Intermediate Marathon Training Guide
If you are going prepare for a marathon with a view to doing a time, as opposed to just completing it...
Starting Point
If you are going prepare for a marathon with a view to doing a time, as opposed to just completing it, you are going to need to have a reasonable base of running before you start.
We suggest that you'll need to have been running for at least six months (preferably a year) and have been covering an average of at least 20 miles a week.
This is because we think it is important to have a good base of general fitness (which is usually enough to get you round a marathon at a slow pace) before you step up the training and do the more specific work that is required to start bringing your times down.
If you step straight up to this level you risk injury or illness from overtraining.
Not quite an Intermediate yet?
If you are not yet at this level, then we would suggest that you try to follow a regime of 3-4 runs a week, building up to this level slowly from your starting point.
There is much more help in the Beginners Marathon Running section of the site.
Remember, if this all seems a bit daunting, we can put together a schedule prepared specifically for you from our team of experienced coaches with our Online Coaching.