly mileage helps your body adapt to the repetitive stress of running, strengthening bones, tendons, and muscles while improving your running economy.
You can't just jump straight to 80 kilometers per week. A good program starts where you're currently at and builds gradually. If you're running 30 kilometers per week right now, your plan should slowly increase that over many weeks. The general rule is to increase weekly mileage by no more than 10 percent per week, and even that might be too aggressive for some runners. Your body needs time to adapt to each increase before you add more.
Training Essentials
- Train 4-6 days per week for optimal preparation
- Allow 14-20 weeks to build endurance safely
- Build weekly mileage to 60-100 km (40-60 miles)
- Long runs should reach 29-35 km (18-22 miles)
- Include tempo runs and interval training
- Prioritize recovery and injury prevention
Run Types Used in This Plan
A marathon plan mixes several run types; each has a role. Here’s a quick reference with links to full guides:
Why Use Our Training Plan Generator?
Built Around Your Schedule
Choose your training days and the plan adapts. No forcing yourself into a rigid schedule that doesn't fit your life.
Auto Progression + Recovery Weeks
Your plan automatically includes recovery weeks every 3 weeks and safe mileage progression to prevent injury and burnout.
Download, Premium Editor
Download your complete plan. Upgrade to edit workouts, track progress, and customize your training as you go.
The Long Run: Your Most Important Training Session
If there's one workout that defines marathon training, it's the long run. In your program, your long runs typically grow to around 29 to 35 kilometers (18 to 22 miles). These runs are what really prepare you for the demands of completing the full 42.2 kilometers on race day. Nothing else in your training comes close to replicating what you'll experience during the marathon itself.
Long runs do more than just build physical endurance. They teach your body to burn fat more efficiently, which becomes crucial when your glycogen stores start running low during the later miles of the race. They also help your muscles, joints, and connective tissues adapt to the prolonged stress of running. Your body learns to handle the impact, the repetitive motion, and the mental challenge of staying focused for hours at a time.
Most marathon training plans schedule one long run per week, usually on the weekend when you have more time. These runs start relatively short, maybe 10 or 12 kilometers if you're a beginner, and gradually increase over the course of your training. The progression isn't linear, though. You'll have weeks where the long run stays the same or even decreases slightly, giving your body a chance to recover and adapt before the next increase.
The pace for long runs should feel comfortable and conversational. You're not trying to set personal records here. The goal is time on your feet, building endurance, and teaching your body to run efficiently at a sustainable pace. Many runners make the mistake of running their long runs too fast, which leads to excessive fatigue, poor recovery, and increased injury risk. Save the hard efforts for your tempo runs and intervals.
Common Mistake to Avoid
Not doing enough long runs. Many runners focus too much on speed work and neglect the long run, which is important for marathon training. Your body needs to adapt to running for extended periods, and nothing prepares you better than consistent long runs. If you're going to skip a workout during marathon training, don't let it be the long run. For more pitfalls to avoid, see our marathon training mistakes guide.
Tempo Runs: Building Race-Specific Fitness
Along the way, most programs include a mix of steady running, tempo work, and some interval training to keep the legs sharp. Tempo runs are really helpful for marathon training because they teach your body to run at a comfortably hard pace, the kind of effort you'll maintain for much of the race.
A tempo run is typically run at your lactate threshold pace, which is roughly the pace you could maintain for about an hour in a race. For marathon training, these runs usually last 20 to 40 minutes at tempo pace, sometimes with a warm-up and cool-down. The effort should feel challenging but controlled. You're working hard, but you're not redlining. If you can't hold a conversation, you're going too fast. If you could chat easily, you're going too slow.
Tempo runs improve your body's ability to clear lactate from your muscles, which means you can run faster for longer before fatigue sets in. They also build mental toughness and help you get comfortable with the discomfort that comes with sustained hard efforts. In a marathon, you'll spend a lot of time running at or near your lactate threshold, so training at this pace is crucial.
Interval Training: Sharpening Your Speed
Interval training might seem less important for a marathon, where you're running relatively slowly for a very long time. But improving your top-end speed makes your marathon pace feel easier. When you can run a kilometer in 4 minutes, running it in 5 minutes feels much more comfortable. That's why including intervals in your program makes sense.
Intervals in marathon training are typically shorter and less intense than what a 5K runner might do. Think 800-meter to 1600-meter repeats at 5K to 10K race pace, with recovery jogs between. These workouts improve your running economy, increase your VO2 max, and make your marathon pace feel more manageable. They also break up the monotony of all those easy miles and long runs.
Most programs include intervals once per week, usually in the middle of the week when you're not doing your long run. The total volume of fast running is relatively low, maybe 3 to 5 kilometers of intervals total, plus warm-up and cool-down. The goal isn't to exhaust yourself. It's to stimulate adaptations that will help you on race day.
Easy Runs: Just as Important
Easy runs make up the majority of your weekly mileage in your marathon training plan, and they're just as important as your long runs and tempo sessions. These runs should feel genuinely easy. You should be able to hold a conversation without gasping for air. The pace might feel frustratingly slow, especially if you're used to pushing yourself on every run, but that's exactly the point.
Easy runs build your aerobic base without adding excessive stress to your body. They improve your running economy, help you recover from harder workouts, and increase your overall weekly volume without breaking you down. Most of your runs during marathon training should be easy runs. If you're running five days per week, three or four of those runs should be easy. The hard efforts like long runs, tempo runs, and intervals are the exceptions, not the rule.
Recovery: Where the Magic Happens
Many runners struggle with this: you don't get faster during your runs. You get faster during the recovery between runs. Your body adapts to the stress of training when you give it time to rest and rebuild. That's why recovery is such an important part of any training program.
Recovery in marathon training means several things. First, it means rest days, which are complete days off from running where you let your body repair itself. Most programs include at least one rest day per week, and many include two. Second, it means easy runs that promote blood flow and help clear waste products without adding significant stress. Third, it means recovery weeks, which are periods where you reduce your weekly mileage and long run distance to give your body a chance to fully adapt before the next training block.
Many runners make the mistake of thinking that more is always better. They skip rest days, run their easy runs too hard, and never take recovery weeks. This approach leads to burnout, injury, and poor performance on race day. A well-designed program includes built-in recovery because it's essential for long-term progress.
Training Duration: Why 14 to 20 Weeks Matters
I'd recommend setting aside 14 to 20 weeks for proper marathon preparation, which gives you the time to build endurance gradually and avoid overdoing it too quickly. This timeline isn't arbitrary. It's based on how long it takes your body to adapt to the demands of marathon training.
In the first few weeks of your program, you're establishing your base. You're getting used to running more frequently, building your weekly mileage, and preparing your body for the harder work to come. The middle weeks are where the real training happens. This is when your long runs get longest, your weekly mileage peaks, and you're doing the most challenging workouts. The final few weeks are your taper, where you reduce volume and intensity to arrive at the starting line fresh, recovered, and ready to race.
Trying to cram marathon training into 8 or 10 weeks is a recipe for injury and disappointment. Your body needs time to adapt to increased mileage, longer runs, and more frequent training. Rushing the process doesn't make you fitter faster. It just increases your risk of breaking down before you even get to race day.
Training Frequency: How Many Days Per Week?
Most programs have you running 4 to 6 days per week. The exact number depends on your experience level, your schedule, and your body's ability to recover. Beginners might start with 4 days per week and gradually work up to 5. More experienced runners often train 5 or 6 days per week, sometimes even 7 if they're advanced and their body can handle it.
The key is consistency. Running 5 days per week consistently is far better than running 6 days one week, 3 days the next, and 7 days the week after. Your body adapts best to consistent stress, not erratic training. A good program helps you find the right balance between enough training to improve and enough rest to recover.
Injury Prevention: Staying Healthy
Marathon training puts a lot of stress on your body. The high weekly mileage, long runs, and frequent training all increase your risk of injury. That's why injury prevention should be a priority in any training program. This means paying attention to warning signs like persistent pain, excessive fatigue, trouble sleeping, or loss of appetite. It means doing strength training to keep your muscles balanced and strong. It means proper nutrition and hydration. And it means being willing to back off when your body tells you it needs a break.
Many runners push through pain and fatigue because they're afraid of missing workouts. But missing a few days to address a problem early is far better than being forced to take weeks or months off because you ignored the warning signs. A smart program includes flexibility for exactly this reason.
Nutrition and Hydration: Fueling Your Training
Marathon training increases your calorie and fluid needs significantly. You're burning more energy, losing more fluids through sweat, and putting more stress on your body. Proper nutrition and hydration support your training, help you recover faster, and prepare you for race day.
During long runs, you'll want to practice your race-day nutrition strategy. This means taking in carbohydrates during runs longer than about 90 minutes, and hydrating regularly. Your body can only store enough glycogen for about 90 minutes of running, so for longer efforts, you need to supplement with energy gels, sports drinks, or other carbohydrate sources. Training runs are the time to figure out what works for your stomach and what doesn't.
The Taper: Arriving Fresh on Race Day
The final 2 to 3 weeks of your program are your taper period. This is when you reduce your weekly mileage and long run distance significantly while maintaining some intensity. Many runners struggle with the taper because they feel like they're losing fitness, but that's not what's happening. You're allowing your body to recover fully from all the training you've done, so you can perform at your best on race day.
During the taper, your weekly mileage might drop to 60 or 70 percent of your peak, and your longest run might be just 16 to 20 kilometers instead of 30-plus. You'll still do some tempo runs and maybe some short intervals to keep your legs sharp, but the volume is much lower. Trust the process. The fitness you've built over the previous 12 to 17 weeks isn't going anywhere in 2 or 3 weeks.
Create Your Plan
Select your target: finish your first marathon, break 4 hours, or set a personal best. Your plan adapts to your goal.
Pick how many days you can train (4-6 recommended). The plan builds around your schedule, not the other way around.
Set your timeline (14-20 weeks) and current fitness level. The plan starts where you are and builds safely.
For time-specific plans (e.g. sub-4-hour marathon), see our running plans page.
10,000+ personalized marathon training plans generated
Putting It All Together
A well-designed program balances all these elements: weekly mileage, long runs, tempo work, intervals, easy runs, recovery, and proper nutrition. It builds gradually, includes recovery weeks, and tapers appropriately. Most importantly, it's tailored to your current fitness level, your schedule, and your goals.
The best program is one that you can actually follow consistently. It should fit your life, your schedule, and your current fitness level. Whether you're aiming to finish your first marathon or set a personal best, having a structured plan that builds your fitness gradually while keeping you healthy is essential.
Key Takeaways for Your Training
- Build weekly mileage gradually to 60-100 km (40-60 miles) over 14-20 weeks
- Prioritize long runs that reach 29-35 km (18-22 miles) - these are your most important workouts
- Include tempo runs to build race-specific fitness and improve lactate threshold
- Add interval training to improve speed and running economy
- Make easy runs the majority of your weekly mileage
- Schedule regular recovery weeks and rest days
- Practice your race-day nutrition strategy during long runs
- Trust the taper - reduce volume in the final 2-3 weeks before race day
- Listen to your body and adjust your plan when needed
Create your plan in the generator
Pick your goal, training days, and timeline. You'll get a full schedule you can download, and you can upgrade if you want editing and tracking.