So you have decided to go for it! You have excitedly signed yourself up for a full marathon. It is a monumental task to complete all 26.2 grueling miles. I have completed 4 full marathons to date and each one was definitely a grind. However, with the adequate planning and training you can definitely make it to the finish line! In this article I will walk you through the process of preparing for a marathon.

General Training Timelines

Before you begin your training, I advise that you map out your entire training plan & set some goals. I think that setting some realistic, yet moderately challenging, goals for yourself can be one of the best motivating tactics. My suggestion would be to write down or share your goal with someone. My goal during my first marathon was to FINISH the race. I had also set a time goal for myself, but in my first one I really just focused on getting to that finish line. After my first one, I set my sights on qualifying for Boston. A few races, like Boston, require qualifying times to benefit the fleet of foot. So I set my goal moving forward to hitting the time qualifier for my age group. It was incredibly motivating to have a goal and kept me going during the long, draining training season.

Hopefully you are reading this article at least 3-4 months in advance of your targeted race (it’s OK if you’re not!), as my suggested training plan will take about 18 weeks to get your body acclimated for the big day. I suggest 18 weeks because you don’t want to ramp up your training too fast, it should be a slow build-up. Building up too fast can lead to quick injury. This happened to me during my first marathon training season. I went from running 10 mi/wk straight to 30 mi/wk and within a week I developed Achilles Tendinitis. I then missed out on a couple weeks of training due to recovery.

Running a marathon can be a pretty significant time investment. You will need to dedicate at least 4 days each week to running, with more advanced runners requiring 5-6. Plan on setting aside at least 1 day per week for your long run (the distance will increase as the plan goes along). I typically do my long runs on Saturday with my running club. It really helps to mentally get through a 2 hour run with some others alongside you!

Marathon Training Plan

Probably one of the most important parts to a successful marathon is a strong training plan. When picking a training plan it is important to stay within your body’s limits. If you a new to running, don’t try to tackle an advanced 6-day plan. You may be able to sustain the first couple weeks, but your body will surely catch-up with you down the road and lead to injury. Again, the key is a steady buildup that slowly increases your weekly mileage. As I have advanced, I now run 6 days a week in the heart of my training. Typically, I will do track intervals on Tuesday, tempo runs on Thursday, moderate effort mileage on Monday and Saturday (long run), and easy effort on Wednesday and Friday.

Long Runs

The training plan should include a healthy mix of run types. You need a long run each week to build your aerobic base. At the beginning of your training the long runs should be in the 8-12 mile range. This obviously depends on your fitness level coming into training. You can certainly start higher or a little lower. Plan to add a mile each week until you reach 20 miles about 7 weeks out. You may think you need to practice running a full 26.2 in training, but that is simply not needed. I have found that three 20 mile runs spaced 7, 5 & 3 weeks out from the race are beneficial for my training.

There are varying philosophies in the running world, but I have found that keeping my long runs at a moderate to slow pace has helped my overall improvement. I usually target for about 1 minute slower per mile than my planned race pace. I usually incorporate some race pace miles sporadically throughout my long runs every few weeks to get used to race pace on tired legs. However, you won’t see me doing 16 miles at race pace. It may work for some people, but I have found the slower pace for the long run works for me.

Workouts

Faster workouts are also needed each week to improve fitness. There are many types of workouts to choose from so I will detail a few that I like. Also, refer to the pace chart above for guidance on pace for these workouts. The chart is based on your marathon goal time. This is important because you need to make sure you are getting all of these different paces worked into your training.

• • Tempo Run – A tempo run is vital to getting comfortable at your race pace. For marathon training I usually target my tempo run pace around 10-15 faster than race pace. At the beginning of training, my tempo runs start at 6 miles, and ramp up 1 mile every 3 weeks, peaking at 9-10 miles. I incorporate a tempo run into my training once a week (typically Thursdays) to build fitness and confidence in running at marathon pace.
  • Intervals – During the first 9 weeks of training, I focus on shorter interval training to build my speed up. I typically will do 3 miles of intervals with common workouts being 6x800m, 4x1200m. During the last 9 weeks I transition to longer intervals to work on sustaining my speed. Some common workouts later in my training are 6x1mi and 3x2mi. These workouts are designed to be run at near 5k pace with either a rest or slow recovery jog in between reps.
  • Fartlek – Fartlek runs are similar to intervals, but are more unstructured. These are runs that are simply an alternate between hard-ish efforts and recovery periods. They can be a great way to break up your training and give your mind a break. You may pick a landmark to go hard til you pass it or you may alternate with a friend on who picks the time to be running hard.

Recovery Runs

Equally important are recovery runs to simply round out your mileage each week. I try to space out my harder effort days with recovery runs in between to keep my legs fresher for the hard workouts. I rarely will do hard workouts back-to-back days. On these runs, focus on staying relaxed and keep that heart rate low. Recovery runs actually build fitness as well because you are running in a fatigued state from your previous workout. So although you are running shorter and slower than your workout runs, you still continue to build your base.

A few other training plan tips:

• • You don’t need to run a full marathon in training. Getting a few runs around 20 miles will be plenty enough.
  • Don’t freak out if you miss a day or two in your plan. Just continue with your plan and don’t try to over-compensate to add back the missed mileage.
  • In the final 6-8 weeks of your plan, start incorporating more “race pace” runs into your plan to help your body start to get accustomed to that pace.
  • Don’t taper too much at the end. While tapering over the last 2-3 week is important, don’t stop running altogether to save up for the race. The goal is to maintain the fitness you have built over the past few months. For more about mastering the taper, check out my article here!

Train Accordingly for your Race

Every race will feature a course profile that details the course surface and elevation changes. It is important to know your course ahead of time to adequately prepare. For example, if you are racing the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, you will want to know that it features over 1,000 ft of elevation gain throughout the course. While running hills is good preparation for any race, it would be foolish to only train on flat ground in preparation for a hilly race.

If you happen to live close enough to the course, it may be beneficial to try to run some sections of the course. Not only will this help with your physical training, but getting used to the landmarks and terrain can help you mentally prepare for the journey ahead. Several races even offer an organized “sneak peak” run in the buildup to the race. If you don’t live close to the race, I suggest at least spending a little time researching the course to know what you are going up against.

The course should also factor into your choice of a marathon. If you are trying to find a course to run your fastest time possible, you would want to find the flattest, straightest course possible. I chose not to do the Flying Pig again in 2019 because I was trying to qualify for Boston. I opted for the Carmel Marathon due to significantly less hills. This is not to say you can’t qualify for a big race at a hilly course, but it would not be working towards your advantage.

Plan & Practice Your Nutrition

An essential part to your training is also planning and practicing your nutrition plan. The first step should be to research what nutrition the race will provide to you on course. You should easily be able to find that on the race website. You will need to replenish yourself throughout the race with fluids and carbohydrates. Your body simply doesn’t have enough energy to get through a multi-hour race at a high level. There are many products to choose from, including GU & Clif Bar. I personally use the GU Energy blocks (glorified fruit snacks), while many others use the gels. It doesn’t really matter what product you choose to eat as long as you have practiced it on your longs and you can comfortably eat it while running.

Scientifically, after the first hour of exercise, the body needs about 30-60g of carbohydrates each hour to sustain itself. A typical gel packet has about 20-30g of carbohydrates so plan your nutrition plan accordingly. In my most recent marathon in which I finished in 2:56, I consumed a total of 4 servings of GU Energy Blocks and water at most aid stations. I took one of the Energy Blocks 5 minutes before the race and then every 45 minutes of running. Also remember that Gatorade contains carbohydrates, so factor that into your nutrition plan if you plan to pick up cups along the route.

GO TIME!

Once that gun goes off and you set off on your journey, just relax and trust your training to get you through the race. It can be easy to find yourself caught up in the crowd during the early miles, so find your goal pace and stick to it, especially over the first 3-5 miles. Trust me, it can be very easy to get sucked into the excitement that comes with a big race! I think the key to a successful marathon is running a balanced race. In my best marathon I actually ran the 2nd half of the race almost 3 minutes faster than the 1st half. Most of all, take time to reflect on the long journey leading up to the race. You did it!!!