One thing I have heard from some seasoned marathon runners about running a marathon is that it isn’t the actual marathon that is hard, it’s the training!
I have been investigating lots of different marathon training plans and there are loads out there. I thought it may be helpful to have the links to the ones I found all in one place for anyone who was interested, so here they are! I have absolutely no preference for any one of them and I am sure there are loads more but what I found interesting was the CRUK and London Marathon plans are based on runs of varying intensity for a given length of time, whereas others like the BUPA and Runner’s World plans are based on running given distances. Either way, whichever plan you choose to follow, it’s a lot of running!
Just click on the headings below to go to the web pages with the plans and enjoy!
Brighton Marathon
This is a marathon I would love to do at some point (providing the Yorkshire one goes well!) A 16 week intermediate plan but four different plans are available from run-walk to experienced. Runs are given as lengths of time to run for.
BUPA
This website has some useful information about perceived effort levels when running too. A 16 week plan where runs are set as given distances.
Cancer Research UK
This website has not only a 16 week training plan but also a stretching guide and a ‘Fit in 5’ workout. There is also a handy nutritional guide. The runs are given as lengths of time to run for as opposed to given distances.
London Marathon
This site has a number of different plans available for all different levels of runner. Some are 16 week and some are 17 week plans. The one I looked at seems to have runs given as lengths of time rather than distances.
Runner’s World
Loads of different plans (16 week – this seems to be the norm) and advice available from this page. The runs in this plan are given as set distances to complete rather than time based runs.
Dodgy Knees and Blisters 