Marathon Training Schedule Planner

Check the plan setup

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Training guardrails

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Training profile:

Start with the runner type that best matches the next race cycle.

Race date:

Choose the marathon date you want the schedule to peak toward.

Plan length:

Use the number of weeks available from your first training week to race week.

weeks

Distance unit:

All entered distances and schedule rows use this unit.

Current comfortable long run:

This becomes the first-week long-run anchor before progression and cutbacks.

Current weekly distance:

Use your repeatable recent weekly average across easy runs, workouts, and long runs.

Runs per week:

Most first-pass plans use 3 to 5 runs; add a sixth only if you already tolerate it.

runs

Long-run day:

Choose the weekday that normally holds your longest run.

Peak long run:

Use a conservative target that fits the plan length and current long run.

Weekly increase cap:

Use a lower cap when returning from time off or when soreness is already high.

Cutback frequency:

Every third or fourth week is common for a simple draft schedule.

Taper length:

Use 2 to 4 weeks depending on race history, plan length, and recovery needs.

weeks

Calendar start time:

Applies to generated run events in the calendar export.

Normal run event length:

Long run and race events expand automatically from distance.

min

Strength support:

Keep this on when you want the weekly focus to reserve support work.

Week	Long-run date	Phase	Long run	Weekly total	Focus	Copy
{{ row.weekLabel }}	{{ row.longRunDateLabel }}	{{ row.phase }}	{{ row.longRunDisplay }}	{{ row.weeklyTotalDisplay }}	{{ row.focus }}

Week	Day	Session	Distance	Cue	Copy
{{ session.weekLabel }}	{{ session.dayLabel }}	{{ session.title }}	{{ session.distanceDisplay }}	{{ session.cue }}

Check	Status	Evidence	Adjustment	Copy
{{ row.check }}	{{ row.status }}	{{ row.evidence }}	{{ row.action }}

{{ calendarText }}

{{ jsonPayload }}

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Marathon planning turns a distant race date into a sequence of recoverable training weeks. The long run gets most of the attention because it prepares the legs and mind for sustained effort, but the weekly total, easy-run rhythm, recovery weeks, and taper decide whether that long run fits into a durable plan.

A useful schedule starts from current running, not from a wishful race-day goal. A runner who can repeat 40 km per week with a comfortable 14 km long run needs a different runway than a runner already holding 70 km per week. The same race distance sits at the end of both plans, but the build rate and risk are not the same.

Cutback weeks are part of the build, not a sign that training has gone backward. Reducing the long run and weekly total for a week gives the body time to absorb the previous block. Skipping recovery can make a plan look impressive on paper while increasing the chance that soreness, illness, work stress, or missed sleep breaks the cycle.

The taper narrows the final weeks toward race day. It lowers training load so fatigue drops while the runner keeps enough rhythm to feel sharp. For many marathon runners, the taper is roughly two to three weeks, with volume falling more than intensity. That balance matters because stopping hard can leave a runner flat, while training hard too close to the race can leave heavy legs on the start line.

A first-pass schedule should therefore be treated as a review draft. It can show whether the race date, current base, peak long run, run frequency, and recovery rhythm make sense together, but it cannot know injury history, terrain, heat, sleep, medical constraints, or how the runner responds once the block begins.

How to Use This Tool:

Set the race date and current running base first. The planner works backward from race week, so those anchors decide how much time the build has before taper starts.

Choose the Training profile that fits the cycle: first marathon finish, steady base builder, or intermediate with workouts. The profile changes focus cues and long-run share assumptions.
Enter the Race date, Plan length, and Distance unit. All distances in the schedule use the selected unit.
Use a recent recoverable Current comfortable long run and a repeatable Current weekly distance, not a one-off peak week.
Set Runs per week, Long-run day, and Peak long run. A high peak long run with only three weekly runs will concentrate load and trigger review warnings.
Open Advanced to adjust the weekly increase cap, cutback frequency, taper length, calendar start time, normal run event length, and strength-support cue.
Read the warning box before using the tables. Warnings usually mean the build is short, the current long run dominates weekly distance, or the requested peak cannot be reached under the increase cap.
Use Schedule Calendar for week-level planning, Session Pattern for day-level run placement, and Training Guardrails for checks that should be reviewed before importing calendar events.

Interpreting Results:

The headline summary reports the total plan length, marathon distance in the selected unit, peak long run, peak week total, run frequency, taper length, and cutback cadence. That is a planning snapshot, not a coaching approval.

Build rows increase the long run and weekly total within the selected cap. Cutback rows reduce load before the next build stretch. Peak marks the largest pre-race training week, Taper steps down from peak work, and Race uses marathon distance for the final long-run entry.

Marathon schedule result cues
Output	Useful reading	What to verify
`Long run`	The planned longest run for that week.	Compare each increase with recent recovery and surface difficulty.
`Weekly total`	The total running load target across all planned sessions.	Check whether the long run is taking too much of the week.
`Focus`	A short cue for the week, such as durability, recovery, peak rehearsal, or taper rhythm.	Do not treat focus text as a detailed workout prescription.
`Training Guardrails`	Status rows for runway, base ratio, progression, peak load share, frequency, recovery rhythm, and calendar coverage.	Review every `Review` or `Adjust` status before following the plan.

False confidence usually comes from one of two mistakes: entering a peak long run that is too ambitious for the available weeks, or using a current weekly distance that cannot support the long run. Lower the peak, extend the plan, add easy support mileage, or ask a qualified coach to review the schedule when those warnings appear.

Technical Details:

The schedule is built from a long-run target and a weekly-distance target. The profile sets a long-run share assumption, then the peak weekly distance is chosen high enough that the peak long run is not the whole training week. Normal build weeks interpolate from current values toward those peak targets, while the increase cap limits jumps from the previous hard build week.

Cutback weeks are inserted inside the build block when the cadence is every third or fourth week. Those rows reduce the previous hard build load instead of advancing toward the peak. Taper rows use preset fractions of the peak long run and peak weekly distance, and race week replaces the long run with marathon distance.

Formula Core:

\begin{array}{rcl} peak weekly distance & = & \max (current weekly distance, \frac{peak long run}{profile long-run share}) \\ build progress & = & \frac{hard build index}{hard build count - 1} \\ capped long run & = & \min (ideal long run, previous hard long run \times (1 + increase cap)) \end{array}

For example, a runner using kilometres with a 32 km peak long run and a 0.44 profile share needs at least 72.7 km for the peak weekly target before rounding. If the previous hard long run was 24 km and the increase cap is 10%, the next hard build row cannot exceed 26.4 km even when the straight-line target is higher.

Rule Core:

Marathon training guardrail rules
Guardrail	Pass or review boundary	Reason
Training runway	`>= 14` weeks is on track; `12-13` weeks needs review; shorter needs adjustment.	Short builds leave less room for peak work and recovery.
Current base ratio	Current long run at `<= 43%` of weekly distance is on track; above `52%` needs adjustment.	A long run that dominates the week can overload one day.
Peak load share	Peak long run at `<= 42%` of peak weekly distance is on track; above `48%` needs adjustment.	Peak week should spread stress beyond the long run.
Run frequency	Four or more runs per week are preferred for higher peak long runs.	More run days can distribute easy volume around the long run.
Recovery rhythm	No planned cutbacks are marked for review.	Build blocks usually need recovery weeks unless coach history supports otherwise.

Session rows use the selected long-run weekday and run frequency to place easy runs, shakeouts, quality work for the intermediate profile, long runs, and race day. Calendar event durations are estimated from distance and event type; they are scheduling placeholders rather than pace targets.

Safety Notes:

Marathon plans should be adjusted for pain, illness, heat, sleep loss, travel, missed weeks, and medical history. A schedule that passes arithmetic checks can still be too hard for a specific runner. Stop and seek qualified medical or coaching guidance when pain changes gait, worsens during a run, lingers after rest, or appears with swelling, numbness, chest symptoms, dizziness, or unusual shortness of breath.

The calendar export should be reviewed before importing. Repeating events can make a draft feel official, so confirm the dates, long-run day, taper weeks, and race-week logistics before adding them to a calendar.

Worked Examples:

First marathon with a short base. A runner enters 18 weeks, 40 km per week, a 14 km current long run, four runs per week, and a 32 km peak. The plan can build toward peak week if the long-run jumps stay under the cap, but the base-ratio check should still be reviewed because 14 km is already 35% of the week.

Ambitious peak with three weekly runs. A 20 mile peak long run with only three runs per week may trigger a frequency warning. The corrective path is to add another easy run, lower the peak, or use a coach-approved run-walk or cross-training structure rather than forcing most load into one day.

Troubleshooting a capped peak. If the warning says the requested peak needs more runway under the cap, extend the plan length or lower the peak long run. Raising the increase cap may make the table reach the number, but it also raises progression risk.

Calendar review before import. After setting a Sunday long-run day and 7:00 start time, the ICS output creates run events through race week. Review holidays, tune-up races, travel, and taper sessions before adding those events to a personal calendar.

FAQ:

Is the peak long run supposed to be the full marathon?

Usually no. Many marathon plans peak below race distance so the runner can recover and keep the rest of the week intact. Race week uses the full marathon distance.

Why did the planner lower a requested build jump?

Normal build weeks are capped by Weekly increase cap. If a straight-line target would exceed that cap, the row uses the capped distance and reports a warning when the peak becomes unreachable.

Why does a high long-run share matter?

When the long run is too much of the weekly total, one day carries most of the stress. Adding easy mileage, lowering the peak long run, or increasing run frequency can spread load more evenly.

Can the schedule replace a coach?

No. It is a planning draft built from visible inputs and rule checks. A coach can adapt for injury history, pace work, strength training, terrain, and response to fatigue.

What should I do if the race date gives too few build weeks?

Lower the peak target, choose a shorter race, or treat the event as a conservative finish plan. Do not solve a short runway by stacking harder long runs close together.

Glossary:

Long run: The longest run in a week, used here as the main endurance anchor.
Weekly total: The planned distance across all runs in the week.
Cutback week: A lower-load week placed inside the build to absorb previous training.
Peak week: The highest pre-race training week before the taper begins.
Taper: The final reduction in training load before race day.
ICS: A calendar file format used to import planned run events.