This plan is aimed at runners who are looking to improve on a previous marathon time and are already confident to run for 90-105 minutes at an easy pace. If it’s your first marathon you may have previously completed several 10km-half marathon races and should be able to train 5 times a week.

The majority of the sessions are runs, but you can replace with cardiovascular cross training using a bike, rowing machine, swimming etc. You might see cross training included in the plan to – these are labelled as ‘XT’. If you need to swap days, do not run two runs harder than 6/10 effort on back to back days. It’s fine to add more running but always remember you need to recover well to progress and you are better to do a little less than too much. If you are tired, sore, have a cold or are worried about a niggle stop, rest and if necessary, speak to a physio or medical expert.