Photo by Sherise Van Dyk
Running 42.1km will sound daunting and overwhelming to most, but for some the desire to run a marathon is due to personal reasons or a challenge. You may want to test your endurance, overcome mental blocks, be healthier or promote awareness for a charity.
Whether you’re looking to train for a marathon or want some information from someone who is experienced in running, this is the article for you. It will help you to break down the training process, start to plan a schedule and set a pace for completing your marathon. Remember, motivation is key, your legs will be tired, the weather will be rubbish, but you will be strong enough to keep on going.
The Four Building Blocks of Marathon Training
- Base Kilometers: Build your weekly kms over time, running 3-5 times per week.
- The Long Run: Do a long run every 7-10 days. This lets your body adjust gradually to longer distances.
- Speed Work: Practice Intervals and tempo runs to increase your cardio capacity.
- Rest & Recovery: Adequate rest helps prevent injuries and mental burnout.
How do I prepare for a Marathon at the beginning?
Preparing for a Marathon in the early days is an easy one to over think. You may be swamped with questions about what shoes or clothing you should buy, or how fast you should run, but ultimately, the most important preparation is you. It’s showing up, getting out there and running regularly. At the beginning training 2 or 3 times a week is enough to start to build up your stamina and get your body accustomed to running for long periods of time. Aim to run for 45 minutes to an hour, but just do what works best for you. Start small, aiming to complete 5ks or 10ks is a great way to build your endurance and prepare both physically and mentally for a first marathon.
How long in advance do I need to start training?
Most marathon training plans range from 12-20 weeks depending on the individual. As you prepare for the race It is crucial to condition your heart, muscles, and mind for the upcoming exertion. This entails following a rigorous training regimen that progressively increases the intensity, enhancing both your fitness level and stamina.
The experienced runners with a solid base may be able to handle a more abbreviated 8-week marathon training plan, but even this is very little time to be able to train sufficiently and see any sort of improvement.
Photo by Sherise Van Dyk
Top Tip: Remember you will be running a lot, so you need to find a way to enjoy it rather than being obsessed with doing it the “right way”. This may be running with headphones in, listening to podcasts, running solo or in a group. Find what works well for you and keep on pushing through.
How many Km a week should I be running?
Base Kilometers:
Build your weekly kms over time, running 3-5 times per week. Newer runners may aim for 24 to 32km per week and gradually build to over 50km weeks. Whereas more experienced runners may start at 50km or more per week, and peak at 80km or more. When building base kilometers, never increase your weekly kms by more than 10 percent from week to week.
Maximum KM weeks: For many, the highest km weeks usually are around three to four weeks out, aiming for between 100-120km.
The Long Run: Build up a weekly long run that is extended by a few km each week. Make sure you reduce your kms every 3rd week to reduce the chance of an injury.
Choose a couple of extended runs during the month or two leading up to the race as “dress rehearsals”. Begin your run at the same time you intend to start on race day. Consume the same food and beverages you’ll have the day before, on the morning of, and during your race, precisely replicating these times during your rehearsal run.
Maximum Distance: Most marathon training plans usually peak at a long run of approximately 30km. Which means that your body will take advantage of the peak shape you are in and complete those last few kms through adrenaline and ‘tapering period’.
Tapering Period: Tapering is the practice of reducing exercise in the days or weeks before an important event/competition. It gives your body and mind the opportunity to recover from all the hard training you’ve done and get prepared for race day. There are various proposed benefits of taper including replenishing glycogen stores in the muscles, muscle repair and reduced fatigue.
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In the 2 – 3 weeks leading up to your marathon, scale back significantly on overall kilometers and difficulty of your runs to let your body rest up for the event.
Photo by Candra Winata
What speed work/ intervals should I follow?
Speed Work:
- Speed workouts involve intervals that are thrown into longer runs to increase your turnover for a certain amount of time, before returning to your regular pace, resulting in an increase in your aerobic capacity.
- Intervals are a set of repetitions of a specific, short distance, run at a substantially faster pace than usual, with recovery jobs in between.
Always allow your body to warm up and cool down with a few easy kilometers at the beginning end of every workout.
For your first event there is nothing wrong with pacing yourself slower than originally planned, and seeing how you feel before pushing the pace later. However, after completing a few races you are recommended to move away from this mentality if you have a goal time in mind that you want to achieve. For example, if you are aiming to complete your marathon within 3 hours, you will need to be running an average of 4m15 seconds every km. Allowing yourself to run the first 5 kms slightly slower (to see how you feel) will make it harder for you to make up the time later, therefore consistency from the start is recommended.
For training, most trainers will advise an 80/20 split which means you should set an easy pace for 80% of your training, and only commit to a hard pace at 20%. As previously said, your body needs those longer, slower runs to effectively improve its aerobic capability- going faster isn’t always better!
Are there any programs to help me build my fitness and stamina to avoid injuries?
It is so important to listen to your body and build up the kms in your training. If any of you have used couch to 5k you will understand that it takes time for your body to adjust and build up to completing a 5k run. Running a marathon is the same concept, but the excitement of signing up can result in training too hard too early, and lead to common injuries such as IT band pain and shin splints. A recommended program to explore is Hal Higdon, His app is a fantastic way to build up your kilometers gradually, and best of all its free and amazing! Using an app is a great way for many people to train, as you don’t have to overthink it- the app does that for you!
Photo by Pietro Rampazzo
Top Tip: Incorporating hill training can serve as an effective form of “speedwork in disguise”. This approach not only elevates your heart rate swiftly, but also enhances the strength of your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Push your limits by incorporating a hilly route into one of your midweeks runs and tackling uphill sections with a sustained, vigorous effort. Maintain an upright posture, keep your footwork light, and powerfully engage your arm movements to maximize the benefits.
Hydration and Fueling
Optimal nutrition will not only boost your motivation and energy levels for your runs, but also enhance your training adaptation. To kickstart this, prioritize a well-rounded diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole-food groups. This dietary foundation will effectively fuel both your training sessions and post-workout recovery.
The diet plan is personal and depends on your size, metabolism, and race day conditions. Some individuals like to use the energy gel, that contains about 25g of carbohydrates, to provide 45 minutes of running. On race day, a gel accompanied by a small water, every 45 minutes, will help some runners to complete the journey. At the end of the day, you should stick to what worked for you in training, it’s best not to copy the crowds or try some shiny new gel that is being given out on the course.
Rest and Recovery
Right after you finish, it’s crucial to hydrate by consuming multiple cups of water or a sports drink to replenish your fatigued muscles. If possible, take a brief walk to allow your muscles to gradually cool down. Engage in gentle stretching exercises. Even if you don’t have a strong appetite, consider eating some easily digestible carbohydrates.
In the days following your event, prioritize rest and sleep. Maintain a diet that included well-balanced meals. Attend to any injuries or ailments you may have incurred during the events, and ensure you are taking steps to support and nourish your immune system.
Remember: Marathon training is a continuous journey, and progress doesn’t always follow a straightforward, smooth path. You’ll encounter workouts that deviate from your expectations, races where you may not feel your best, and instances where you must skip or reschedule runs.
Max has been running marathons all around the world for the past 6 years and has worked with us to share his tips and advice. His astounding PB of 2hr43minutes was achieved in 2023 while running the Manchester marathon.
Here is an insight into Max’s Marathon experiences.
What challenges are you faced with when running a Marathon?
Running a marathon is hard, there’s no way around that, however you can limit the type of challenges you’ll face by preparing effectively. Don’t let things like nutrition, chafe, cramp, blisters, or faulty headphones become a problem by testing everything out in advance. I’ve heard people say the training is the hard work part of the Marathon, race day should be straight forward with just one challenging aspect, keeping your body moving effectively. Don’t let poor preparation get in the way of your potential.
How do you choose what marathon to run?
I like well attended, flat events. For the moment my motivation is time, I’m still improving every year, so I want to run the quickest courses against the biggest field. I get the most out of myself when I’m competing against quality and being cheered on by streets filled with people. Maybe in a few years when I start to slow down, I’ll look at some more quirky events like trail marathons or multiday events, for me personally these events are less about time and more about just getting round, meaning there’s less pressure on me.
Max’s Marathon running advice:
- Listen to your body, if something doesn’t feel right in the moment then think about if it is worth the risk of an injury. Ask yourself if the extra km will help with your training or hinder your performance on race day.
- Plan out your runs throughout the week. Can you incorporate it into your work commute, or daily activities?
- Start practicing your race day nutrition in advance, your body may need to adjust to the energy gels, so it is better to trial the product before race day.
- Remember the golden rule: Never try anything new on race day!
What race day tips do you have?
“I asked my dad this before my first marathon, he’s a fantastic long-distance runner and I owe him so much for encouraging me into the sport. His response was “enjoy it”. At the time I rolled my eyes (we were on the phone so he couldn’t see), how could I enjoy it? Marathon running is about pain and pushing yourself right? I thought that way for the vast majority of my marathons, the harder I focus, the more I block out distractions, and the more serious I am the better I will perform.
But something really changed for me at the Tokyo Marathon, instead of blocking things out I soaked it up, enjoyed the scenery and the spectacle, especially enjoy the crowd. After seeing the crowds there going so crazy, “wave back” kind of became a motto for me. In the past I would be so obsessed with focus and conserving energy the idea of waving to the crowd seemed absurd, but now I’m the opposite, acknowledging the cheers from the crowd or the smile of a child as you run past will do much more for you than gritting those teeth and locking eyes on the horizon.”
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Max Letchfield for collaborating with Make Moves to create the blog that shows how hard work, determination, and the right preparation can lead to completing Marathons and achieving goals. The article has been created to present an insight into preparing for a Marathon and give you some advice and inside knowledge to help improve your training.
COMING SOON: Be sure to check out our Hoodies in the Basics collection, the perfect fit to keep you warm in preparation for race day.
*Disclaimer:
This blog is not a replacement for professional guidance, diagnosis, or treatment. It is essential to consult your physician or other qualified healthcare experts for any concerns or queries regarding medical condition. Even though our source is an experienced marathon runner, please note that we are not professional athletes, coaches, or nutritionists. *
Useful Links
Runners World: https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/marathon/a776459/marathon-training-plans/
Mental Health Support: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
https://www.thinkmentalhealthwa.com.au/
Follow Max Letchfield on Instagram: @maxtravelled https://instagram.com/maxtravelled?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
