Manchester Marathon Training Plan 2026 | 17-Week Beginner to Intermediate Programme

Looking for a Manchester Marathon training plan or Manchester Marathon running programme? This 17-week structured training plan is built specifically for the Manchester Marathon, one of the fastest and most popular marathons in the UK.

The Manchester Marathon course is widely regarded as one of the fastest road marathon courses in Britain, with a largely flat and point-to-point route through Greater Manchester that consistently produces personal bests. Thousands of athletes choose Manchester specifically for a fast time. This plan prepares you to make the most of that opportunity, building the aerobic capacity, race-pace specificity and run durability to hold your target pace for all 26.2 miles.

Volume builds from an average of 6 hours per week in Block 1 to 9 hours in the final build block. Five days per week running, with Monday as active recovery, Thursday as full rest, quality on Tuesday and Friday, and long runs on Saturday.

Written by Horsepower Coaching, coaches to IRONMAN Wales winners (2023 and 2025), 70.3 World Championship podium athletes (2024), XTRI Norseman World Championship podium finishers, XTRI Celtman podium finishers, Haute Route podium athletes and UCI Continental Professional cyclists. Visit www.horsepowercoaching.co.uk.

This Manchester Marathon training plan and running programme is self-guided with no coach contact. For beginner to intermediate runners. Align Week 17 with your Manchester Marathon race date.