Comparing The Best Marathon Training PlansĮvery marathon training program could be an entire article. So whether you’re training for London, Chicago, NYC or any of the other thousands of races, one of these plans will help you get there with confidence. Today we are going to focus on Galloway, Hanson, Run Less Run Faster, Hal Higdon, Low Heart Training and lightly CrossFit endurance. More advanced training schedules for those really looking to hit Sub 3 hours like Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathon plan or high volume of Lydiard are not included. The programs I’ve selected for this article are focused on newer to intermediate runners. While there are a WIDE variety of training styles, I’ve picked out some of the most common to breakdown for you.

We’re going to first cover some basics of each plan to help you get a feel for the programs and then dive in the specific things you need to consider when picking the best marathon training plan for YOU. There’s a lot to consider when looking not just at the different styles of training, but at the levels provided by each running coach. so basically it was like a 20 weeks or so of base building, 12 weeks of earnest half marathon training block, half marathon race, down week (right now), right into 12 week marathon training.Have you ever wondered the difference between all the marathon training plans out there? How do you begin to pick a marathon training plan? Will a free marathon plan off the internet do the trick? take peak week and repeat it with a bit more, making the second one the new peak week (but not by much)Īs for me, I am signed up for my first at Austin 2022, which is ~13 weeks out, but I just raced my first half and am coming off that training block so my base and paces are there.

take a build week somewhere in the middle and repeat it, maybe with a bit more than the previous but not as much as the next.

like if im normally doing 20 mpw and week1 of the plan is 30mpw, i'd do a week at 22, 25, 27 etc. If week 1 was a big jump from my normal mileage/pace, I'd see the difference between week 1 and week 2 and work that backwards for 'preweek1' etc. i would probably do some combo of the following (my advice with a mountain of salt, i'm new at this myself): Would be dependent on where i was going in and how intense i felt the plan was.

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