18-Week Beginner Marathon Training Plan

The complete schedule — every workout, every recovery week, the taper — generated by the same open-source engine that powers the RunPlan app.

Is this the right plan? Built for a first marathon: week 1 is only about 2.9 hours across 4 short runs, the longest 60 minutes. If you can jog 30 minutes without stopping, you can start here.

Wrong level? Same race as a 18-week intermediate plan or a 18-week advanced plan.

weeks

runs / week

workouts

peak week (W14)

base · 4wspeed · 4wpeak · 7wtaper · 2w

Marathon training paces

The workouts below carry zones (Z2, Z4…) instead of fixed paces, because pace is personal — it should come from a race you’ve run, not a table. Enter one and the whole plan gets paces:

A race you’ve run recently

Easy & long runsZ1–Z2
7:20/km
Steady & marathon paceZ3
6:43/km
Threshold & tempoZ4
6:16/km
Intervals & repetitionsZ5
5:57/km

At this fitness, a trained-for marathon lands around 4:43:40 (6:43/km) — that is the race this plan is building you toward.

Prefilled with a typical result — enter your own race above.

Repetition paces, mile splits and equivalent times for every distance live in the full training pace calculator.

The full 18-week schedule

Free export:

- Long Run~60 min
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~30 min
- Marathon Pace (20min)~35 min
  Warm-up 10min · 20:00 @ Z3 · Cool-down 5min
- Long Run~60 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~30 min
- Ladder Intervals (10 segments)~28 min
  Warm-up 5min · 0:45/1:30/2:15/3:00/3:45/4:30 @ Z4 (30s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Long Run~60 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Hill Repeats (10 x 75s)~50 min
  Warm-up 10min · 10 × 1:15 @ Z4 (1:45 jog) · Cool-down 10min
- Long Run~60 min
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Intervals (6 segments)~30 min
  Warm-up 5min · 6 × 2:30 @ Z5 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Progressive Long Run~100 min
  60:00 @ Z2 · 40:00 @ Z3
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~30 min
- Marathon Pace (2 x 40/50min)~110 min
  Warm-up 10min · 40:00 @ Z3 · 5:00 @ Z2 · 50:00 @ Z3 · Cool-down 5min
- Progressive Long Run~100 min
  60:00 @ Z2 · 40:00 @ Z3
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~30 min
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Progressive Long Run~100 min
  60:00 @ Z2 · 40:00 @ Z3
- Easy Run~25 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Hill Repeats (12 x 90s)~62 min
  Warm-up 10min · 12 × 1:30 @ Z4 (2:00 jog) · Cool-down 10min
- Long Run~140 min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Intervals (6 segments)~30 min
  Warm-up 5min · 6 × 2:30 @ Z5 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Long Run~140 min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Time Trial (15min)~35 min
  Warm-up 10min · 15:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 10min
- Long Run~140 min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Long Run~140 min
- Easy Run~25 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Race Rehearsal (60min @ MP)~135 min
  45:00 @ Z2 · 60:00 @ Z3 · 30:00 @ Z2
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~55 min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Time Trial (15min)~35 min
  Warm-up 10min · 15:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 10min
- Long Run~140 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~55 min
- Race Rehearsal (75min @ MP)~150 min
  50:00 @ Z2 · 75:00 @ Z3 · 25:00 @ Z2
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~55 min
- Easy Run~55 min
- Intervals (6 segments)~30 min
  Warm-up 5min · 6 × 2:30 @ Z5 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Long Run~140 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~54 min
  50:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Marathon Pace (20min)~35 min
  Warm-up 10min · 20:00 @ Z3 · Cool-down 5min
- Progressive Long Run~100 min
  60:00 @ Z2 · 40:00 @ Z3
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy Run~25 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Progressive Long Run~100 min
  60:00 @ Z2 · 40:00 @ Z3
- Easy Run~25 min
- Easy Run~25 min
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy Run~25 min
- Easy Run~25 min

How this marathon plan is built

Weekly running time starts around 1.6 hours and peaks at 5 in week 14, with 7 recovery weeks spaced through the build. The longest single run is 150 minutes, in week 14 — then the taper brings you to the start line fresh.

This plan is generated by RunPlan's open-source training engine, which encodes the classic coaching canon: Jack Daniels' pacing and intensity distribution, Pete Pfitzinger's long-run progressions, and Hal Higdon's instinct for plans a normal person can finish. The structure is periodized — base, sharpening, peak, taper — with deload weeks on a regular cadence and weekly load ramps kept inside safe bounds. The beginner version keeps quality gentle and volume conservative: the goal is arriving at the start line healthy, not surviving a pro schedule. For the marathon, the long-run progression is the spine of the plan, with marathon-pace segments folded in as race day approaches.

You can read the actual generator on GitHub — this exact schedule is its output, not an editor’s spreadsheet. The deeper story is in how the plans actually work.

What you’ll be running

Easy runs35
Long runs15
Tempo & threshold9
Intervals & hills6
Race rehearsals & time trials4

Common questions

How many days a week does this marathon plan require?

4 runs per week for 18 weeks — 69 workouts in total. The biggest week is week 14 at about 5 hours of running.

What is the longest run in this marathon plan?

150 minutes, in week 14. The long run builds gradually and is cut back on recovery weeks — you never jump to the peak, you arrive at it.

How many hours a week does it take?

Between about 1.6 and 5 hours of running, depending on the week — the plan ramps up through the build and drops sharply in the taper and on the 7 built-in recovery weeks.

Can I download this plan as a PDF or add it to my calendar?

Yes, free: print or save the full schedule as a PDF, download it as a .ics calendar file anchored to your start date, or export a CSV — the buttons are right above the schedule. The app runs the same plan from your Apple Watch, with your paces and haptic cues.

What paces should I run these workouts at?

Enter a recent race result in the paces block on this page — every zone in the plan gets a pace, plus a projected marathon time. Deriving paces from a result you have actually run (Daniels' VDOT method) beats copying a table; the app does the same automatically and re-derives them as you get fitter.

Is this plan really free?

Yes. This page shows the real plan, generated by the same open-source engine the RunPlan app uses. The app itself is also free — no subscription, no locked weeks — and runs every workout from your Apple Watch with live intervals and pace targets.

What if I miss a week?

Do not try to make missed volume up — that is how injuries happen. Rejoin the plan where the calendar says you are, and treat the first week back as easier than written. Recovery weeks are built in on a regular cadence, which absorbs most real-life interruptions.