A
S DIFFICULT AS IT IS, THE MARATHON IS UNDENIABLY ALLURING.
Each year nearly half a million runners—including some 168,000 first-timers—take on the
challenge of training to run 26. 2 miles. Runners with full-time jobs, part-time assignments,
and more than one kid squeeze in their workouts before the sun rises. Veterans try every train-
ing trick to shave seconds off their time in order to check “qualify for Boston” off their life
lists. With all those different goals, no single training plan can perfectly fit every runner.
Most plans include long runs to build endurance, tempo runs
or speedwork to strengthen the legs and lungs, and rest days to
recover from the hard work. But ability, experience, health, and
time constraints all figure into what works best. “You have to
follow some general training principles when you hope to run
a marathon,” says coach and exercise physiologist Greg McMillan of Flagstaff, Arizona. “But adapting the plan for yourself is
the most important factor.” Sure, you’ve got to gut out some
tough stuff. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge. But training shouldn’t be torture. “It’s got to be doable,” says Bart Yasso,
RW’s Chief Running Officer. “If it isn’t fun, why do it?”
A veteran of hundreds of marathons over 30 years, Yasso has
a marathon PR of 2: 40, has led dozens of marathon pace groups
to 3:00 finishes, and has run shoulder to shoulder with such
legends as Frank Shorter, Meb Keflezighi, and Khalid Khannouchi. He’s trained celebrities, presidential candidates, and Fortune
500 CEOs for marathons, e-mailing their training orders one
week at a time. “People like the personal attention,” Yasso says.
Here, for the first time ever, we publish Yasso’s 16-week training plan, which has helped runners reach goals from 2: 30 to “just
finish.” It’s an intermediate plan for runners who’ve completed
at least one marathon. If you are a first-timer, a PR seeker, or an
overbooked or injury-prone runner, we tell you how to tweak it
to your needs on the following pages. Or you can find beginner
and advanced plans on our Web site (see below). The bonus?
You’ll be in good company. On July 27, 14 RUNNER’S WORLD staffers will start training for the Richmond Marathon, which we’ve
twice named one of the best in the U.S. Like you, we have diverse
goals and challenges. So whaddya say? Let’s go long together.
Join the RW Marathon Challenge!
Two ways to upgrade your training—and your race
Would you like to receive a premium, customized
training plan, weekly e-mails from Bart Yasso, expert
answers to your training, nutrition, and health
questions, and access to exclusive online training
groups? Or even to sign up for the Richmond
Marathon (November 14) and run with the RW
editors? If so, go to runnersworld.com/challenge.
Who We Are
RW sta ers training for
26. 2 come with their own
goals—and challenges
Bart Yasso, 53
Coach Everyone
“I’m going to help this motley
crew reach their goals—and
help you, too. I’ve coached
hundreds of first-timers and
runners seeking PRs.”
Amby Burfoot, 62
Help You Break Four Hours
“I enjoy leading a pace group
to get under four hours. I use
a run-walk strategy, running
for a mile and walking for one
minute at each mile.”
Sean Downey, 40
Lose Weight
“I want to drop 10 pounds and
improve my time [3:59: 25] by
8 to 10 minutes. I’m going to
miss Guinness and Edy’s Slow
Churned Chocolate Chip.”
Nick Galac, 26
Close in on Three Hours
With Even-Paced Effort
“I went out way too fast in my
first t wo marathons, and
crashed and burned. My goal
this time is to finish strong.”
Chris Evans Gartley, 36
Avoid Injury
“I just want to get to the
starting line injury-free. I’ve
had IT-band problems, and
I’m still getting over that. I’m
cross-training like a fiend.”
Katie Neitz, 33
Back from Pregnancy
“Richmond is 366 days—one
year and one day—after I gave
birth to Sam. I suffered a
pelvic stress fracture, but hey,
so did Paula Radcliffe.”
Mark Remy, 39
Qualify for Boston, Again
“I’ve run Boston five times,
but that was years ago. I’d
love to get back into Boston
shape and qualify again
with a 3: 15 or better.”
Brian D. Sabin, 29
Get Under 3: 10 At Last
“I’ve run two marathons. I ran
the Cleveland Marathon in
2008 in 3:11: 21, which meant
I missed qualifying for Boston
by 22 seconds.”
Joanna Sayago, 27
Four Hours (or Close)
“I’ve only run one marathon,
New York City in 2006, which
I did in 4:07. I’ll be happy just
to finish, but I’d like to get
closer to four hours.”
Jennifer Van Allen, 34
Run Multiple Marathons
“I love running long distances,
but hate stressing about
times. This November, I want
to run four marathons in four
weeks, and just have fun.”
David Willey, 41
Work, Family, BQ
“We had our third child in
January, and finding time to
train properly is always a
challenge. But I want to run
3: 20 to qualify for Boston.”
