Running a half marathon with next to no training is one of the most physically painful mistakes I’ve ever made.
The 2019 Brighton Half Marathon was my first race event and getting round the entire course was a serious struggle.
A couple of weeks after the race — once my limp had subsided, my knees worked again, and the memory of vomiting all the way home had faded — I somehow convinced myself I’d had a fantastic time. This naturally led me to sign up to run the Brighton 2020 Marathon.
Brighton Half Marathon, 2019
Fortunately my friend Jason — a seasoned competitive runner and all-round wonderful human — agreed to run by my side; not only through the training but also the actual marathon.
I decided to take my training a lot more seriously this time around and reached out to another runner friend for advice. He suggested the Runner’s World First-Timers Marathon Schedule as a good template to use.
The Runner’s World training plan is spread over 16 weeks. I wanted to give myself more time to train because I knew I would be taking a month out for metoidioplasty surgery recovery. So I put together a 24-week (six-month) training plan that you can check out below.
In addition to scheduled runs, I also wanted to make sure I included full-body strength training, as well as lower-body workouts.
COVID-19 Update
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Brighton Marathon was initially postponed, and then took place as a virtual event. This meant that all runners downloaded an app, and then had to complete the distance on their own, using the app to track their distance.
This also meant that Jason and I decided to run separately. He completed his run in Kent, and I did mine along the seafront in Brighton.
We dedicated our marathon efforts to raising money for Allsorts, an LGBTQ+ Youth Project, and made around £2,000!
6-Month Training Plan for Marathon Runners
The following training plan is the routine I decided to stick to and if you’re training for your first marathon then I hope you’ll find it helpful too!
This is a very basic plan that aims to help you complete the marathon without a goal time, so complete the scheduled runs at a comfortable pace.
Note: This plan will only be suitable for you if you can already comfortably run a 5k. If you can’t then see the advice at the bottom of the post for working up to that.
If you’re looking with additional help with your health, fitness, or nutrition, then reach out to me for a chat about online coaching.
Also, you’ll see every Tuesday I have an ‘active rest day’. For me, this meant doing some walking and playing a friendly hour-long game of basketball in the evening. But for you, this could be anything, as long as you’re moving around a moderate amount and also doing some stretching.
Obviously feel free to mix the days up to best fit your schedule!
Week 1
Monday: Run – 5km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Run – 5km
Friday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Saturday: Run – 7km
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 17km
Week 2
Monday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 6km
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Saturday: Run – 8km
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 14km
Week 3
Monday: Run – 6km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: Run – 7km
Saturday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Sunday: Run – 8km
Total km: 21km
Week 4
Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 6km
Thursday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Friday: Run – 6km
Saturday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Sunday: Run – 10km
Total km: 22km
Week 5
Monday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 6km
Thursday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Friday: Run – 6km
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 10km
Total km: 22km
Week 6
Monday: Run – 6km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 6km
Thursday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Friday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 12km
Total km: 24km
Week 7
Monday: Run – 6km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Run – 7km
Friday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Saturday: Run – 12km
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 25km
Week 8
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Run – 10km
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Sunday: Run – 10km
Total km: 27km
Week 9
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 9km
Thursday: Strength Training – Full Body
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Run – 12km
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 28km
Week 10
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 9km
Thursday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Friday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Saturday: Run – 14km
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 30km
Week 11
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Friday: Run – 9km
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 15km
Total km: 31km
Week 12
Monday: Run – 6km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 10km
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: Strength Training – Full Body
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 15km
Total km: 31km
Week 13
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 10km
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Saturday: Run – 16km
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 33km
Week 14
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 10km
Thursday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Run – 18km
Sunday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Total km: 35km
Week 15
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Run – 10km
Friday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Saturday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Sunday: Run – 18km
Total km: 35km
Week 16
Monday: Run – 7km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Run – 15km
Friday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 18km
Total km: 40km
Week 17
Monday: Run – 9km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Thursday: Run – 13km
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Sunday: Run – 20km
Total km: 42km
Week 18
Monday: Run – 9km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Full Body
Thursday: Run – 16km
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 20km
Total km: 45km
Week 19
Monday: Run – 10km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Thursday: Run – 15km
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Sunday: Run – 25km
Total km: 50km
Week 20
Monday: Run – 10km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Thursday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Friday: Run – 15km
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Run – 30km
Total km: 55km
Week 21
Monday: Run – 12km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Run – 15km
Friday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Saturday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Sunday: Run – 33km
Total km: 60km
Week 22
Monday: Run – 8km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Friday: Run – 17km
Saturday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Sunday: Run – 35km
Total km: 60km
Week 23
Monday: Run – 10km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Run – 18km
Thursday: Strength Training – Upper Body
Friday: Run – 20km
Saturday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Sunday: Rest Day
Total km: 48km
Week 24
For the final week of training before the marathon, I’m dropping the distance right down.
Monday: Run – 5km
Tuesday: Active Rest Day
Wednesday: Strength Training – Lower Body
Thursday: Run – 10km
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday – RACE DAY!!!
If you’ve made it this far then good luck on your run and huge congratulations for making it through this six-month training plan!
The Mental and Physical Health Benefits of Completing a Marathon
Have you ever wanted to run a marathon? Here I’ll discuss the amazing psychological and physical benefits of completing one.
Running a marathon can be an incredibly rewarding experience, both physically and mentally. From improved physical fitness to increased confidence and self-esteem, there are numerous benefits to completing a marathon that make it worth the considerable effort required.
Increased Self-Esteem and Confidence
Training for and completing a marathon is no small feat. Finishing the race is sure to give you a huge boost in confidence, pride and self-esteem.
Knowing that you can push your body to the physical limits required, maintain focus and stay motivated through the rigorous training process demonstrates to yourself the strength of your character and capacity for success.
Improved Emotional Well-Being
Research has uncovered that participating in endurance and long-distance running can result in improved emotional well-being and better overall mental health. This is likely to stem from a combination of increased self-esteem, increased resilience, reduced stress and being able to actively move past physical pain barriers.
On the other hand, individuals who don’t participate in regular exercise can be more prone to anxiety and depression.
Deeper Sleep and Increased Energy Levels
Completing a marathon can help your physical health by improving your sleep and energy levels. Not only does the challenge of getting up early to train for a marathon encourage good sleep habits, but during endurance sports, the body produces more endorphins and serotonin.
That’s why after a good run, you may feel tired yet energised at the same time. Furthermore, exercise such as running has long-term effects on promoting deeper sleep throughout the night, which is essential for overall physical fitness and well-being.
Strengthened Heart Health Through Increased Blood Flow
Following a training program to complete a full marathon also helps strengthen your heart health. Cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow during the run, helping to flush out toxins and impurities from the body.
Regular running strengthens your heart muscles, improving its profile for overall better health and reducing the risk of cardiac problems in the future.
Enhanced Stress Resilience Through Endorphin Release
Endorphins, referred to as the ‘happy hormones’, get released during a run and they can help tackle stress levels.
Studies have shown that regular training can increase your resilience to stress and support mental cognition. This means that you may be better equipped to handle stressful situations in daily life when running is part of your routine.
Marathon Running FAQs
What about a sub-4 hours marathon training plan?
If you’re prepared to put in a solid six months of marathon training, and you’re physically fit with good stamina, then you could possibly complete the race in less than four hours.
However, if this is your first marathon, then why not take it easy and enjoy the process. The last thing you want is to get injured and drop out of the event entirely. Also, if you try to go too fast, too soon, you may find you run out of energy and can’t complete the race.
Can you go from couch to marathon in six months?
Absolutely yes you can! However, this will naturally depend on any physical limitations you have, as well as how much time and effort you are going to put in.
If you plan to run a marathon, but you’ve never been a runner before, then it’s wise to build up to a 5k first. Joining Parkrun events, or downloading the C25K app, is a great place to start.
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