How many days a week to run, how long before race day to start, and how to know you are ready. The honest basics for your first marathon build.
Four days a week is the practical minimum, and the number I would start almost anyone on. You can train for a marathon on three, but it takes longer to build to where you race the distance well. Add a bike or a swim on an off day and you get real aerobic work without the pounding, which helps. The four runs come first though.
It depends where you are starting from. From scratch, work out why you want to do it and how much you are willing to put in first, because that sets how long you need. If you already run regularly and are stepping up to the distance, 20 weeks suits most people. Fitter than that, 16 weeks is plenty. Running a lot already, 10 to 12 weeks is enough for a sharp, marathon-specific build.
There is a bit of a catch to this: you almost need to be trained to train for a marathon. The clearest sign you are ready is a 20 km long run you can hold in comfort, off four or five days a week. A lot of it comes down to your history, so if you are not sure where you sit, that is worth a conversation with a coach.
It depends on your goal. For a first marathon, 40 to 50 km a week is a good base to start from. Chasing a strong time, more like 70 to 90. I will be honest that this is one of the harder ones to put a clean number on, so treat those as starting points and build toward what your goal actually asks for.
Two things, mostly. Chasing small gains before the foundations are in, and running too much. Get the basics down first, sleep and consistency above all, and be honest about doing less rather than more.
From your coach
“These are the same answers we give the runners we coach. They are grounded in the sports science and held against what works on the road, by an accredited coach. The marathon is simple, but it is not easy. Do the right things, consistently, and respect the distance.”
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