I coach marathon and half marathon runners 1-on-1 through TrainingPeaks, and most of them fit their running around a full-time job. I raced professionally for nine seasons, 2012 to 2020, and I’ve coached endurance athletes since 2017. Running-only coaching is on my single-sport tier, $100 to $200 a month.
How a marathon build runs
I count back from race day, up to 26 weeks:
- Base. Easy running, hills and strides, and strength twice a week. Easy days stay easy, with a heart rate ceiling.
- Strength and early quality. Threshold sessions and hills come in.
- Race specific. Marathon-pace work and the longest runs, with your fuelling practised at race rate.
- Peak. A dress rehearsal: about 25 km, with 18 to 20 km of it at marathon pace.
- Taper. Two weeks with less running and the intensity kept, then race week.
About three quarters of your running stays easy, in every phase. For most runners the long run tops out around 32 km, and a 4-hour marathoner doesn’t need more than that.
If your race is less than 12 weeks away, we talk about the goal before we start.
Each week is written from the last one
Your zones come from your threshold pace, set by a race or a time trial and retested every 6 to 8 weeks. Each week I go through what you ran: the sessions, your heart rate against your pace, and what you wrote in the comments. The next week comes from that and from where you are in the build. A work trip or a head cold changes the week, and the plan bends with it.
Most blocks are three weeks of building and one easier week. If you’re a masters runner, you’ve had a bone stress injury, or work is heavy, the easier week comes every third week instead.
One of my athletes came to me 13 weeks out from his first marathon, already running 25 to 30 km a week. A generic plan would have doubled that to chase the calendar. We held his base and built it gradually, and he crossed the line without the injury that jump would have cost him.
What you get
Every session is in TrainingPeaks with its pace or heart rate target, and it syncs to your watch. I comment on the sessions that matter and give you straight answers on progress and fatigue. If you’re weighing up the hours, my marathon blueprint for busy executives lays out a full build.
Talk to me
Coaching options and prices are on the coaching options page. If you’ve got a marathon or a half in mind, get in touch and tell me your race and the hours you’ve realistically got.
