Tommy's has produced some handy tips and schedules to help build up your fitness and endurance whatever your starting level or previous training.

These tips have been endorsed by Mark Steinle.

We have produced two schedules for runners with different levels of initial fitness and prior training (Beginner & Intermediate).

Beginner

This assumes you've done no previous training and is aimed at getting you round with the minimum amount of pain. The first few runs should be done at little more than walking pace. You'll notice that when the mileage starts increasing every fourth week is a 'rest' week - this should be treated as such. Take each run a little easier and give your body a chance to recover from the harder weeks in between.

Week Mon Tues Weds Thurs Friday Sat Sun Total
Mileage
20 3 miles   3 miles   3 miles     9 miles
19 3 miles   4 miles   3 miles     10 miles
18 3 miles   5 miles   3 miles     11 miles
17 3 miles   3 miles   3 miles   3 miles 12 miles
16 3 miles   3 miles   3 miles   5 miles 14 miles
15 3 miles   3 miles   3 miles   7 miles 16 miles
14 3 miles   4 miles   3 miles   7 miles 17 miles
13 3 miles   5 miles   3 miles   8 miles 19 miles
12 3 miles   5 miles   4 miles   9 miles 21 miles
11 3 miles   6 miles   4 miles   9 miles 22 miles
10 3 miles   7 miles   4 miles   10 miles 24 miles
9 3 miles   4 miles   3 miles   7 miles 17 miles
8 3 miles   6 miles   4 miles   13 miles 26 miles
7 3 miles   8 miles   4 miles   13 miles 28 miles
6 3 miles   6 miles   4 miles   15 miles 28 miles
5 3 miles   5 miles   3 miles   9 miles 20 miles
4 3 miles   6 miles   3 miles   18 miles 30 miles
3 3 miles   9 miles   4 miles   15 miles 31 miles
2 3 miles   6 miles   3 miles   13 miles 25 miles
1 3 miles   5 miles       9 miles 17 miles
0 3 miles   5 miles       RACE!  

Intermediate

To take on this schedule you should be an experienced runner used to running 20-25 miles per week. This is a plan designed for someone who needs plenty of rest days for work or whatever reason. Feel free to adapt it to suit your own lifestyle - for example you may prefer to break up some of the longer midweek runs into two shorter runs. But remember, you should always do one long run per week to get used to the marathon distance. A 'rest' week has been included every fourth week. The repetition runs should be done at a faster pace with two or three minutes' easy jogging between reps.

So 5 × 1200m means: 1 mile jogging to warm up, then 5 sets of 1200 metres at a fast pace with 2 minutes jogging between each, followed by 1 mile jog warm-down.

Week Mon Tues Weds Thurs Friday Sat Sun Total
Mileage
20 4 miles 7 miles   5 miles   10 miles   26 miles
19 4 miles 8 miles   5 miles   11 miles   28 miles
18 4 miles 9 miles   5 miles   12 miles   30 miles
17 4 miles 9 miles   5 miles   13 miles   31 miles
16 4 miles 6 miles   4 miles   9 miles   23 miles
15 4 miles 7 miles   5x1200m   14 miles   32 miles
14 4 miles 8 miles   5x1200m   15 miles   34 miles
13 5 miles 8 miles   6x1200m   15 miles   36 miles
12 4 miles 5 miles   6 miles   11 miles   26 miles
11 5 miles 9 miles   6x1200m   16 miles   37 miles
10 5 miles 10 miles   12x400m   16 miles   37 miles
9 5 miles 9 miles   5x1 mile   18 miles   39 miles
8 5 miles 8 miles   8x400m   13 miles   30 miles
7 4 miles 9 miles   5x1 mile   20 miles   41 miles
6 4 miles 10 miles   6x800m   22 miles   42 miles
5 5 miles 10 miles   6x1 mile   18 miles   42 miles
4 5 miles 8 miles   5x1 mile   16 miles   37 miles
3 4 miles 7 miles   6x800m   14 miles   31 miles
2 4 miles 6 miles   5x1 mile   12 miles   30 miles
1 4 miles 6 miles   5 miles   8 miles   23 miles
0 4 miles 6 miles   5 miles     RACE 26 miles

  1. When training, just as in the race itself, start slowly and only go flat out very occasionally. A good motto is "always train with the next session in mind". If you go flat out every time you'll quickly get to dread training.
  2. Be flexible and listen to your body. If you're feeling incredibly tired or are getting plenty of aches and pains, then scale back the training a bit. For example, if you know that a particular week is going to be really tough at work, make that into one of the easier weeks on the schedule. You can put the harder weeks in around it.
  3. Make sure you keep yourself hydrated at all times and never eat an hour and a half prior to training or racing.
  4. If you get a stitch try and keep going by leaning forward. Some runners also swear that grabbing your thumbs and pressing them into the palms of your hands whilst running cures stitches.
  5. Never wear new shoes on a long run. Break them in by wearing them around the house and then on a short run.
  6. If you want to be really professional, try carbohydrate bleeding and loading the week prior to your marathon. For the first part of the week, avoid foods high in carbohydrate then pack in all that pasta during the three days prior to the race.
  7. Nutrition - when attempting training such as the schedules above, you need a balanced diet including carbohydrate and protein. Make sure you also include plenty of fruit and vegetables, although avoid excessive vegetables or salad items the night before the marathon as they provide roughage that can cause stomach irritations the day of the race. As much as you can, avoid caffeine and alcoholic beverages. They are diuretics which can lead to dehydration.
  8. Try running a shorter race as part of your training plan. It'll get you used to the different feel of racing as opposed to training. But just because it's a race, don't go mad and kill yourself in the first few miles. Just like training, start slowly and build it up. If you finish like a train it'll leave you with plenty of confidence for the next one.
  9. Keep a regular diary of the distance you've run and how fast you ran it. This is a confidence booster as much as anything else. Pretty soon you should see your times coming down without any extra effort, plus, keeping a record of all the mileage you've put in gives you the confidence to get round the longer runs.
  10. Don't under any circumstances try and keep up with Mark Steinle!