The Marathon Excellence ebook is available in over a dozen Amazon marketplaces, including several new countries where the paperback is not! The Amazon eBook is readable on your Kindle e-reader, your phone, your tablet, or your laptop.
It was a lot of work to get the book formatted in a way that looks good on an e-reader—I even bought a Kindle of my own to test out the drafts!—but I know a lot of you were waiting on an e-book edition so I’m really thrilled to be able to launch it.
One consequence of the eBook launch is that the Amazon catalogue now considers the US Edition and the Metric Edition to be “separate” books, with separate rankings and review counts. So, it would be very helpful for me if you leave a review for your copy if you have not already! You can leave a review for the US version here, or leave a review for the Metric Edition here.
Enjoy the book!
Learn more about modern marathon training
I have plenty more content coming out in 2026 on marathon training. If you want to find out when I've got new articles, web apps, or podcasts coming out, subscribe to my email newsletter below! It’s the best way to stay up to date with my work.
In addition to Marathon Excellence, I also have a short and simple guide to 800m-10k training titled Modern Training and Physiology, which I published in 2013 (and which is also available as an eBook). Check it out if you're interested in training for shorter events!
Last week I had the pleasure of hosting a webinar for Scottish Athletics on “The Modern Approach to Marathon Training.” In my talk, I work through the principles behind the modern marathon approach, then illustrate how to apply them using the example of building a 13-week, 90 km/wk program for the London Marathon, starting from ... Read more
I just recorded a great conversation on the Seconds Flat Podcast from Columbus Running Company where we chatted about base training for the marathon, what coaches influenced me, how to set your marathon goal pace, and the merits of single vs. double threshold, among other topics. Find the show on your favorite podcasting platform: 🎧 ... Read more
This article is adapted from my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone, which is available now on Amazon. If you are trying to run a good marathon, not just get to the finish line, how should you train? That was the question I set out to answer when I started coaching marathoners over 12 years ... Read more
I’m thrilled to announce the Metric Edition of my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone! The Metric Edition is available now worldwide, and features training plans, workouts, and race tactics in kilometers, km/wk, and min/km. For the Metric Edition, I redesigned all of the training plans to be kilometer-native—no “16.1k runs.” Like the US edition, ... Read more
I had the pleasure of being the guest on the latest episode of Mikael Eriksson’s That Triathlon Show, a podcast focused on the science of everything endurance-related. Regular listeners will remember that I went on this same podcast back in June to chat about the intersection of physiology and training, and it was great to come back ... Read more
In late December of last year, readers who were subscribed to my email newsletter got an email that started like this: I’m currently developing a set of marathon training plans as part of a larger marathon-focused project. I’m looking for runners who are interested in giving these plans a “test drive” and providing some feedback… ... Read more
I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone, is available worldwide as of today! This book is the culmination of over two years of work—and over 12 years of coaching. Get Your Copy on Amazon Marathon Excellence is your comprehensive guide to modern marathon training. It lays out a full-spectrum, percentage-based ... Read more
How much does heat and humidity affect performance in the marathon? And how do we know how much those conditions affect marathon performance? These questions matter both for planning what marathon race you want to sign up for as well as for adjusting your pacing plan the week of the race once the weather forecast ... Read more
About the Author
John J. Davis, Ph.D.
I have been coaching runners and writing about training and injuries for over 12 years. I've helped complete novices, NXN-qualifying high schoolers, elite-field competitors at major marathons, and runners everywhere in between. I have a Ph.D. in Human Performance, and I do scientific research focused on the biomechanics of overuse injuries in runners. My new book on marathon training, Marathon Excellence for Everyone, is now available on Amazon!
