Marathon training plans
Seventeen marathons in the library, a 16-week build behind each one. Every one is written two weeks at a time, phased for how far out you are, and rebuilt the moment you travel, get sick or something starts hurting.
On Pro, the hours, the experience level and the date you give shape every block, and the plan is rewritten when your week changes.
On Pro, a beginner's running week holds 4 to 9 hours and an advanced runner's holds 8 to 16, so the same race gives two different plans.
The races on this page are examples. In the app you choose a distance and set your own date, so a race we have not listed works the same way.
Free plan available · Paid from $7.50/mo billed annually · iOS, Android & web
MARATHON AT A GLANCE
- Races covered17
- Typical build16 weeks
- Race monthsJan · Mar · Apr · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec
- True of all 17Road
- Next upBoston Marathon · Apr 19, 2027
- SportRunning
THE MARATHON FIELD
What a marathon build has to cope with
Counted off the seventeen marathons on this page. It is not a general claim about the distance.
HOW LONG THE BUILD RUNS
Every plan at this distance runs to sixteen weeks.
That is the longest of the four running distances on this site. 5K (8 weeks), 10K (10 weeks) and half marathon (12 weeks) sit below it.
Whatever the length, the plan is written two weeks at a time and phased for how far out you are, so marathons that start in a hole and marathons that start fit do not get the same first block.
WHAT YOU BUILD THROUGH
Six of the seventeen put the bulk of the build in fall; the rest split six in winter and five in summer.
One of them (Sydney Marathon) is south of the equator, where the calendar runs the other way round.
Race dates land in eight different months of the year.
WHAT THE COURSES DO
Eight of the seventeen are flat; the rest split six rolling, two net downhill and one point to point.
All seventeen are on road.
We hold a total-climb figure for seven of the seventeen. They run 30 m to 250 m. For the rest the table leaves the cell empty, because we hold no figure for them.
WHAT THE WEATHER DOES
Twelve of the seventeen are cool; the rest split two unpredictable, one cold, one temperate and one warm.
HOW YOU GET IN
Entry: eight by ballot, five by first come, two by open entry, one by ballot or charity place and one by qualifying time.
Ten of them cannot simply be bought into, which is its own planning problem: those builds have to start before you know whether you are in.
Field size, in starters: eight at 10,000 to 40,000, five at 40,000 or more and four at 1,000 to 10,000.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DATES
We hold a confirmed date for seven of the seventeen. The other ten carry a season instead, and the table says so rather than inventing a day.
Dates are checked against each race’s own announcement before they go in, and a date we cannot stand behind is left out.
ALL SEVENTEEN MARATHONS
Every marathon we have a plan for
Five of the seven things we track vary between these races, so those are the columns. The ones that do not vary are in the card above. Every name links to its own plan.
| Race | When | Course | Climb | Conditions | Field | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston MarathonBoston, MA | Net downhill | 250 m | Unpredictable | 10,000-40,000 | Qualifier | |
| Twin Cities MarathonMinneapolis, MN | Rolling | -not known | Cool | 1,000-10,000 | Ballot | |
| Chicago MarathonChicago, IL | Flat | 60 m | Unpredictable | 40,000+ | Ballot | |
| Toronto MarathonToronto, Canada | Flat | -not known | Cool | 1,000-10,000 | Open | |
| Amsterdam MarathonAmsterdam, Netherlands | Flat | 30 m | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | First come | |
| Marine Corps MarathonArlington, VA | Rolling | -not known | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | Ballot | |
| New York City MarathonNew York, NY | Point to point | 250 m | Cool | 40,000+ | Ballot | |
| Berlin MarathonBerlin, Germany | Fall 2027 | Flat | 40 m | Cool | 40,000+ | Ballot |
| Dublin MarathonDublin, Ireland | October 2027 | Rolling | -not known | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | Ballot |
| Houston MarathonHouston, TX | January 2027 | Flat | -not known | Cool | 1,000-10,000 | Ballot |
| London MarathonLondon, UK | Spring 2027 | Flat | 50 m | Cool | 40,000+ | Ballot or charity |
| Los Angeles MarathonLos Angeles, CA | Spring 2027 | Net downhill | -not known | Warm | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Paris MarathonParis, France | Spring 2027 | Rolling | -not known | Cool | 40,000+ | First come |
| Philadelphia MarathonPhiladelphia, PA | November 2027 | Rolling | -not known | Cold | 1,000-10,000 | First come |
| Sydney MarathonSydney, Australia | Late August 2027 | Rolling | -not known | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | Open |
| Tokyo MarathonTokyo, Japan | Spring 2027 | Flat | -not known | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | Ballot |
| Valencia MarathonValencia, Spain | December 2027 | Flat | 50 m | Temperate | 10,000-40,000 | First come |