Marathon training plan: 5 runs a week

What the fifth run adds

The hard sessions are the same as on four runs a week: one quality session, one marathon-pace run and the long run. The fifth run is another easy one. It adds volume, about 66 km in the biggest week, and spreads the easy running over shorter outings, so each one is easier to fit in and to recover from.

The table compares the three versions of the same 3h30 plan. The long run is the same on every schedule: it is set in minutes and reaches 3h00 three weeks before the race.

How a five-run week is built

With the long run on Sunday, the runs fall on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

• Weeks 1–3, base: four easy runs and the long run, which grows from one hour to 90 minutes.
• Weeks 4–6, build: three easy runs, one quality session (threshold and VMA intervals in turn) and the long run.
• Weeks 7–13, peak: two easy runs, a marathon-pace run (8, then 10, then 12 km), a threshold or VMA session and the long run, with 2×5 km at marathon pace in its second half from the third week.
• Weeks 14–15, taper: three short easy runs, a short marathon-pace rehearsal and a shorter long run.
• Week 16, race week: three short easy runs and the race.

Every fourth week is a cutback week, about a quarter lighter.

Who five runs a week suits

Five runs suits runners who already run most days and recover well between sessions. Run 42’s sub-3 and sub-3:30 sample plans use five runs a week. The extra volume comes from easy running, so the rule that matters most is to keep those runs easy: 5:43–6:19 per km for this goal. If the fifth run starts to feel like a chore, four runs is a fine plan too.

Your paces for 3h30

The sample plan targets 3:30. A different goal keeps the same structure, only the paces change: find yours in the marathon pace chart.

The 16-week sample plan

This is the plan Run 42 builds for a 3:30 goal, five runs a week, the long run on Sunday, for a runner who raced a half marathon recently. It starts at about 38 km a week and peaks around 66 km.