MARATHONTRAINING
PLAN 12 WEEKSWHO IS THIS PLAN INTENDED FOR?
 eople with no medical contradictions to running and long-distance efforts (consult your doctorP
before starting the training plan).
For new or less experienced marathoners.
Those who have been running regularly for at least six months and who run two to three times a week.
Runners capable of running 1h30 without stopping.
Runners who have already completed a distance equivalent to a half-marathon.
The plan presented here is a generic programme that can be used as a base. It is not a substitute fora personalised plan, or the supervision of a coach from an athletics club. To find the clubs near you
click here.

1THE KEYS TO SUCCEED
Sleep is of paramount importance and is essential
for recovery. Particular attention must be paid to thisparameter (a minimum of seven hours of sleep per nightis recommended).

Nutrition is also a major factor in achieving performance,
whether it is to have the right fuel for the effort or to fuelfor the effort or to optimise recovery.
The 12 weeks of preparation should therefore be used todevelop a food strategy before (the day before the race,breakfast), during (by eating during the long run) or after
the race. Trials should be done and nothing should be
improvised on the day of the marathon (or the days before).

Hydration is another essential parameter that can facilitate
recovery and limit the risk of injury (particularly tendon
injuries). You should get used to training with something
to drink.

 muscle strengthening routine should be incorporated
A
into this plan, either during a rest day or after running.
Think about strengthening the lower limbs but also about
doing exercises that focus on core and abdominal work.
This will help you to prevent injuries and improve yourrunning effectiveness and economy of effort, which will
make you more competitive.

98%

OF THE COMPETITORSSpecific sessions can be done on or off the track(a calibrated course or with the help of a GPS watch).
Choose a flat terrain to work on your pace. Between eacheffort, recovery is done by jogging slowly. You should neverfinish these sessions exhausted.

GOOD PREPARATION TO ALL
AND SEE YOU AT THE START LINE!

2

WHO START CROSSTHE FINISH LINE

PACE DETAILSTHE BORG RATING OF PERCEIVED
EXERTION SCALEFUNDAMENTAL ENDURANCE JOGGING (EJ)
Very comfortable running pace, no pronounced shortness of breath.
Be able to talk while running without any problems. The difficulty ofeffort is rated at 2 or 3 out of 10.
SPECIFIC MARATHON PACE (AS42)
The work is integrated into certain long runs. The difficulty of effort israted at 4 out of 10. For marathon runners over 4h15 and more, this pacedoes not require specific work. The marathon pace is equivalent to theEJ pace.
SPECIFIC HALF-MARATHON PACE SEMI-MARATHON (AS21)
Pace of your personal best in a half-marathon done during a test
or a competition. Difficulty of effort rated at 5 out of 10.
SPECIFIC 10KM PACE (AS10)
Pace of your personal best in a 10 km done during a test
or a competition. Difficulty of effort rated at 6 or 7 out of 10.
WARM-UP
Before the split sessions, a warm-up should be done to prepare thebody for the effort. Begin with fundamental jogging for 20-25 minutes.
Then do some dynamic stretching and running ranges (heel to toe), andrunning ranges (heel and toe, knee raises, etc). Finish this warm-up withthree progressive accelerations for about 20 seconds. You will then be
ready to start your session!
TROTTING
Very slow recovery jogging pace. Difficulty of effort rate at 1 or 2 out of 10.
RECOVERY
Rest time between pace sets, min recovery to be done by walking ortrotting.
COOL DOWN
Very slow pace to recover at the end of training.

The intensity of the sessions can be self-assessed using this guide,with a rating from 1 to 10 according to the user’s perception.
BORG 1-10 MODIFIED012

MAXIMUM HEART RATE

50 - 60%
60 - 70%345678910370 - 80%
80 - 90%
90 - 95%
95 - 100%

PERCEPTIONACTIVITY

Rest

Rest

Very very easy

Walking

Easy
Moderate

Light jogging

Slightly difficult
Hard
Threshold
Very hardIntervals
Very very hard
MaximalMARATHON TRAINING PLANWEEK 1WEEK 2(FROM 9 TO 15 JANUARY)(FROM 16 TO 22 JANUARY)

Session 1

Session 1

JOGGINGWEEK 3

JOGGINGWEEK 4(FROM 23 TO 29 JANUARY)(FROM 30 JANUARY TO 5 FEBRUARY)

Session 1Session 1

JOGGINGJOGGING

1h fundamental endurance

1h10 fundamental endurance

1h20 fundamental endurance

1h10 fundamental endurance

Session 2

Session 2Session 2

Session 2

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

Warm-up+ 8 to 10 x 800m (AS10)
Recovery: 1min45 trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 7 to 8 x 1000m progressive-> Begin with (AS21) and finish
with (AS10)
Recovery: 1min45 trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 5 to 6 x 1500m progressive-> Begin with (AS21) and finish
with (AS10)
Recovery: 2min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 5 x 1200m (AS10)
Recovery: 2min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Session 3Session 3

Session 3

Session 3

LONG RUNLONG RUNLONG RUNLONG RUN

1h40 endurance
including 4 x 10min (AS42)
Recovery: 3min trotting

1h50 endurance

2h endurance
including 4 x 12min (AS42)
Recovery: 4min trotting

1h40 endurance

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:4MARATHON TRAINING PLANWEEK 5WEEK 6(FROM 6 TO 12 FEBRUARY)(FROM 13 TO 19 FEBRUARY)

Session 1Session 1

JOGGINGWEEK 7JOGGINGWEEK 8(FROM 20 TO 26 FEBRUARY)(FROM 27 FEBRUARY TO 5 MARCH)

Session 1Session 1

JOGGINGJOGGING

1h15 fundamental endurance

1h20 fundamental endurance

1h10 fundamental endurance

1h15 fundamental endurance

Session 2Session 2Session 2Session 2

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

Warm-up+ 4 x 2000m-> Two (AS21) and two (AS10)
Recovery: 2min30 of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 3000m (AS21) - 2 x 2000m (AS21)- 1000m (AS10)
Recovery: 2min30 of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 3 x 3000m (AS21)
Recovery: 3min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 4000m - 3000m - 2000m (AS21)
Recovery: 3min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Session 3Session 3Session 3Session 3

LONG RUNLONG RUNLONG RUNLONG RUN

2h10 endurance
including 4 x 15min (AS42)
Recovery: 5min of trotting

2h20 endurance

2h30 endurance
including 3 x 20min (AS42)
Recovery: 5min of trotting

1h45 endurance

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

5

MARATHON TRAINING PLANWEEK 9WEEK 10(FROM 6 TO 12 MARCH)(FROM 13 TO 19 MARCH)

Session 1

Session 1

JOGGINGWEEK 11JOGGINGWEEK 12(FROM 20 TO 26 MARCH)(FROM 27 MACH TO 2 APRIL)

Session 1

Session 1

JOGGINGJOGGING

1h20 fundamental endurance

1h10 fundamental endurance

1h fundamental endurance

45min fundamental endurance

Session 2

Session 2

Session 2

Session 2

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

SPECIFIC PACE

Warm-up+ 2 x 5000m (AS21)
Recovery: 5min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 2000m AS21 4000m (AS21) - 2000m (AS10)
Recovery: 2min/4min/2min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 3000m (AS21) 2000m (AS10) - 1000m (AS10)
Recovery: 3min/2min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Warm-up+ 4 x 1000m (AS42)
Recovery: 1min of trotting+ 10min cool down

Session 3Session 3

Session 3

RACE DAY - MARATHONENJOY IT!

LONG RUNLONG RUNLONG RUN

2h30 endurance
including 2 x 30min (AS42)
Recovery: 5min of trotting

2h10 endurance

1h20 endurance
including 20min (AS42)

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

Kilometres run
this week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

My mood during
the week:

6

Plan made by a certified FFA coach