Marathon Training for All Skill Levels | Hal Higdon https://www.halhigdon.com/training/marathon-training/ Marathon training from the renowned runner, author and coach Fri, 18 Apr 2025 22:24:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.halhigdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-hal-favicon-4-32x32.png Marathon Training for All Skill Levels | Hal Higdon https://www.halhigdon.com/training/marathon-training/ 32 32 Novice 1 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-1-marathon/ Tue, 10 Apr 2018 06:27:19 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training-program&p=118 Here is my Novice 1 Marathon Program, the most popular of all my marathon training programs and, arguably, the most popular training program used by first marathoners anywhere. Is this your first marathon? Have you only begun to run? Novice 1 was designed with you in mind. If you have been running for a year or more … Continue reading "Novice 1"

The post Novice 1 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> Novice 2 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-2-marathon/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-2-marathon/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 19:36:17 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=315 My Novice 2 Marathon Program is a slight step upwards in difficulty from Novice 1. It is designed for people with some background as runners, whether or not they have run a marathon before. Before embracing Novice 2, you should have been running about a year. You should be able to comfortably run distances between … Continue reading "Novice 2"

The post Novice 2 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-2-marathon/feed/ 0 Intermediate 1 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/intermediate-1-marathon/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/intermediate-1-marathon/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 15:48:12 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=262 This is my Intermediate 1 Program: The Novice 1 and Advanced 2 training programs in my quiver of 26.2 arrows represent the extremes. The former program (and Novice 2) are designed for runners running their first marathons, or experienced runners who are happy with that level of training and see no need to do more. The latter program … Continue reading "Intermediate 1"

The post Intermediate 1 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/intermediate-1-marathon/feed/ 0 Intermediate 2 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/intermediate-2-marathon/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/intermediate-2-marathon/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 15:55:40 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=265 This is Intermediate 2. The Novice 1 and Advanced 2 training programs in my Marathon Training Guide represent the extremes. The former programs are designed for runners running their first marathons, or experienced runners who are happy with that level of training and see no need to do more. The latter programs are designed for … Continue reading "Intermediate 2"

The post Intermediate 2 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/intermediate-2-marathon/feed/ 0 Advanced 1 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/advanced-1-marathon/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/advanced-1-marathon/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:42:33 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=276 Here is Advanced 1: The training programs for Advanced 1 marathoners follow a progressive buildup–similar to that for novice and Intermediate runners, except you start at 10 miles and peak with three 20-milers. There is also more training at marathon pace (usually Saturdays, the day before Sunday long runs). Please note that we do not recommend … Continue reading "Advanced 1"

The post Advanced 1 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/advanced-1-marathon/feed/ 0 Advanced 2 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/advanced-2-marathon/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/advanced-2-marathon/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:46:18 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=278 Welcome to my most difficult program, Marathon Advanced 2: The training program for Advanced 2 marathoners follows a progressive buildup–similar to that for Novice and Intermediate runners, except you start at 10 miles and peak with three 20-milers. There is also more training at marathon pace (usually Saturdays, the day before Sunday long runs). Please note … Continue reading "Advanced 2"

The post Advanced 2 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/advanced-2-marathon/feed/ 0 Novice Supreme https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-supreme/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-supreme/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 15:32:22 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=259 I DESIGNED THIS PROGRAM FOR NEW RUNNERS, specifically those individuals new to the sport of long distance running who would like to start in the spring to get ready to run a marathon in the fall. Individuals who plan to get serious about their training and dedicate six or seven months to training for their … Continue reading "Novice Supreme"

The post Novice Supreme appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-supreme/feed/ 0 Personal Best https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/personal-best/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/personal-best/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:51:06 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=280 I DESIGNED THIS PROGRAM FOR EXPERIENCED RUNNERS, individuals who have run two or three or more marathons and who would like to improve their times, to achieve Peak Performance, to set a Personal Record (PR), perhaps to score a Boston Marathon qualifying time (BQ). If truth be told, this is not exactly a new marathon … Continue reading "Personal Best"

The post Personal Best appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/personal-best/feed/ 0 Senior https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/senior/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/senior/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 18:01:38 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=284 Senior Marathon Training Program: What does that mean? Is the schedule below designed only for older runners? Not necessarily, although if you have been running marathons for a number of years, you may have been searching for a program with relatively low mileage and less of a time commitment that will allow you to continue … Continue reading "Senior"

The post Senior appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/senior/feed/ 0 Marathon 3 https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/marathon-3/ https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/marathon-3/#respond Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:58:16 +0000 http://halhigdon.staging.racersites.com/?post_type=training_program&p=282 All my marathon training programs follow a logical progression from Novice to Intermediate to Advanced, with two stages at each level. Recently, based on comments by runners visiting my online pages, I have become aware of a need for a new and different marathon training program, one to fit conveniently between my two novice programs and … Continue reading "Marathon 3"

The post Marathon 3 appeared first on Hal Higdon.

]]> https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/marathon-3/feed/ 0