Marathon training plan: 18 weeks and the complete guide

How long to train for a marathon

If you already run four times a week and about 24 km a week, you need 18 weeks: that is how long Hal Higdon's popular plans last, counting back from race day. Compare the first week of a plan with what you run now: if it already feels hard, build a base first.

If you do not yet run four times a week or have never run more than 10 km, a half marathon is the smarter first long race; the half marathon guide explains how to train for it. The marathon then becomes the next step, not a leap.

Can you train for a marathon from zero?

Yes, but not in 18 weeks: for people who have never run, Higdon puts a 12-week base program before the marathon plan, 30 weeks in total, about seven months.

The base program starts at 14.5 km a week with a 4.8 km run at the weekend and ends exactly at week one of the marathon plan: 24 km and a 9.7 km long run.

If you cannot yet run for more than a few minutes without stopping, start even earlier, with a program like the NHS Couch to 5K. It has three sessions a week: in week one you alternate a minute of running with a minute and a half of walking, and after 9 weeks you run for 30 minutes non-stop.

Two more things before the plan. If you have a chronic condition or any doubts about your health, talk to a doctor about the load. And check what your race requires: some races, especially in parts of Europe, ask for a medical certificate.

The 18-week marathon training plan

This is Hal Higdon Novice 1 in kilometers, exactly as in the km table on his site: four runs a week, with the long run growing from 9.7 to 32.2 km. Three easy weekday runs (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Higdon's version), the long run on Saturday, cross training on Sunday, Monday and Friday off.

In week eight a half marathon replaces the long run: a race rehearsal and a fresh result for your prediction, which Higdon recommends using to set your marathon pace. If there is no half marathon nearby that week, he suggests shifting the schedule to the nearest one. The peak is week fifteen: 64.5 km and a 32.2 km long run. Three weeks of taper follow.

How much to run each week

In the first marathon plan the peak week is 64.5 km over four runs; in plans for experienced runners it is 71 km and over 80 km. The longest run is the same in all three, 32.2 km or 20 miles: for experienced runners Higdon adds more runs, marathon pace sections and speed work, not a longer long run.

Build volume gradually, but the "no more than 10% a week" rule is a handy brake, not a law. In a study of 735 New York City Marathon entrants, 40% reported an injury during 16 weeks of training. More days when the weekly load was 1.5 times the four-week average meant a higher chance of injury; this is an observed link, not a safe threshold.

A study of 5,205 runners using Garmin data found a more precise signal: the jump of a single run compared with the longest run of the previous 30 days. Risk started to rise once a run was more than 10% longer. Even in Higdon's plan the long run grows 7 to 28% per step, so the plan is not an obligation: if the next step feels hard, repeat the previous long run.

Types of workouts: easy runs, long runs, tempo, intervals

For a first marathon two types of training are enough: easy runs and the long run. Higdon adds tempo runs, intervals and hills for people who have run a marathon before and want to go faster.

Novice 1 has no speed work at all, and Higdon advises against starting it for the first time inside a marathon plan. Even in Advanced 1 there is one speed session a week: hills, tempo runs and intervals rotate on Thursdays.

Higdon's tempo peak is short, only 3 to 6 minutes in the middle, and you should finish the run feeling fresh. The pace calculator works out the pace for each workout from your goal, and long run paces for popular goals are in the table in the goal section.

Heart rate zones and the talk test

For marathon training the talk test is enough: if you can talk freely, it is an easy run; if talking is hard, you are above the threshold, and that is hard work.

A review of studies confirms it: comfortable speech is usually possible below the ventilatory or lactate threshold and impossible above it. The authors call the test a reliable and cheap way to control intensity for athletes and for everyone else, though it is awkward for high-intensity intervals.

Heart rate zones are based on maximum heart rate or on thresholds. In a meta-analysis of 351 studies with 18,712 participants, the formula "220 minus age" lost to 208 − 0.7 × age: the old one underestimates the maximum in older people. For a 50-year-old that is 170 versus 173 beats per minute. Both formulas give an average for your age group, not your personal maximum, so formula-based zones are only a rough guide.

Zones are measured more precisely in an exercise test with gas analysis, from the first and second ventilatory thresholds. That is how Seiler's study did it: well-trained junior skiers did about 75% of their sessions in the first, easy zone below the first threshold.

The long run: up to 32 km

The longest run in the plan is 32 km, and you do not need to run the full 42 km in training. Higdon sees no point in 37, 42 or even 50 km runs even for experienced runners: in his experience they only wear you down. 32 km is about three quarters of the distance.

The long run is the key workout of a marathon plan. Higdon says it plainly: you can skip an occasional run, but not the long run.

Run it slowly. Higdon advises 30 to 90 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace, and for beginners simply a conversational pace: there is no such thing as too slow, what matters is covering the distance. The benefit, he says, starts after roughly 90 to 120 minutes of running, however fast you go. Long runs are also race rehearsals: that is where you test gels, water, clothing and shoes.

How to choose your marathon goal and pace

The easiest way to set a goal is from a recent half marathon: multiply its time by 2.085 and treat the result as a ceiling. This is the Riegel formula: the time over the longer distance equals the time over the shorter one multiplied by the ratio of distances to the power of 1.06. From a 10K the multiplier is about 4.6.

For the marathon, though, the formula errs on the optimistic side. In a study of 2,303 amateur runners it was accurate up to the half marathon but underestimated marathon times: by at least 10 minutes for half of the validation group and by more than 20 for a quarter. With a 1:55 half marathon, aim for 4:10 to 4:15 rather than 4:00, and lower still if you have done few long runs.

The pace calculator turns a goal into pace and splits. How long amateurs take on average is in how long it takes to run a marathon, and how to choose between "just finish" and a time goal is in the guide to choosing a race goal.

Marathon taper: the last three weeks

In the last three weeks volume drops so you reach the start rested: in Novice 1 the peak 64.5 km is followed by weeks of 46.7 and 33.8 km, and race week has three short runs of 4.8, 6.4 and 3.2 km.

This matches the research: a meta-analysis of 27 studies in competitive athletes found the best average result with a two-week taper that cut volume by 41 to 60% without reducing intensity or training frequency. In Higdon's plan, volume a week before the race is almost half the peak, with the same number of runs.

Do not make up missed runs in these weeks and do not try anything new: shoes, gels and breakfast should all be tested on long runs.

Carb loading and race-day breakfast

Carb loading means 36 to 48 hours before the race with 10 to 12 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day. The joint position of the ACSM and sports dietitians recommends it for efforts longer than 90 minutes, and the marathon qualifies.

For a 70 kg runner that is 700 to 840 g of carbohydrate a day: oats, rice, pasta, bread, not a second helping of salad. The position recommends low-fiber foods: it is easier to eat enough and kinder to your stomach.

Breakfast goes 1 to 4 hours before the start, 1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kilogram. Leave fatty, high-protein and high-fiber food for later to lower the risk of stomach trouble on the course. Timing and content are personal, so test your breakfast before long runs.

These are general guidelines: the position itself recommends a personal plan from a sports dietitian, and with diabetes or other conditions agree your nutrition with a doctor.

Gels and water during the race

On the course, aim for up to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour; around 90 g makes sense for efforts longer than 2.5 to 3 hours, and only with a glucose and fructose mix.

A single type of carbohydrate is absorbed at up to about 60 g an hour, so more than that only works as a mix. The carbs in your gel are on the pack: what counts is the total per hour, not the number of gels. A sports drink or familiar food work too. Your stomach's tolerance can only be tested on long runs, not on race day.

The ACSM advises drinking so that you lose no more than 2% of body weight, and no more than you lose. Weigh yourself before and after a long run: if you are heavier afterwards, you drank too much. Dehydration is more common, but overdrinking is more dangerous: excess water lowers the sodium level in your blood, which is hyponatremia. In the marathon the risk is higher for smaller runners who run slowly, sweat little and drink a lot.

Race strategy and the wall

The main thing on race day is not to start faster than planned: run the first kilometers a little slower than goal pace, then hold it steady, and fuel to the plan you practised on long runs. Fresh legs, the crowd and adrenaline pull you faster, and you pay after 30 km.

The wall is a sharp slowdown late in the race. In an analysis of more than 4 million amateur marathon results, 28% of men and 17% of women hit it; on average the slowdown began around 30 km and lasted about 10 km, almost to the finish. It is usually explained by running out of glycogen, the carbohydrate stored in muscles and the liver.

The wall was more common in the years close to a personal best: 36% of runners hit it in the three years before a new best, against 23% in earlier years. The author links this to bolder pacing in pursuit of a record.

Walking is nothing to be ashamed of. Higdon advises walking through aid stations: it is easier to drink, and your muscles get a short break. Walk when you decide to, not when fatigue forces you.

Recovery after the marathon

Allow about five weeks of easy running to recover: that is the length of Higdon's recovery program, built like a taper in reverse.

No running for the first three days. On day four, about 3 km easy: if your muscles protest, walk; if something hurts, stop. By the end of the first week, an hour of easy running without looking at pace, then volume grows gradually.

Higdon advises against serious training before the end of those five weeks, even if another race is coming. In week five you can run a race from 5K to half marathon, with no time goal. According to David Costill's research, which Higdon cites, some well-trained runners restore muscle glycogen within a week, while others may need a month to recover fully; for the first days he recommends carbohydrate-focused meals.

What goes wrong most often

The usual culprits are skipped long runs, long runs at race pace instead of conversational pace, and new shoes, gels or clothing tried for the first time on race day. Another mistake is starting gym work for the first time in the middle of a marathon plan: if you have not done strength training before, Higdon advises leaving it until after the race.

Persistent fatigue, poor sleep, slower usual pace at the same effort and a resting heart rate above normal are reasons to cut the load and let yourself recover. Pain that changes your running form, gets worse with training or does not ease at rest is a reason to stop and see a doctor.

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