Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MarathonTrainingPhases PDF
MarathonTrainingPhases PDF
Note: Most marathon training plans are designed for 16-20 weeks of training and only include 3-7 weeks of
“base-building.” They assume you have the prerequisite base-mileage before beginning the training. This is
where many novice runners get injured. They begin their running basically at the sharpening phase without
having a solid base. A runner who wants to do more than just finish the race needs to have at least a weekly
mileage base of 25-30 miles for several months before beginning marathon training. An experienced runner
who is already running 25+ miles a week can move much quicker into the Sharpening Phase of training.
Base Building Requirements (The average client is going to be a beginner or recreational marathoner)
• Beginning Marathoner
o Starting Point: Six months of running experience and a base of 20 miles per week
• Recreational Marathoner
o Starting Point: Experienced runner, may have run one or more marathons; has a base
of 25-30 miles per week
• Intermediate Marathoner
o Starting Point: Experienced runner, may have run one or more marathons; has a base
of 30-40 miles per week
• Advanced Marathoner
o Starting Point: Experienced road racer with previous marathon experience; has a base
of 50 miles per week
Base-Building Plan
• A base-building plan should contain a hard/easy microcycle by varying distance (i.e., periods
of overload followed by periods of recovery)
o Hard = Overload = Stress
“Hard Runs” can be long slow runs or fast short runs
o Easy = Recovery = Adaptation to Stress
“Short Runs” can be slow short runs or rest days
• A 5-day training plan might consist of 2 easy and 3 hard runs
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Total Miles
(Hard) (Rest) (Easy) (Hard) (Easy) (Hard) (Rest)
6 0 2 4 2 4 0 18
7 0 2 4 2 4 0 19
7 0 2 4 2 4 0 19
8 0 2 4 2 4 0 20
8 0 2 5 2 4 0 21
8 0 2 5 2 5 0 22
9 0 2 5 2 5 0 23
9 0 2 6 2 5 0 24
9 0 2 6 2 6 0 25
9 0 3 6 3 6 0 27
Sharpening Progressions
• maintain or reduce weekly mileage
• replace midweek long run with speed workout (speedwork/tempo runs = 20-25% of weekly
mileage)
• start at 50% of max speedwork volume (progressive overload)
• incorporate variety to keep it fun and healthy (fartleks, intervals, hillwork, etc.)
• increase specificity as you near goal race (adding in tempo and interval training)
• 10% of the weekly running should now be at race pace
• allow 6-10 weeks for adaptation (just because a client can run 10 miles at race pace once,
doesn't mean his/her body has adapted to that pace; take 6-10 weeks for adaptation to occur)
Sharpening Requirements:
• Beginner Marathoner
o Starting Point: Base of 30-40 miles per week including a long run between 15 and 20
miles
o Sharpening Phase: To build endurance by completing one to three 20-mile training
runs. To develop marathon pace through short tempo runs; all other runs are done at an
easy 75-80% effort
• Recreational Marathoner
o Starting Point: Base of 40-50 miles per week including a long run of 20 miles
o Sharpening Phase: To build endurance by completing two to four 20-mile training runs.
To develop marathon pace and aerobic potential through a program of repeat runs and
tempo runs; all other runs are done at an easy 75-80% effort
• Intermediate Marathoner
o Starting Point: Base of 50-60 miles per week including a long run of 20 miles
o Sharpening Phase: To a strong endurance base by completing up three to six 20-mile
training runs or more. To develop marathon pace and aerobic potential through a
program of repeat runs and tempo runs; all other runs are done at an easy 75-80%
effort
• Advanced Marathoner
o Starting Point: Base of 75+ miles per week including a long run of 20-24 miles and
previous speedwork at marathon race pace or faster
o Sharpening Phase: To a strong endurance base by completing up to six to eight 20-
mile training runs or more. To develop peak marathon potential with specific speedwork;
all other runs are done at an easy 75-80% effort
Tapering Progressions
• Beginner Marathoner
o Last 20 mile run is 3 weeks before race day to allow complete recovery. Mileage is cut
to less than half during the last 4 days for rest and carb-loading. Short Tempo run is
okay to maintain sharpness.
• Recreational Marathoner
o Last 20 mile run is 3 weeks before race day to allow complete recovery. Mileage is cut
to less than half during the last 4 days for rest and carb-loading. Short Tempo run is
okay to maintain sharpness.
• Intermediate Marathoner
o Last 20 mile run is 3 weeks before race day to allow complete recovery. Mileage is cut
to less than half during the last 4 days for rest and carb-loading. Short Tempo run is
okay to maintain sharpness.
• Advanced Marathoner
o Last long run is 2 weeks before race day to allow complete recovery. Mileage is cut to
less than half during the last 4 days for rest and carb-loading. Some short accelerations
in the workout 4 days before the marathon to keep legs loose is okay.