Training plans

Marathon training plan that adapts to your recovery

Updated 28 September 2026 · 7 min read

The marathon rewards patience more than talent. Most hard race days trace back to a plan that built too fast, a long run that came too late or a taper that wasn’t one. Here are the rules that avoid all three, with numbers for three levels, an example week and a way to find your marathon pace. At the end: how Keho Coach runs the same rules and eases off when your recovery asks for it.

How long to train, and how many days a week

• Beginner (six months or more of regular running, ideally a half marathon behind you): 16–20 weeks, some plans up to 26; 3–4 running days, four if you can.
• Intermediate (you run 30–50 km a week and have raced a half): 16–18 weeks, 4–5 days.
• Advanced (years of training, 60 km a week or more): 16–18 weeks, or 12 from a high base; 5–7 days.

Is a 16-week marathon plan enough? If you already run 25–30 km a week with a long run of 10–12 km, yes: it leaves about twelve weeks of building and a three-week taper. Starting from less, give yourself 20 weeks or run a half first. If you have a heart condition or another health problem, see a doctor before you start.

Peak week and longest run by level

Start from what you run now. Add no more than 10% a week, drop to about three quarters every fourth week so the work sinks in, hold the peak for a week or two, then taper.

The long run grows a kilometre or two at a time, steps back in cutback weeks and peaks about three weeks before race day. The classic guideline keeps it under about 30% of the week and around two and a half hours, and it works well for runners on five or more days. On three or four days a marathon long run can’t fit that share: it becomes the centre of the week, often half of it or more. Beginner plans accept that, and it stays sensible when the other runs are short and easy and the long run is slow. Going far beyond 35 km mostly adds recovery time, not fitness.

Easy running, quality sessions and marathon pace

About 80% of your running time should be easy, at a pace where you can talk in full sentences. Beginners need one quality session a week, intermediate runners one in the base phase and two from the build, advanced runners two, plus a midweek medium-long run of 15–20 km. Keep an easy day between hard days.

• Base: easy running, strides (4–8 × 20 seconds, quick and relaxed), hills and relaxed fartlek.
• Build: threshold runs (20–40 minutes at a pace you could race for about an hour, often split into 2–4 blocks), intervals at 10K pace, hills.
• Race-specific, last 6–8 weeks: marathon pace, 6–16 km within long runs or in midweek runs, plus threshold blocks.

Example week in the race-specific phase

One example week about seven weeks before the race, not a full plan.

How to find your marathon pace

Use a race you ran all out in the last two months, ideally a half marathon. Pete Riegel’s formula scales it: predicted time = known time × (new distance ÷ known distance)^1.06. A 1:50 half predicts about 3:49. From a 10K or shorter the prediction is usually too optimistic unless your weekly distance is high; an exponent of 1.08 is more realistic, turning a 50-minute 10K into about 3:57 instead of 3:50.

• Easy: conversational, roughly 45–90 seconds per km (1¼–2½ minutes per mile) slower than marathon pace.
• Marathon pace: controlled; you can still say a short sentence.
• Threshold: what you could race for about an hour.

Without a recent race, run easy days by heart rate, below roughly 75–80% of your maximum, and find marathon pace in long-run finishes. Use a maximum you have actually seen; 220 minus age can be off by ten beats or more.

The marathon taper and race week

After your longest run, three weeks out, volume steps down to about 80%, 60% and then 45% of your peak in race week. Keep the rhythm: the same days, shorter runs, a 20–24 km long run two weeks out and 3–5 km at marathon pace early in race week. Feeling sluggish or restless in the taper is common. Fitness built over months doesn’t vanish in three weeks; fatigue does.

In race week, sleep well, eat more carbohydrate over the last two days, and try nothing new. Practise race-day fuelling in long runs. Run the first half at or slightly slower than goal pace; the race starts at 30 km.

When to change the plan

• Poor sleep: after one bad night, move the hard session. After several, make the next quality session easy.
• HRV and resting heart rate: if HRV sits clearly below your usual range, or resting heart rate above it, for several days, run easy or rest. How to read your HRV.
• Feeling unwell: with a fever, chest symptoms or aching muscles, don’t run. Return with a few easy days.
• Niggles: pain that changes your stride or worsens during a run means stop. See a doctor or physio if it persists.
• Travel: after long flights, keep runs short and easy for a day or two.
• Missed long run: don’t squeeze it in later. One missed long run won’t decide a marathon; forcing one while run down can.

The rule behind all of these: reduce, don’t make up. After a missed week, repeat the last full week before building again.

How Keho Coach builds and adapts your marathon plan

1. Choose your race and date, your level (New to running to Elite), how many days a week you run (1–7), which weekdays, and your long-run day.
2. Keho sets your paces from a recent race or personal best in Apple Health, otherwise from its VO2max estimate, otherwise from heart rate alone.
3. It builds every week: the peak and longest run for your level as above, never more than 10% added in a week, a cutback every fourth week, the long run peaking three weeks out, and a taper to 80%, 60% and 45%.
4. The next seven days of runs go to your Apple Watch through WorkoutKit, with heart-rate and pace alerts from your own zones. Your morning briefing names the day’s session.

Nothing changes on its own. Tell Keho you are not feeling 100% (feeling unwell, a niggle, travel) and the week adjusts, then ramps back. When several low-readiness mornings come with HRV below your usual or resting heart rate above it, when training load climbs too fast, or when you have missed several sessions, Keho offers options that only ever reduce load, always including “Keep as planned”. You decide. With Keho Coach you can also add tune-up races to the plan. If your race is too close for a full build, Keho says so and recommends an option; you can still go ahead. Week 1 is readable before you buy.

Common questions

What is a good marathon training plan for beginners?

16–20 weeks on four days: three short easy or steady runs and a long run that grows to about 30 km. Walk breaks in long runs are fine.

Do I need to run 20 miles before a marathon?

Most plans peak at 30–35 km (18.5–22 miles). Some stop at about 26 km and build fatigue across the week instead. Both approaches work.

Can I train for a marathon on three days a week?

To finish, yes: a long run, one marathon-pace or threshold run and one easy run, plus some cross-training. Four days is more comfortable.

Shorter goal first? Read the half marathon training plan.

Source: Riegel, P. S. (1981), “Athletic records and human endurance”, American Scientist 69(3). General information, not medical advice.