Free Marathon Training Plan

Generate a free personalized marathon training plan. 16–20 week periodized schedule with easy, tempo, interval, and long run paces. Export to Google Calendar.

Build a personalized marathon training plan in seconds. Based on your current fitness and goal finish time, get a complete 16–20 week periodized schedule with exact paces for every session.

16–20 week marathon-specific periodization
Daily workouts with exact pace zones (easy, tempo, interval, long)
Export to Google Calendar or Apple Calendar
Based on Jack Daniels' VDOT methodology

How to Build a Marathon Training Plan

Generate a personalized marathon training plan using VDOT-based periodization

Select Marathon: Choose Marathon as your goal race distance
Set your race date: Enter when your race is to calculate the plan length
Choose training days: Select which days of the week you can train
Enter fitness level: Provide a recent race time or set your fitness level
Generate your plan: Get a complete week-by-week training schedule with daily workouts

Frequently asked questions

How long should a marathon training plan be?

Most marathon training plans run 16–20 weeks. Beginners should use 20 weeks to build a strong base. Experienced runners with existing mileage can use 16 weeks. The key phases are: Base Building (40%), Development (30%), Sharpening (25%), and Taper (5%).

What paces should I train at for a marathon?

Your training paces depend on your current fitness level. Use a recent race result in the VDOT Calculator to get exact paces for easy runs, marathon pace, tempo, and interval sessions. Easy runs should be 70-90 seconds per kilometer slower than marathon pace.

How many days per week should I train for a marathon?

Most marathon plans recommend 4–5 days per week. This allows adequate recovery while building sufficient mileage. The essential sessions are: long run (once per week), tempo run (once per week), easy/recovery runs (2–3 times per week).

When should I start tapering for a marathon?

The taper period typically begins 3 weeks before race day. Reduce total weekly mileage by 20–30% each week while maintaining intensity. This allows your body to recover and consolidate training adaptations before race day.

Plan length and phase structure

Plan length and phase split by race and fitness level (weeks)
Race	Level	Total	Base	Development	Sharpening	Taper
5K	Beginner	8	2	2	2	1
5K	Intermediate	10	3	2	3	1
5K	Advanced	12	4	3	3	1
10K	Beginner	10	3	2	3	1
10K	Intermediate	12	4	3	3	1
10K	Advanced	14	5	4	3	1
Half Marathon	Beginner	12	4	3	2	2
Half Marathon	Intermediate	14	4	3	4	2
Half Marathon	Advanced	16	5	4	4	2
Marathon	Beginner	16	5	4	4	2
Marathon	Intermediate	18	6	5	4	2
Marathon	Advanced	20	7	5	5	2

Method and sources

The numbers on this page are computed with the same code as the TrainPace calculators, from these published methods. They are training guidance, not medical advice.

Daniels, J. Daniels' Running Formula. Human Kinetics — VDOT, training zones, and equivalent race times.
Daniels, J. & Gilbert, J. (1979). Oxygen Power: Performance Tables for Distance Runners — the oxygen-cost and %VO2max equations behind VDOT.

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