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 a blank calendar.
That talk is now available on YouTube here (and embedded below), and you can download the slides and a copy of the training plan here on the Marathon Excellence website, or at the direct links below. If you enjoy my talk, make sure you like the video and share it with your friends!
Note that the audio is a tiny bit wobbly in the first five minutes or so, but stabilizes after that. Also, because this is a talk for an international audience, everything is in kilometers. Check out the Wind 55-65 mi/wk plan over at the Marathon Excellence website for a (nearly) analogous version in miles.
Here are direct links to the slides and training plan:
If you want a comprehensive resource on the modern approach to marathon training, check out my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone. It includes detailed training plans, an explanation of the practical aspects of training (like making changes to your schedule and updating your fitness estimate) and takes a deep dive into the latest science behind marathon performance.
If you're from outside the United States, there's also a Metric Edition with all workouts and paces in kilometers. Check it out!
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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’m excited to announce that the eBook version of my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone, is now available! The e-book versions of both the US Edition (miles) and Metric Edition (kilometers) are both listed on Amazon for Kindle. Here are links for both: 🌎 Get the US Edition (miles) eBook here 🌍 Get the ... 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
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!
2 thoughts on “Video: The modern approach to marathon training + how to build a training plan”
Hello,
I recently got your wonderful book after listening to the Seconds Flat interview. I have been running the Norwegian Singles (straight vanilla Sirpoc84 weeks haha) method since october or so, averaging 100km a week over that time and seeing great constencity and improving. I am signing up for my first marathon the last weekend of April. So I don't quite have the time to do the 18wk plan. Do you think I should jump midway into the plan or do the 12wk version that's on defy.org? Not sure which part of the plan will be the most difficult or different from my current methodology...
I think it's probably better to do the 12 week plan! You can hop into that a few weeks "late" and it'll probably be fine, especially if you're coming off a base of quite a lot of Norwegian-style threshold workouts - that works quite well as "general phase" training, so as long as you're ready for the long runs you can start up with marathon-supportive training right away (so, last ~8 weeks or so of a 12 week program)
Hello,
I recently got your wonderful book after listening to the Seconds Flat interview. I have been running the Norwegian Singles (straight vanilla Sirpoc84 weeks haha) method since october or so, averaging 100km a week over that time and seeing great constencity and improving. I am signing up for my first marathon the last weekend of April. So I don't quite have the time to do the 18wk plan. Do you think I should jump midway into the plan or do the 12wk version that's on defy.org? Not sure which part of the plan will be the most difficult or different from my current methodology...
I think it's probably better to do the 12 week plan! You can hop into that a few weeks "late" and it'll probably be fine, especially if you're coming off a base of quite a lot of Norwegian-style threshold workouts - that works quite well as "general phase" training, so as long as you're ready for the long runs you can start up with marathon-supportive training right away (so, last ~8 weeks or so of a 12 week program)