Your Full Marathon Training Plan: 16 and 20-Week Schedules for All Levels
What Is A Marathon | Benefits | Why Train | What Should A Plan Include | How Long Should Training Be | Beginner Plan | Intermediate Plan | Advanced Plan | Boosting Performance | Kilometres | FAQs
Page last updated: 8th July 2026
Jump straight to the training plans
If you've decided this is your year for taking on the challenge of the marathon, you'll need to make sure you plan your training effectively. This guide is here to help you prepare for this exhilarating event, and includes comprehensive beginner, intermediate, and advanced 16 and 20 week marathon plans created by Run Coach and Personal Trainer, Ian Scarrott.
Quick summary
A marathon is a race that covers 26.2 miles (42.2km)
Training for a marathon has many health and wellbeing benefits including improved cardiovascular fitness, sleep, and mood
Training for a marathon takes a minimum of 16 weeks, with beginners advised to factor in at least 20 weeks
A good marathon training plan will include running, strength training, and mobility
Download our free beginner, intermediate and advanced marathon training plans
What is a marathon and what does training involve?
A marathon is a road running race that covers a demanding distance of 26.2 miles (42.2km), usually ran in one go. Marathon events take place throughout the year, across the globe, in all conditions. We recently ranked over 100 marathons across the world by difficulty here if you're interested in learning how different metrics like weather and terrain can impact the difficulty.
Marathons are technically a race, with those who complete it receiving the position they finish in as well as their finish times. However, for many runners, running a marathon is less about winning a race and more about meeting a personal challenge or goal. Some participants take part with a goal of simply completing the course, whether that's by running, walking or by wheelchair, while others focus on finishing in a particular time, perhaps even improving on their last marathon time.
No matter what your goal, having a marathon training schedule is key to ensuring everything goes smoothly on the day. A good marathon running training plan builds up your cardio fitness, strengthens the muscles and joints, and even prepares your nervous system so you are ready to complete your 26.2 miles.
What are the benefits of training for a marathon?
Training for a marathon is challenging, but it's got some great perks too. If doing it for the challenge (or the bragging rights) isn't enough for you, these are some of the benefits you can get from training for a marathon:
- Improved cardiovascular fitness: Regular aerobic exercise improves your cardiovascular fitness, which can help with reducing your risk of developing heart disease. Plus, improved oxygen uptake in the lungs and heart can help a person sustain physical activity for longer, which is key when running marathon distances.
- Improved mood: Multiple studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise, including running, can help to improve mood. Some people report a "runners high" - a feeling of euphoria and lessened anxiety, which has been associated with long-duration, rhythmic-type exercise like a marathon.
- Strengthened joints: Running has been shown to strengthen the ligaments that help support joints and protect against development of osteoarthritis later in life.
- Being part of a community: Running doesn't have to be a solo hobby or sport. There are many running groups across the UK you can be a part of and get reciprocal support. Running can be a form of exercise or sport but it can also be a social activity - albeit from a distance or virtually for the time being!
- Way to relieve stress: Exercise and other physical activity can help produce endorphins and reduce stress hormones, which in turn can help to reduce feelings of stress. Including some form of exercise like running can be a way to not just improve your physical health but help manage your mental health too.
- Better sleep: Research suggests that regular exercise can help to improve sleep, which can then impact how you lead you day to day. So if you like to sleep faster and want to wake up feeling rested? Running may help!
- Boost ability to focus: Exercise has been shown to increase blood flow throughout the body, including the brain. The increased blood flow can mean more oxygen being transported to the brain, helping with our ability to focus better.
- Weight management: Running uses a lot of energy, so if you're wanting to lose weight, it can be used to help with weight management.
Why is training for a marathon important?
Running 26.2 miles is no walk in the park, and even some of the fittest runners find it to be an intense challenge. This event will take its toll both physically and mentally, so it's extremely important to prepare your body and your mind before taking part. Your muscular, cardiovascular and energy systems need to be built up over time so they're in the best position for running continuously for (on average) four to five hours straight.
Following a marathon training plan helps you to build up your mental and physical fitness and endurance so you're race ready, and also means you're less likely to experience injury or exhaustion. Plus, being in shape for the marathon will mean your body takes less time to recover afterwards.
What is the best training plan for a marathon?
There are a host of different types of training plans available to suit different fitness levels, time frames and objectives, so finding the perfect one for you starts with working out what you want from your marathon. If you have specific goals like finishing under a certain time, working with a run coach to create a tailored marathon plan is a good option. If your goal is simply to finish the race, a free marathon training plan should be fine.
Training for a marathon isn't just about the running. Your marathon training schedule should include the following:
Running: Your marathon plan should include 3-4 times a week, with a mix of long runs, easy runs, and speed work. Where possible, runs should replicate the conditions you'll face during the race -- this means factoring in plenty of outdoor runs, hill runs, and different terrains.
Strength training: Strength training increases the strength and endurance of your muscles, tendons and ligaments which helps with running while reducing risk of injury. Start with around 3-4 sessions a week, tapering down the volume and intensity as your mileage increases.
Mobility work: Mobility and stretching helps your body to prepare for, and recover from, running. Mobility work helps to address tightness and muscular imbalances that can occur from a high volume of running and can help with running posture and efficiency.
Recovery: Planning rest days each week is crucial to allowing your body enough time to recover from the intense training you are undergoing.
How long should your marathon training programme be?
The ideal length of your marathon training schedule depends on your starting fitness and ability levels.
If you are completely new to running, it's best to start by training for 5k and 10k events, and even considering a half marathon, before you jump straight to the full marathon. Having smaller, more achievable goals on the way is a great way to keep you motivated and build up your fitness before starting on a marathon plan.
If you can comfortably run 3-5 miles (5-8km) but are a first time marathon runner, you should expect to train for at least 20 weeks. This may seem like a long time but it gives your body the time it needs to build cardio fitness, muscular and joint strength, and make the nervous system adaptations that are needed for such a long-distance run.
For more experienced runners, a marathon training plan should be at least 16 weeks. Advanced runners who regularly run long distances or have recently completed a marathon can train in as little as 12 weeks but ideally, 16 weeks is the minimum recommended.
If you can, factor in a few extra weeks for training by starting your marathon plan early. Busy weeks, body niggles, holidays, and more can impact your training so it's helpful to have a few extra weeks up your sleeve to adapt or repeat your training when needed.
Choosing your plan: 16-week intermediate, 16-week advanced or 20-week
We have created three, free marathon training plans for runners. Here's which plan you should choose based on your running level:
Beginner marathon training plan: Our beginner marathon plan is perfect for those who can run 3-5 miles without having to stop, and regularly run at least 5-8 miles a week.
Intermediate marathon training plan: This plan is aimed at regular runners who can happily run 10-12 miles in one session and run at least 18-20 miles a week.
Advanced marathon training plan: This marathon programme is for runners who can easily run 12+ miles in one go and run at least 28 miles a week.
If you're somewhere in the middle of these plans, choose the lower plan -- you can always skip a week or two if you would prefer.
Beginner marathon training plan -- 20 weeks
Our 20 week beginner marathon training plan is perfect for runners who are new to marathon training but can run 3-5 miles (5-8km) in one go and regularly run at least 5-8 miles a week. Training for at least 20 weeks allows beginners to work their way up to a marathon safely, allowing enough time for gradual increases in running distance and volume.
Our beginner marathon training schedule includes 3 runs a week, strength and conditioning, mobility work, pace recommends and training and nutrition advice.
Download our beginner marathon training plan here (20 weeks).
Intermediate marathon training plan
Our intermediate marathon plan is aimed at runners who run at least 18-20 miles a week and are able to run 10-12 miles in one session. This plan is 16 weeks long as it doesn't need to build up a base level of volume or distance, but feel free to extend it to 20 weeks by repeating some of the training.
This schedule includes 4 runs a week as well as strength and conditioning, mobility work, pace recommends and training and nutrition advice
Download our intermediate marathon training plan (16 weeks).
Advanced marathon training plan
Our advanced marathon training programme is for experienced long-distance runners who regularly run at least 28 miles a week and can easily run 12 miles in one go. This 16 week plan is perfect for runners who want to challenge themselves and get a personal best in their marathon.
This plan has 5 runs a week as well as strength and conditioning, mobility work, pace recommends and training and nutrition advice.
Free marathon training plan: how to use these schedules
Our free marathon training plans have been created to be easy to follow. At the beginning of each week, sit down and plan what days you'll do your runs, strength training, and rest days. Then it's a simple case of following the runs set out in the plan!
Training to boost your marathon performance
For those looking to improve speed and beat a previous marathon time, you'll want to integrate tempo runs (also known as threshold runs). These are runs where you boost your speed or energy output, pushing yourself harder to improve your body's capabilities.
One way to do this is to set your running tempo to around 80-90% of your maximum heart rate - which is where your lactate threshold usually falls. This will be much faster than the pace you run the actual marathon, but is a great way to enhance your fitness levels. It works by helping to boost your lactate threshold and helps your body to become more efficient at clearing the by-products of lactate production which cause fatigue.
Marathon training plan in kilometres
If you're new to running long distances, you probably track your runs in kilometres rather than miles. We've converted these distances for you to make things easier:
1 mile = 1.6 km
2 miles = 3.2 km
3 miles = 4.8 km
4 miles = 6.4 km
5 miles = 8.0 km
6 miles = 9.7 km
7 miles = 11.3 km
8 miles = 12.9 km
9 miles = 14.5 km
10 miles = 16.1 km
11 miles = 17.7 km
12 miles = 19.3 km
13 miles = 20.9 km
14 miles = 22.5 km
15 miles = 24.1 km
16 miles = 25.7 km
17 miles = 27.4 km
18 miles = 29.0 km
19 miles = 30.6 km
20 miles = 32.2 km
21 miles = 33.8 km
22 miles = 35.4 km
23 miles = 37.0 km
24 miles = 38.6 km
25 miles = 40.2 km
26 miles = 41.8 km
26.2 miles = 42.2 km
FAQs on marathon training
How long should my marathon training plan be -- 16, 18 or 20 weeks?
The length of your marathon training plan should depend on your running experience. Beginners should train for at least 20 weeks but intermediate and advanced runners can train for as little as 16 weeks. 18 weeks is a good option for intermediate runners.
Is there a free marathon training plan I can follow?
We have free marathon training plans you can follow:
Download our beginner marathon training plan (20 weeks)
Download our intermediate marathon training plan (16 weeks)
Download our advanced marathon training plan (16 weeks)
Can I train for a marathon in 3 months?
Training for a marathon in just 3 months or 12 weeks isn't recommended unless you have recently run a half marathon or marathon and have a high running volume each week. The longer you train, the less risks there are of injury.
What should a marathon training schedule look like each week?
Your marathon training schedule should include at least 3 runs a week, comprised of a long run, speed work, and an easy run. The total running volume and long run distance should increase each week.
Do the plans include distances in kilometres?
Our plans are in miles but we have a miles to km converter here.
What's the difference between a marathon training plan and a training programme?
Most people use marathon training plan and training programme interchangeably.
What is the best marathon training plan for beginners?
The best marathon training plan for beginners will be at least 20 weeks and build running volume and distance up gradually. It should also include strength, conditioning and mobility work to complement the running schedule.
If you're looking to supercharge your diet to help fuel your training and maximise recovery, check out our marathon training diet advice here.
Need to work on your leg strength, functional fitness or core for your next running event? Need to work on your leg strength, functional fitness or core for your next running event? Our Mud Run training plan is a great all-rounder for working on strength and cardio.
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