Marathon Training Plan
Generate a week-by-week marathon plan with easy, tempo, and long-run mileage. Saved on this device.
Written by Golam Rabbani, Founder & Lead Engineer
How to use this marathon training plan
- Enter the plan length in weeks (8–24, most marathons use 12–20).
- Enter your current weekly running volume in miles or km.
- Pick your level — first-timer, intermediate, or advanced.
- Pick the unit — miles or km.
- Press Generate plan to see the week-by-week mileage table, then Copy.
About this marathon training plan
The marathon training plan builds a progression from your current weekly volume to a peak based on level: 40 miles/week for first-timers, 50 for intermediate, 65 for advanced (auto-converted if you pick km). Weeks 1 to (total – 3) are build weeks with a linear ramp; every fourth week cuts back to 80% of the planned volume to allow recovery. The last three weeks are the taper at 85%, 65%, and 50% of peak — the standard sharpening before race day. Each week splits the total into long run (~35%), tempo (~18%), and easy (the remainder), so you know how to distribute the volume across the week.
A worked example: 16 weeks, current 20 mi/wk, first-timer, miles. Peak target = 40 mi/wk. Week 1 = 20mi (7 easy, 4 tempo, 7 long, 6 mi other — actually the table shows easy/tempo/long broken cleanly). Week 4 = ~24mi (cutback). Week 12 = ~37mi (build). Week 14 = 34mi (taper 85%). Week 16 = 20mi (race week, 50%). The plan saves to your device so you can revisit it through the season.
Educational template only. Marathon training carries real injury risk — consult a coach or sports medicine professional, especially if you have heart, joint, or chronic conditions.
FAQ
- How long should my marathon plan be?
- 12 weeks is the minimum if you are already running 15–20 miles a week. 16 weeks is the most common length. Go to 20–24 weeks if you’re starting near zero — but still expect to begin with a base-building block.
- Why do every fourth week and the last three weeks have less mileage?
- Mileage doesn’t become fitness until you recover from it. Week 4 cutbacks let the body absorb the previous three weeks; the 3-week taper lets your race-day legs show up fresh.
- What does each weekly split mean?
- Long run is one session, run at conversational pace. Tempo is harder steady-state work split across 1–2 sessions. Easy is the remaining low-intensity volume, ideally split across the other 3–4 days.
- Does it save my plan?
- Yes — your inputs and the generated table persist in localStorage on this device. Use Reset to clear.
- Can I switch between miles and km without re-entering values?
- Yes — the unit toggle converts your current weekly volume between miles and km on the fly so you keep your starting point.
- How important is the long run?
- Very. It’s the most marathon-specific session you do. Most plans cap the longest single run between 18–22 miles 3–4 weeks before race day.