How long should you train for a marathon?
It may be hard to believe that the end of May and the start of summer means the start of getting serious if you are looking to run a fall marathon!
If you google marathon training plans, chances are you’ll find plans that last for 16, 18, or 20 or more weeks. How do you know what length of marathon-specific training is right for you? The answer is, it depends ;)
There are pros and cons to each training cycle length for a first time marathoner and experienced marathoners alike. Those pros and cons can depend on the runner’s current fitness. An aspiring marathon runner who has a base of 20-30 miles a week, and has completed longer distance races in the recent past might look at a 16 week plan. The pros of this length of time would be that you have a decent amount of weeks to build up long runs to 18-20 or 21 miles, and it’s not too long that the runner starts to get burnt out running at a higher weekly mileage.
Longer plans of 18-20 weeks help novice marathoners build into those long runs more slowly and also allow for some curve balls that life throws at us with sickness, vacations, work travel etc. For an experienced marathoner, these extra weeks mean more time to work on speed, and more opportunities to run 18-20-22 mile long runs. A con of these longer plans is more stress on the body, and training fatigue or burn out.
Some questions to ask yourself if you are thinking of marathon training would be:
What is my current fitness? Can I go out on a 10 mile long run and not be intimidated by the distance?
Am I ready to commit a substantial amount of time to this goal?
What long-range plans do I already have in place that may need to be worked around in my training plan?
Am I OK with cutting back on other fitness activities that I enjoy that might hinder marathon training?
Is my goal simply to finish the race feeling good, or do I have a specific time goal in mind?
Completing a marathon is a HUGE accomplishment! I feel that the reward is the race itself - it’s your victory lap and your opportunity to celebrate all of your hard work. Set yourself up for success and train smart!
