A good marathon training plan gets you to the start line fit, healthy and a little bit hungry. If you already run regularly and have a recent half marathon in your legs, 12 focused weeks is enough. If you are starting from scratch, give yourself closer to a year. Either way, the plan that works is the one built around your current fitness, not your dream finish time: four or so runs a week, most of them easy, one long run, strength training, a recovery week every fourth week and a proper taper.
The marathon has a reputation for breaking people, and it is mostly undeserved. Runners do not hit the wall at 32km because the distance is impossible. They hit it because they started too fast, trained for the wrong goal or turned up tired. All three are training problems, and all three are fixable.
In this guide:
- How long it takes to train for a marathon, and when to start
- Choosing the right marathon training plan for your goal
- What a marathon training week looks like
- Easy running and walk breaks
- The long run
- Strength training
- Fuelling and avoiding the wall
- Pacing on race day
- Training on a treadmill
- The taper and recovering afterwards
How long does it take to train for a marathon?
Twelve weeks, if you are already running consistently. My marathon plans are 12 weeks long, and they assume you have done at least 8-12 weeks of consistent training, or worked your way up through a 10km or half marathon plan first.
If you are starting from nothing, the honest answer is about 48 weeks. That is not me being cautious for the sake of it. It is four 12-week stages, each one building on the last:
| Stage | Distance | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | From the couch to 5km | 12 weeks |
| 2 | 5km to 10km | 12 weeks |
| 3 | 10km to half marathon | 12 weeks |
| 4 | Half marathon to marathon | 12 weeks |
Plenty of runners search for 16 or 20-week plans, and there is nothing magic about the number. What matters is that the last 12 weeks are spent on marathon-specific training, built on a base you already have. If you rush the base, you spend the marathon block nursing injuries instead of getting fitter.
Choosing the right marathon training plan for your goal
Pick the plan your current race times support, not the one for the time you would love to run. Choosing a plan that is ahead of your fitness is one of the quickest ways to get injured or arrive at the start line exhausted.
Your half marathon time is the best guide. These are the entry points I use for my 12-week marathon plans:
| Marathon goal | You should be able to run a half marathon in about |
|---|---|
| Finish | 2:20, or have at least completed 21km |
| Sub 4:30 | 2:13 |
| Sub 4:00 | Under 1:55 |
| Sub 3:30 | 1:50 |
| Sub 3:00 | 1:25:30, with a recent history of running five days a week |
If your half marathon is slower than the time for the goal you have in mind, do a half marathon training block first. Yes, that adds 12 weeks. It also gives you a far better chance of actually running the time.
What your current times tell you
Let me give you an example. A runner who can run a 27-minute 5km has the potential for roughly a 56-minute 10km, a 2:04 half marathon and a 4:23 marathon. That makes sub-4:30 a realistic goal. A runner currently running a 36-minute 5km or a 5:15 marathon who wants to go sub-4:30 is setting an unrealistic goal for this block. That does not mean they will never get there. It means they need smaller stepping stones, so their easy runs stay easy and their body can handle the work.
If you would like the plan chosen and laid out for you, day by day with the paces for every run, my Marathon Training Roadmap is a 12-week plan with a version for every level, from first-time finishers to sub-4 hours.
When should you start your marathon training plan?
Count back 12 weeks from race day, and that is the latest an experienced runner should start the marathon block. Then count back further for anything you still need to build first.
Work it out in this order:
- Find race day and count back 12 weeks. That is the start of your marathon-specific block.
- Check your half marathon time against the table above. If it does not support your goal yet, add a 12-week half marathon block before it.
- Check your consistency. If you have not been running regularly for the last 8-12 weeks, build that base first, starting with a 10km plan if needed.
- If you are starting from the couch, count back 48 weeks and start with a 5km plan.
So a runner who wants to break four hours but has never run a sub-2-hour half marathon should start about 24 weeks out: a sub-2-hour half marathon block first, then the sub-4 marathon block. Starting with a longer runway is never the problem. Starting with too short a one usually is.
What a marathon training week looks like
Most of my marathon plans have four running days a week, two or three of them easy, plus strength training. A typical week is a higher-intensity session on Tuesday, an easy run on Thursday, the long run on Saturday and an easy run on Sunday, with strength sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and Friday as a rest day.
The weeks are not all the same. I break a 12-week plan into three four-week cycles. Each cycle has three weeks of loading and one recovery week, so your body gets the chance to absorb the work before the next block builds on it.
| Element | How often |
|---|---|
| Running days | 4 a week, 2-3 of them easy |
| Long run | Once a week (every second week for novices or injury-prone runners) |
| Strength training | 2-3 sessions a week |
| Recovery week | Every fourth week |
| 5km time trial | Every four weeks |
How the 12 weeks fit together
Put those pieces together and a 12-week block flows roughly like this:
| Weeks | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | Build: easy runs, long run, strength |
| 4 | Recovery week and 5km time trial |
| 5-7 | Build: long run increases, sessions sharpen |
| 8 | Recovery week and 5km time trial |
| 9-10 | Final build, including your last long run about three weeks out |
| 11-12 | Taper to race day |
The exact sessions depend on your goal, but the rhythm is the same for everyone: build, absorb, test, repeat, then freshen up.
The time trial is how you know your plan still fits. If your first one shows you are ahead of, or behind, the plan you chose, adjust your paces and goal rather than forcing the original target.
Do not chase someone else’s mileage
It is easy to get sucked into comparing weekly kilometres with your club mates or with strangers online. Please do not. No two runners respond to the same training in the same way, and the amount that works for a sub-3-hour runner can break a first-timer. If you are unsure, err on the side of slightly less rather than slightly more. You will arrive at the start line fresher, and fresh beats fit-but-tired every time.
Easy running and walk breaks
Most of your marathon training should feel easy, because easy running is what lets you recover enough to make your long runs and quality sessions count. Running your easy runs too fast is one of the biggest reasons runners stop improving.
For a first-time marathoner, my plan uses paces like these. Treat them as a rough guide and run as slowly as you need to:
| Run type | Pace per km | Pace per mile |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 7:10 | 11:32 |
| Long | 7:30 | 12:04 |
| Recovery | 7:50 | 12:36 |
Faster runners will have faster numbers, but the principle is the same at every level: easy runs are easy, and long runs are slower than you think they should be.
How easy is easy?
Easy means truly EASY. You should be able to hold a conversation the whole way, as if you were chatting in a noisy restaurant. If you run alone, you should be able to burst into song without getting out of breath (whether anyone wants to hear it is another matter).
Easy runs build your aerobic engine and give your muscles, tendons and ligaments time to adapt and strengthen. They are usually an hour and a half or shorter, and only slightly quicker than your recovery runs, by around 5-10 seconds per kilometre. They are not tempo runs, and they are not intervals. Save the hard efforts for the sessions designed for them.
Not sure how easy your easy runs should be? Use my free training zone calculator to find your ideal training paces, so every session does the job it’s meant to.
Walk on purpose
For every run longer than an hour, walk for one to two minutes every 3-6km (2-4 miles). It keeps the effort under control and reduces your injury risk. Walking is not cheating. It is a strategy, and it works just as well on race day.
The long run: how far, and how often?
Your longest training run does not need to be a marathon. There is a point, usually somewhere between 32km and 37km (20 and 23 miles), beyond which running further gives you no extra benefit and a lot of extra fatigue. I strongly recommend that you do NOT run 42km before your marathon.
Think in time on your feet as well as distance. A 30km long run is a very different day for a sub-3-hour runner than for a sub-5-hour runner, who may be out there almost twice as long. That is why I prescribe long runs by time and pace rather than a single distance for everyone.
Build your long run gradually. If you are a novice or prone to injury, increase the time of your long run by smaller amounts each week.
When it comes to timing:
- Novices: do your last long run about four weeks before race day.
- Intermediate and experienced runners: about three weeks before.
- Sub-3-hour runners: possibly a little closer, depending on what works for you.
- Novices or runners who get injured often: do a long run every second week rather than every week.
And please do not put all your eggs in that one basket. It is never one training run that makes or breaks your marathon. It is the build-up, week on week, that does. If your last long run goes badly or life gets in the way, you can still have a great race.
Strength training for marathon runners
Strength training is not an optional extra in a marathon training plan. Two to three sessions a week will make you more robust, more efficient and much less likely to break down in the last 10km.
The research backs this up. A systematic review in Sports Medicine found good evidence that strength training improves running economy and time-trial performance in distance runners, although the results were not consistent across every study.
You do not need a gym. My Marathon Training Roadmap includes strength plans for every level that you can do at home without equipment. Keep strength work going through the build-up, and stop it about 10 days before race day.
Want to finish your marathon strong instead of hanging on? My free strength plan for marathon runners is one session a week at home with no expensive gym equipment, with clear descriptions, the exact reps and short videos for every exercise.
Fuelling your marathon and avoiding the wall
Most marathon walls between 32km and 37km come from some mix of three things: pace that was too ambitious for your fitness, not enough endurance in your training, and not enough fuel. Get the first two right in training and the third right on race day, and the wall becomes a lot less likely.
How much carbohydrate to take in
Your gut can be trained to absorb more carbohydrate, just like your legs. A review by Asker Jeukendrup in Sports Medicine notes that current guidelines recommend up to about 60g of carbohydrate per hour for exercise lasting up to two hours, and around 90g per hour for longer efforts, using a mix of carbohydrate types such as glucose and fructose. Taking more than 60g an hour from a single type of carbohydrate is likely to cause stomach problems.
Most marathons take more than two hours, so in practice:
- Practise your race-day fuel on every long run, using the exact gels or drinks you plan to race with.
- Build your intake up gradually over the training block. The gut adapts to what you ask of it.
Do not overdrink
Drinking too much is more dangerous than mild dehydration. An international consensus statement on exercise-associated hyponatraemia in the British Journal of Sports Medicine identifies sustained overdrinking as the single most important risk factor and recommends drinking to thirst. Dizziness and confusion late in a marathon can come from low blood sugar or from too much fluid, so get your plan right in training.
Pacing your marathon
Aim for even splits, and be stricter with yourself in the first half than feels necessary. Starting too fast is the most common way to wreck a marathon, because the time you bank early is paid back with interest after 30km.
There is an old saying that a marathon is really two races: the first 32km, and the last 10km. I would put it differently. The last 10km is where you find out how well you ran the first 32km.
To get your pacing right:
- Set your goal pace from recent race times at shorter distances, not from hope.
- Practise goal-pace running in your training, so you know what it feels like.
- On race day, if the first 10km feel easy, that is the plan working. Do not speed up.
My guide to calculating your marathon race pace walks you through setting a realistic target. If you are chasing a specific time, my plan for a sub-4:30 marathon shows how the pieces fit together.
Can you train for a marathon on a treadmill?
Yes, you can, but it should not be your only surface if you can avoid it. A treadmill is a great tool for controlling pace, training safely in the dark or in bad weather and getting your hill sessions exactly right. What it cannot give you is the varied terrain and conditions of running outdoors, so you need to make up for that.
If the treadmill is where most of your training happens, use the incline, vary your sessions and get outside for at least some of your long runs.
The marathon taper
Taper for about two weeks. Cut your volume, keep some intensity, and resist the urge to squeeze in one last big session. The fitness is already in the bank.
That matches the research. A meta-analysis in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found the most effective approach was a two-week taper in which training volume is cut by 41-60%, without reducing intensity or frequency. As a guideline, your taper should be no shorter than 7-10 days and no longer than about three weeks.
The one mistake you do not want to make in the final fortnight is cramming. Trying to make up for missed training at this stage does far more damage than taking an extra rest day. You may feel sluggish during the taper. Stick it out.
Recovering after your marathon
Give yourself a two-week break from running after a marathon, then build back up gradually over the following four weeks. Your legs may feel ready sooner than that. Be patient anyway.
In the first 24 hours, refuel with carbohydrate and protein, roughly four parts carbohydrate to one part protein. My post-marathon recovery guide covers the full plan.
Marathon training plan FAQs
How many weeks should a marathon training plan be?
If you are already running consistently and have run a half marathon, 12 weeks of marathon-specific training is enough. That is how long my marathon plans are. If you are starting from scratch, allow about 48 weeks to build up through the 5km, 10km and half marathon first.
Can a beginner train for a marathon?
Yes, with enough time. Build through four 12-week stages, from the couch to 5km, 5km to 10km, 10km to half marathon and then the marathon, and use walk breaks throughout.
Do you need speed work in marathon training?
Yes, in the right dose. Alongside your easy runs and long run, my marathon plans include high-intensity or speed sessions, plus a 5km time trial every four weeks to track your progress. The speed work only pays off if your easy runs are genuinely easy, so you arrive at those sessions fresh enough to run them properly. Fast running on tired legs just adds fatigue.
How long should your longest run be before a marathon?
Your longest run does not need to be 42km. Benefits level off somewhere between 32km and 37km (20-23 miles), so a run of around three hours is plenty for most runners. Do it about three weeks before race day, or four weeks if it is your first marathon.
Get the right marathon training plan
The marathon rewards patience more than bravery. Choose a plan that fits the runner you are today, keep your easy runs easy, respect your recovery weeks and run the first half like you have somewhere to be later. Do that, and the last 10km becomes the part of the race you remember for the right reasons.
My Marathon Training Roadmap gives you 12 weeks of day-by-day training with paces, strength training and a taper built in, matched to your goal.
Enjoy the build-up. It is the part nobody sees, and it is where your marathon is really won.
Comments are closed.