This breakthrough marathon training plan will transform your fitness via 24 weeks of aerobic base building, speedy hill-circuits and feeling-based running. It is designed for runners who have at least 1-2 years of experience with serious distance running and minimum 1 marathon under their belt. During peak training weeks, this plan will ask you to run about 9-10 hours per week. The exact volume can be altered to fit your own schedule, as it is the principles that matter, not the rules. This plan has taken me years to nail down and is inspired by the works of coaches like Arthur Lydiard, Keith Livingstone, and Ron Daws.

This plan will first help you establish a proper aerobic base, building up endurance and durability over 16 weeks before moving into a 4 week hill-specific training phase, then finally a 4 week speedwork and taper phase. The plan is designed to have you in peak shape for your marathon in ~6 months time. All phases are necessary to reach peak shape, and I do not recommend cutting this plan short. If anything, spending more than 16 weeks in the base phase is ideal!

All of the workouts are designed to target a certain effort level and duration, not pace or mileage. For example, your Wednesday run might be a 60 minute steady effort aerobic run + strides with varying RPE levels throughout (RPE means rate of perceived exertion). The workouts are designed this way so that you 1. become more in tune with your own effort levels and not your watch 2. you can easily tailor the runs to meet you wherever you are at.

Over the course of this build, you will learn WHY you are doing certain workouts, giving you the tools for continual success. A proper training plan determines about 80% of your success on race day, the other 20% will be about recovery, nutrition, your mindset, and race day execution. Starting the plan isn't the hard part, it's sticking to the plan is where most people fall off. Don't be like those people! If you stick to this plan and do your part to recover and take care of your body, the rest will follow. FYI - there was no AI used to design this program whatsoever. If you have any questions with this plan or wish to set up a phone call please message me on Instagram @seandarragh. Best of luck and happy running!