How Your Marathon Plan Is Built
The marathon is decided by aerobic efficiency, muscular endurance at race pace, and the ability to hold pace when fuel is running low. Your plan works those systems together. Key sessions extend the volume of continuous work at marathon pace week over week — from roughly 10km up to 20–24km, depending on your level — building the muscular endurance to hold race pace when it stops feeling easy. A second weekly session builds broken race-pace work at slightly sub-threshold intensity to develop aerobic power. Your long run is sized larger than in any other distance — about a third of your weekly volume — and in the race-specific phase embeds a continuous block at "aerobic power" pace, a notch quicker than marathon pace. Because marathon fitness is the most sensitive to detraining, the taper is the gentlest we support: volume drops only 20% in week one, versus 30% for our 5K plan. We also check your stated goal against that build: if your marathon target is faster than this plan's length and your current fitness can realistically support, we show you the achievable marathon time and pace instead — and if you're underselling yourself, we'll tell you that too.
Marathon Plan Questions
How long is a marathon training plan?
Your plan length isn't a fixed template — it's calculated directly from your race date, with a 10-week minimum. Most runners training for a marathon choose somewhere between 16 and 20 weeks, but the plan will adapt to whatever window you actually have. Whatever the total length, the final two weeks are always the taper.
How far should my long runs be for a marathon?
Peak long runs scale with your experience level: roughly 24–28km for beginners, 28–32km for intermediate runners, and 32–36km for advanced marathoners. Your long run also makes up about a third of your total weekly volume in a marathon plan — a bigger share than in any shorter-distance plan, reflecting how central the long run is to marathon-specific fitness.
What pace should I run my marathon long runs at?
Most of your long run stays at easy pace, but in the race-specific phase it embeds a continuous block at "30K pace" — a notch quicker than marathon pace — as sub-threshold aerobic-power work. Your exact paces come from the Jack Daniels VDOT system, calculated by blending your goal time (70%) with a fitness estimate derived from your actual Strava runs (30%), including heart-rate-based analysis using published exercise-science formulas rather than a generic pace chart.
How does marathon taper differ from other distances?
Every distance we support tapers for exactly two weeks — that part doesn't change. What changes is how hard the cut is: marathon volume drops only about 20% in taper week one, the smallest reduction of any distance, because marathon fitness is the most sensitive to losing training stimulus. Our 5K plan cuts hardest of all — 30% in week one — to arrive with the freshest legs possible. Your very last marathon-pace session is intentionally short — the point is to reinforce race rhythm, not add fitness.
Does a real coach check my marathon plan?
Yes. Every plan is personally reviewed by Ivan G., an endurance coach who's competed at Bulgarian national championship level (10th place, 5000m Outdoors) and coached athletes to national XC medals. He checks your volume progression, long run sizing, and taper before you start training — not a rubber stamp.
Will PaceForge tell me if my marathon goal is unrealistic?
Yes. We estimate your current fitness from your Strava history or PRs, then project where that fitness realistically lands by race day given your plan's length. If your stated goal time implies faster gains than that build supports, we show you an achievable marathon time and pace instead — a more conservative target, with a note on why. If your projected fitness is well ahead of your stated goal, we'll tell you that too — you may be able to aim faster than you think.
Is this marathon plan free?
The Strava analysis and your first 4 weeks (the Base phase) are free, no card required. Unlocking the full 16-to-20-week plan with a coach review is a one-time €39 — or €79/month for ongoing coaching (weekly check-ins throughout, plus a dedicated race-week check-in) that automatically ends on race day. See full pricing →
Have a question about pricing, refunds, or your data? See the full FAQ →
Start Free. Unlock When Hooked.
Free Strava analysis and a 4-week Base phase. Unlock your full marathon plan and a 48h coach review for €39, or get ongoing coaching with Coach+.
Training for a different distance?
Same Strava-based system, same coach review — just tuned to a different race.