Where to Start
How long you need depends on what you run now.
- You run regularly (20 km a week or more): 16 weeks is a common lead-in for a first marathon.
- You run a little: plan 20 weeks or more, so the weekly distance can grow slowly.
- You do not run yet: start with a few weeks of run/walk, such as 1 minute running and 1 minute walking for 20 minutes, three times a week. Build to running 30 minutes without stopping before the marathon build-up begins. Choose a race at least six months away.
If you can, run a 5 km at a hard, steady effort. Your time is the best starting point for your training paces and a realistic marathon goal.
Build the Base With Easy Running
Most of your training should be slow enough to talk in full sentences. Easy running builds the heart, the muscles and the tendons a marathon needs, without wearing you out for the next session.
- Grow slowly. Add no more than about 10 percent to your weekly distance, and make every fourth week lighter.
- Use heart rate if it helps. Easy runs in zone 2, roughly 60 to 70 percent of your maximum, keep you honest on the days you feel good.
- Run often rather than long. Four or five shorter runs build fitness more safely than two big ones.
The Long Run
The weekly long run is the most marathon-specific session you do. It teaches your body to keep going for hours and gives you time to practise eating and drinking on the move.
- Build it gradually, to around 30 to 32 km for most first-time marathoners. Longer runs add more fatigue than fitness.
- Keep it easy. Later in the plan, finish some long runs with a few kilometres at marathon pace.
- Keep it in proportion. A long run of more than about half your weekly distance is a sign the rest of the week needs to grow first.
Add Some Pace
Once the base is there, one quality session a week makes marathon pace feel familiar:
- Tempo runs: 20 to 40 minutes at a comfortably hard pace.
- Marathon-pace blocks: several kilometres at the pace you plan to race.
- Progression runs: start easy and finish faster, a good rehearsal for the second half of the race.
Two short strength sessions a week, with squats, lunges, calf raises and core work, make your legs more resilient to all the running.
Fuel the Training and the Race
- Eat enough every day. A growing training load needs more food, especially carbohydrates. Under-eating is a common cause of tired legs and stalled progress.
- Protein for recovery. Spread it across the day, with a portion after hard sessions.
- Practise fuelling on long runs. Most runners aim for 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour during the marathon, from gels, drinks or chews. Train your stomach with the exact products you will use on race day.
- Carb-load the last two to three days. Eat more carbohydrates and a little less fibre and fat, so your muscles start the race full.
More on timing: what to eat before a workout and what to eat after a workout.
Taper and Race Week
- Cut the distance, keep a little pace. Over the last two to three weeks your weekly distance drops, while short marathon-pace sections keep your legs sharp.
- Feeling restless is normal. Resist the urge to squeeze in an extra long run.
- Sleep and plan. Lay out your kit, shoes and fuel, and know how you will get to the start.
A familiar, carb-rich breakfast 3 hours before the start. Nothing new: no new shoes, gels or breakfast. Start the first kilometres a little slower than goal pace. Take your fuel on a schedule from early on, before you feel you need it. Drink to thirst at the stations. Save your effort for the last 10 km, where the marathon really starts.
How HEUMIN Helps You Prepare
A marathon plan has a lot of moving parts: the weekly distance, the long run, paces, rest weeks and the food to match. The HEUMIN app puts them together for you.
- A plan from your race date. Choose the marathon, half marathon or 10K, enter your race date and how many days a week you can run. HEUMIN builds the plan week by week through base, build, peak and taper.
- A start that fits you. If you do not run yet, the plan begins with run/walk foundation weeks; if you do, it starts from your current distance.
- Paces from your 5 km. Easy runs, tempo runs and marathon-pace blocks use paces from your own time, and every week shows its total distance.
- A run tracker in the app. Start a session and track time, distance, pace and kilometre splits with your phone's GPS, also with the phone in your pocket. Run/walk sessions tell you when to switch.
- Heart rate zones on your Apple Watch. Run with your watch to see which zone you are in, with a tap when an easy run gets too fast.
- Meals that match the training. Your meal plan is made together with your training plan, with more carbohydrates as the weeks get bigger.
Prepare for your marathon with a plan built around you
Enter your race date, your 5 km time and your running days. HEUMIN builds your marathon plan and a meal plan to match, and tracks every run up to the start line.
Want the full week-by-week structure? Read our 16-week marathon training plan.
This article is general training information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition or an injury, talk to a doctor before you start a new training plan.
