Whether this is your first marathon or your fifth you may have set a goal for yourself that includes more than just finishing. If you are going to put in all the training effort necessary to run a marathon in the first place why not train to finish in the best possible time?
There are marathon schedules that can very effectively train a person to simply complete a marathon through a slow and steady increase in weekly volume, but the twenty-three-week schedule detailed here is designed for the runner who wants to toe the line on race day with both speed and endurance. Simply put, in order to perform your best you need to complete a combination of workouts that include runs that are at your marathon goal pace, slower than your marathon pace (easy long runs), and faster than your marathon race pace (tempo runs and speed workouts). Each of these ingredients combines to make the complete runner. Without speed work your marathon goal pace will feel too fast and won’t be manageable for the entire distance; without your long easy runs you won’t have the endurance to complete the distance comfortably regardless of pace; and without the marathon pace runs you won’t feel efficient and relaxed in the pace that you want to run on race day.
The overall volume of this schedule is targeted toward runners aspiring to a three- to four-hour finishing time. However, the main workouts recommended do not differ greatly, if at all, from those performed by national- and international-class runners. The main difference lies in the high levels of speed gained through years of shorter distance racing or the greater overall volume completed by these athletes (levels of training only reached through years of slow, progressive adaptation). The great thing about the sport of running is that runners at any level can train in similar ways and learn from the methods employed by the best in the world. Think about this as you gain in strength, speed, endurance, and efficiency through this program. Gain confidence in the fact that you are covering all the angles necessary for a successful performance at any level. At the same time, however, realize that even the best runners in the world don’t treat a schedule as if it’s written in stone. It is only a map to give you an idea of where you ideally want to travel on the way to your destination, but we all know that there can be unexpected detours along the way, such as health problems, family responsibilities, and work commitments. These bumps in the road should be expected from the start. Therefore, the challenge is to find the best way to keep going forward in our journey when these detours and bumps do occur. This is an individual challenge that you need to meet for yourself, but if you listen to your body and give it what it can handle at the present moment without overdoing it, you will reach race day, if not having completed the ideal schedule, at least having survived the journey in the healthiest and, hopefully, most mentally fresh way possible. Great performances often occur when this is the case, but reach the start line bruised, battered, and mentally exhausted and you truly will be in for a marathon of an experience.
| Week |
SAT - Long run or Tempo |
MON - Tempo |
WED - Speed work |
| 1 |
10 km easy |
10 km easy |
6 x (1 min fast interval at 5 km race pace - 1 minute slow jog between intervals) |
| 2 |
12 km easy |
6 - 8 km at Half Marathon race pace |
3 x (2 min fast interval at 5 km race pace - 2 minute slow jog between intervals) |
| 3 |
3 - 5 x (3 min fast interval at 5 km race pace - 2 minute slow jog between intervals) |
2 km easy + 5-8 km at 10 km race pace |
8 - 10 km at Half Marathon race pace |
| 4 |
13 km easy |
2 km easy + 3 - 4 km at 5 km race pace + 2 km easy |
4 x (2 min fast UPHILL – slow jog back to start line for the next UPHILL interval) |
| 5 |
14 km easy |
8 - 12 km at Half Marathon race pace
|
5 x (1 min at faster than 5 km race pace - 3 minute slow jog) |
| 6 |
8 km Tempo |
2 km easy + 4 - 6 km at 10 km race pace |
4 - 5 x (2 min fast at 5 km race pace - 2 minute slow) |
| 7 |
15 km easy |
2 km easy + 3 - 4 km at 5 km race pace + 2 km easy |
4 - 5 x (3 min fast at 5 km race pace - 3 minute slow) |
| 8 |
17 km easy |
8 - 15 km at Half Marathon race pace |
4 - 5 x (4 min fast at 5 km race pace - 4 minute slow) |
| 9 |
8 km Tempo |
2 km easy + 6 - 8 km at 10 km race pace |
4 - 5 x (5 min fast at 5 km race pace - 5 minute slow) |
| 10 |
19 km easy |
2 km easy + 3 - 4 km at 5 km race pace + 2 km easy
|
5 x (2 min fast UPHILL – slow jog back to start line for the next UPHILL interval) |
| 11 |
15 km easy |
2 km easy plus 10 - 12 km at Half Marathon race pace |
5 x (2 min fast at 5km race pace - 2 minute slow) |
| 12 |
12 km easy |
8 km easy
|
6 km easy |
| 13 |
21 km easy on Saturday or race half marathon on Sunday
|
10 km easy or day off if you raced on Sunday
|
6 x (1 min fast interval at 5 km race pace – 1 minute slow jog between intervals) or 10 km easy if you raced on Sunday |
| 14 |
15 km easy |
6 - 8 km at Half Marathon race pace |
4 x (2 min fast interval at 5 km race pace - 2 minute slow jog between intervals) |
| 15 |
24 km easy |
2 km easy + 5 - 8 km at 10 km race pace
|
4 x (3 min fast interval at 5km race pace - 2 minute slow jog between intervals) |
| 16 |
8 km Tempo |
8 - 12 km at Half Marathon race pace
|
4 x (2 min fast UPHILL – slow jog back to start line for the next UPHILL interval) |
| 17 |
27 km easy |
2 km easy +3 - 4 km at 5 km race pace + 2 km easy |
6 x (1 min at faster than 5 km race pace - 3 minute slow jog) |
| 18 |
30 km easy |
2 km easy + 4 - 6 km at 10 km race pace |
5 x (2 min fast interval at 5 km race pace - 2 minute slow jog between intervals) |
| 19 |
8 km Tempo |
12 - 15 km at Marathon race pace
|
4 - 5 x (3 min fast at 5 km race pace - 3 minute slow) |
| 20 |
33 km easy
|
2 km easy + 6 - 8 km at 10 km race pace |
4 - 5 x (4 min fast at 5 km race pace - 4 minute slow) |
| 21 |
36 km easy |
12 - 15 km at Marathon race pace |
4 - 5 x (5 min fast at 5 km race pace - 5 minute slow) |
| 22 |
24 km easy |
2 km easy + 3 - 4 km at 5 km race pace + 2 km easy |
5 x (2 min fast UPHILL – slow jog back to start line for the next UPHILL interval) |
| 23 |
15 km easy |
8 km easy |
6 km easy Friday 3 km easy |
| 24 |
Race Full Marathon |
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Note 1: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday do either 30 to 45 minutes of non weight bearing cross training or rest completely.
Note 2: Speed Work. Every speed workout on Wednesday should include a two-km warm-up jog plus some light stretches and dynamic exercises (skipping drills; high knees, heel-to-butt, leg swings, easy hopping). After the speed workout run a 2km warm-down jog.
Speed work notation - e.g., “4 or 5 x (four minutes fast at 5km race pace - four minutes slow)” : four or five is the number of repeats you do; 4 min fast is how long you run fast for;
five-km race pace is the speed you run at; 4 minutes slow is the recovery time between repeats.
Note 3: A tempo run should be performed no faster than the pace that you could sustain for 60 minutes during a race effort.
Note 4: You should include a two-km warm-up and a 2 km warm-down run with every tempo run scheduled.
Note 5: Each of the three main workouts should be followed by preventative stretches (calf; achilles; quads; IT band; groin; hip flexors) and preventative strength exercises (squats (double or single if advanced); calf raises; lunges; step-ups).
About the Authors
Jerry Ziak ran his first marathon in 2:17:23 at the 2007 Toronto Waterfront Marathon; he is a full-time employee at Forerunners in Vancouver, British Columbia, and leads the Wednesday evening speed workouts.
Peter Butler has a marathon personal best of 2:10:56 and ran internationally for Canada between 1976 and 1989; he is the owner of Forerunners.
Carey Nelson has a marathon personal best of 2:12:28, is a long-time coach, and leads the Saturday morning half-marathon and marathon workouts.
"2009 Marathon Training Schedule" was originally published as part of "Ten-Kilometre, Half, and Marathon Training Schedules" in IMPACT Magazine's March/April 2009 Running Issue.
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