Many runners find that training for a marathon, and then completing one, is a peak life experience. Some enjoy it so much that they run hundreds of marathons. Others are content with the one-and-done approach.
That’s fine. There’s no argument to be made that marathon running is essential to anyone’s health or running routine. Paleo runners didn’t scratch two lines 26.2 miles apart in the African soil and then time their attempts to bridge the two lines. Indeed, they never ran 26.2 miles nonstop.
Nor does anyone need to run marathons today. Even if you, like so many, want to lose weight, you don’t need to run marathons. In fact, it’s easier to lose weight through running when you are not training for a marathon, with its need for long-run fueling.
The modern marathon exists primarily because we crave challenge and excitement in our lives. The man behind the London Marathon once called his event a “suburban Everest”—a chance for regular townsfolk to face a daunting physical endeavor without the trouble, expense, and threats to life of an actual Everest expedition. This is a good thing, by the way, and largely explains why marathons have become a worldwide urban phenomenon.
At the end of this chapter, I’ve created a marathon plan you can follow or adapt to your needs. You won’t find a simpler marathon plan anywhere. That’s my program’s main strength. For example, you have to run only three days a week, and those days are always the same (unless you want to move them around from week to week, which is fine). The plan assumes only that you can run and walk 2 miles on the first day of training. From there it builds slowly, sanely, and progressively.
Simple though my plan is, it’s also 95 percent as thorough as the most demanding marathon plan. It covers the same main points—building weekly mileage and increasing the length of your long run. The missing 5 percent is the number and distance of those long runs.
My plan takes you only to a long run of 18 miles, and you do only one of these. That means you will have to run slowly and conservatively on race day, probably with a mix of running and walking. The last 8 miles won’t come easy. But you’ll get through them, because the training has made you strong enough to endure, and your race-day motivation will do the rest.
Marathon race days are special. They shine a spotlight on the tremendous power of the human will. They show that we can achieve much more than seemed possible just a short period earlier.
Run by time: Other marathon training plans give you mileage goals. My plan gives you time goals (hours and minutes), the same as Run Forever’s beginning running plan on page 18. Time goals are simpler and more precise than distance goals. You have to run only until x minutes have elapsed on your watch—there’s nothing more to think about.
My plan assumes that you are running at about 12 minutes per mile. You might be faster or slower. Doesn’t make a difference. Both will get you to the finish line. My plan shows each individual training run, and your total weekly running, in both minutes and miles. This allows you to keep track either way, by minutes or miles.
Take care of the small stuff: When you’re training for a marathon, your long-run days are central to your eventual success. Try to get them right. But pay attention to the small stuff too: sleep, diet, hydration, cross-training, and recovery. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Here’s rule number one in marathon training: get to the starting line as strong and healthy as possible.
Expect bad days. Remember the good ones: Everyone has bad days during a marathon buildup. Some days you will feel tired and stressed, and reach the conclusion that you cannot possibly finish your target marathon. Don’t worry about these days.
Instead, reflect on the days when you feel fresh and strong. There is no fakery in running. Your good days give a true indication of your fitness and potential. You will have a good day during your marathon race, because you will be in great shape and fully rested for the big event.
Beginner’s Marathon Training Plan (16 weeks)
This beginner’s plan uses a slow, steady, progressive schedule to prepare you for a marathon in sixteen weeks. To improve thereafter, you’ll have to train more. If you can comfortably do more than 2 miles a day—say, 3 or 4 miles—you can insert that amount on day one while still following the below pattern. Run by miles a day, not minutes. Do not run more than 20 miles.
