Marathon

Video: The modern approach to marathon training + how to build a training plan

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!

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Announcing the eBook version of Marathon Excellence for Everyone

marathon excellence for everyone on kindle ebook

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 Metric Edition (kilometers) eBook here

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. 

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Podcast: Base training for the marathon with the Seconds Flat Podcast

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: 

🎧 Listen on Spotify 

🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts

I really enjoyed this one and I hope you enjoy listening to it too! As always, if you enjoy it, feel free to share the episode with your friends and leave a review on your podcasting app of choice.

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The principles of modern marathon training

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 ago.

The complete answer to that question deserves (and gets) a full book-length treatment, but in this article, I want to distill the modern approach to marathon training down to its most essential core principles.

What is our goal in marathon training?

The basic proposition of the marathon is simple: our goal is to run 26.2 miles as fast as possible. Doing so requires a very specific set of physiological, biomechanical, and psychological capabilities. We need to build up these capabilities step by step, respecting the underlying principles of proper training.

Proper training for the marathon has many facets and details, but the broad strokes can be understood through five simple principles:

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Announcing the Metric Edition of Marathon Excellence for Everyone

Marathon Excellence - metric edition with all workouts and paces in kilometers

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, there are printable PDF overviews for the metric versions of all five plans on the Marathon Excellence website. This version also features an awesome new cover redesign that’s a perfect complement to the US version’s cover.

The Metric Edition of Marathon Excellence for Everyone is available worldwide in many local Amazon marketplace—here are Amazon links for:

Many of these Amazon marketplaces will also ship to nearby countries as well. 

If you’re living in the United States but prefer training in kilometers, I’ve got you covered—the Metric Edition is available in the USA too!

Over half of the people who come to this website do so from somewhere other than the United States, so I’m super excited to share a kilometer-native version of Marathon Excellence worldwide. I know many regular readers have likewise been eagerly anticipating the metric release. Hope you enjoy the book!

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Podcast: chatting marathon training with That Triathlon Show

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 on the show.

This time, Mikael and I went in-depth on the modern approach to marathon training that I lay out in my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone. We talk about periodization, mileage, workout progression, structuring your weekly schedule, and what most runners get wrong about marathon training.

We also do some Q&A from listeners on LT1 (the first lactate threshold), double threshold vs. special blocks, heat training, and more. I love doing technical deep-dives like this, so this show was incredibly fun.

You can find the show on your favorite podcasting service - check out the links below! 

🎧 Listen to the show here on Spotify

🎧 Listen to the show here on Apple Podcasts

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How beta testing improved the Marathon Excellence training plans

preview of marathon excellence 18 week training plan

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…

That “larger marathon-focused project” was of course my then-in-development book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone. A core part of Marathon Excellence is the five training plans, which span peak mileage levels from 40 mi/wk (65 km/wk) up to 100+ mi/wk (160+ km/km).

I’ve been coaching and advising marathon runners one-on-one for over 12 years, but writing “universal” plans for a wide range of different runners posed its own set of challenges. Could a complete stranger actually use these plans to improve in the marathon?

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My new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone, is available now!

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 approach to marathon training, with five different training plans spanning peak mileage levels from as little as 40 miles per week to over 100 miles per week.

You’ll also get evidence-based strategies for race day, including how to structure your race, design your fueling plan, and account for wind, hills, and heat.

Marathon Excellence has more than just training plans: you’ll find a comprehensive review of the latest scientific research on marathon performance, including new material on VO2max, steady-state max, running economy, and physiological resilience. You’ll also learn about advanced training techniques including special blocks, double threshold, and heat training. 

When writing Marathon Excellence, I held nothing back—this book contains everything useful that I know about how to run your best marathon ever. This book is my definitive answer to one of the most common questions people ask me: “how can I improve in the marathon?”

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Calculating the effects of heat and humidity on marathon performance

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 finalizes.

Below, I’ll make the case that the optimal temperature for marathoning is 35–55 degrees F, or 2–13 degrees C. Additionally, I’ll show that humidity is not a concern until the air temperature is above 65° F (18° C). These numbers come from an analysis of 3,891 marathon performances across 754 different races.

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One hundred years of carbo-loading: The 1925 Boston Marathon and the invention of evidence-based fueling for runners

Early on the morning of April 19, 1924, doctors Samuel Levine, Burgess Gordon, and Clifford Derick reported to the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Their physician’s bags were packed with the usual assortment of bandages, stethoscopes, and salves they would use to tend to runners crossing the finish line later that day, but they also carried a set of syringes and vials for an ambitious scientific project.

Levine, Gordon, and Derick were scientists as well as physicians.[1] The previous year, they’d brought a cutting-edge machine to the finish line to conduct “roentgen-ray examinations”—chest X-rays—to study the heart structure of marathon finishers. This year, their aim was to study another frontier of medical science: blood sugar levels.

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Check out my new book on marathon training!