E-mail this page

Printer-friendly page
Related info:
Find Marathon Training Schedules
| ActiveTrainer

Training Tips
C25K: Couch to 5K
Injury Prevention
Nutrition
Marathon Mania
Gear
Training Plans
Free Running Log
Virtual Trainer
Running Tips &
Articles | Active.com
Active.com Running
Guides
Race Training Toolkit
Event calendar
Our comprehensive
list of events around
the world.
Need training advice?
Put your question to
the Training Advice
forum.
Newbie Cafe
A discussion forum for
new runners, where
no question is too
basic.
Other Forums.
Boring is good
Get into a routine.
Like anything else, a
running program is
easier if it becomes
routine. Set aside a
certain time each
day that is
designated as your
running time.
> More Training Tips

home > training > training plans > competitive marathon program
Like 35 people like this. Be the first of your friends.
Competitive Marathon Program
A training schedule for competitive runners who want to
improve performance in the marathon race distance.
First things first: bookmark this page so
that you can check on your progress. You
can also add daily run reminders to the
Cool Running homepage as you roll
through the weeks of this training
program (to do this, edit your start page
preferences).
Unlike many other marathon programs,
your long runs here build beyond the
marathon distance, up to 28 miles. This is
based on the common-sense idea that to
be prepared to race any distance, you
must have trained at that distance. The
key, though, is to train gently. All of your
long runs should be run at a pace about
90 seconds or 2 minutes per mile slower
than your current 10K pace. The purpose
of your long training run is to get used to covering the distance, not to rush
through it.
This program contains some speed workouts. (For more information on the
types of speed workouts, we lay it all out in "The Runner's Building Blocks"). A
few quick notes on how speedwork is described here:
The distance in parentheses below fartlek runs includes a mile each of
warmup and warmdown, in addition to your fartlek sessions. Don't
know what a fartlek is? Check out our page about "The Runner's
Building Blocks".
Whenever you see a pace denoted as 5K pace or 10K pace, this refers
to the speed at which you estimate you could run a 5K or 10K on that
given day.
When you read "4-5 hills," that means you should do 4-5 repeats at 5K
pace on a hill about 150 or 200 yards long. Long hills should be
400-600 yards long. If you find it too tedious to run repeats on a single
hill, you can also find a route that incorporates the same number of
hills, as long as the route is not very long.
When you read the notation "4 x 880s," that means you should run four
repeats of 880 yards each (two laps on the track). The pace below tells
you how fast you should run them. For 880s, give yourself 2 minutes of
rest between intervals; for 440s, give yourself 1-2 minutes.
All other workouts (including the long runs) should be run at an easy training
pace -- emphasis on "easy." Hold yourself back to a pace about 90 seconds or
2 minutes per mile slower than your current 10K pace.
Finally, the pre-training schedule. You should be able to run this schedule for
four to five weeks without much discomfort before starting the marathon
program. If not, give yourself some time to build up to that level gradually, or
you may risk injury.

Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun.
Pre-
Train
6M 6M 4M 8M 6M 4M 12M

The schedule
The schedule peaks at about 70 miles per week. If you prefer metric


Cool Running | Competitive Marathon Program http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/127.shtml
1 of 3 4/19/2012 11:03 AM
Related info:
Find Marathon Training Schedules
| ActiveTrainer
E-mail this page
Printer-friendly page
distances, use our distance-conversion calculator to convert to kilometers.
Week Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun.
1 6M 3 x Mile
5K pace
5M 8M Fartlek
(6M)
4M 14M
2 4M 6 x 880s
5K-10K pace
5M 8M 8-9 Hills
5K-10K pace
4M 8M
3 6M 4 x Mile
5K pace
5M 8M 6M 4M 16M
4 4M 6 x 880s
5K-10K pace
5M 8M 7-8 Long Hills
5K-10K pace
4M 9M
5 6M 5 x Mile
5K pace
5M 8M 8M 4M 18M
6 4M 8 x 440s
5K pace
5M 10M 9-10 Hills
5K-10K pace
4M 10M
7 6M 6 x Mile
5K pace
5M 12M 6M 4M 20M
8 4M 9 x 440s
5K pace
6M 8M 8-9 Long Hills
5K-10K pace
5M 12M
9 6M 7 x Mile
5K-10K pace
6M 12M 6M 4M 22M
10 4M 10 x 440s
5K pace
6M 8M 9-10 Hills
5K-10K pace
5M 12M
11 6M 8 x Mile
5K-10K pace
6M 12M 8M 4M 24M
12 4M 8 x 880s
5K-10K pace
6M 12M 6M 3M 10K Race
(Or 12M)
13 4M 8 x Mile
5K-10K pace
6M 12M 8M 4M 26M
14 4M 10 x 880s
5K-10K pace
6M 12M 6M 3M 10K Race
(Or 12M)
15 4M 8 x Mile
5K-10K pace
8M 12M 8M 4M 28M
16 4M 10 x 880s
5K-10K pace
6M 12M 6M 3M 10K Race
(Or 12M)
17 4M 8 x 880s
10K pace
6M 10M 6M 3M 30M
18 4M Fartlek
(10M)
6M 12M 8M 5M 15M
19 4M Fartlek
(8M)
4M 6M 6M 5M 10M
20 4M 6 x Mile
Marathon pace
4M 3M 4M 2M RACE DAY!
Like 35 people like this. Be the first of your friends.


Latest articles in Training Plans
The 5K
The Marathon
The Half Marathon
The 10K
Speedwork for Competitive Runners



Follow Coolrunning.com on the social web: Facebook Twitter
Subscribe to the Newsletter | Subscribe to the News Feeds
About Cool Running | Advertise | Race Directors | Support and Feedback | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Copyright 2011 The Active Network, Inc.
Cool Running | Competitive Marathon Program http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/127.shtml
2 of 3 4/19/2012 11:03 AM
Cool Running | Competitive Marathon Program http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/127.shtml
3 of 3 4/19/2012 11:03 AM