How long to train for a marathon

How long to train for a marathon: 16 to 20 weeks if this is your first, 12 to 16 weeks if you already run three or four times a week, and up to 24 weeks if you are starting from zero. This page gives the weeks for each starting point and what those weeks contain. The generator below counts a plan back from your race date.

Weeks to train for a marathon by level

The number of weeks depends on two things: how much you run today and how far your longest recent run is. A runner who already covers 20 miles a week needs fewer weeks than one who runs twice a week, because the base phase is already done. The table gives the usual ranges and the plan page that matches each one.

Every plan, long or short, ends the same way: the longest run three weeks out, then a taper. What changes with more weeks is how gently the volume rises before that point.

How long to train for a marathon from zero

If you cannot run three miles without stopping today, give yourself 20 to 24 weeks. The first month is about running three days a week without soreness that lingers, not about distance. The couch to marathon plan starts the long run at 3 miles, aims at a peak week 15 percent lower than the usual one and caps weekly growth at 10 percent, so the early weeks feel easy on purpose.

Many runners in this situation do better with a half marathon first. Twelve weeks to a half, then 16 more to the marathon, is slower on the calendar and kinder on the legs.

With a base of 20 miles a week: 16 weeks

Sixteen weeks is the default for a reason. Enter 25 miles a week and a 10-mile longest run into the generator. The 16-week plan then climbs to 35 miles in week 13, the last week before the taper, with the long run at its 20-mile cap the same week, and tapers for three weeks. The engine sets the weekly growth from your starting volume so that it reaches a 35-mile peak before the taper; here that is about 8 percent a week, with a recovery week every fourth.

With 30 miles a week and a 12-mile long run, an 18-week plan reaches the same 35 miles by week 3 and returns to it after every cutback until the taper. The long run reaches 20 miles in week 15. More starting miles buy a gentler ramp, not a higher peak and not a shorter plan.

After a half marathon: 12 to 14 weeks

A recent half marathon is the best predictor of a marathon result and the best reason to train shorter. If you raced a half in the last two months and kept running since, 12 to 14 weeks is enough. The generator will not build a marathon plan shorter than 12. Enter the half as a recent race and the plan sets easy, long and tempo paces from it. A 2:00 half predicts a marathon of about 4:10 by the Riegel formula, provided the long runs get done.

See the 4 hour marathon pace page for what that goal asks of each mile, or the pace calculator for any other time.

How many months to train for a marathon

Three months is the floor: 12 weeks works only with a solid base. Four months is the standard first-timer answer and five is comfortable. Six months is the right call when you run little today and want a buffer for a cold or a missed week. The generator does not adjust a plan after missed weeks; with six months in hand you simply regenerate from the new date.

Longer than six months rarely helps. Beyond 24 weeks the plan would spend months at low mileage. Race a 10K or a half first and start the marathon block later.

Frequently asked questions