London Marathon 2024 — Training Guide — Week Eight
This is the eighth of sixteen weekly training plan guides for runners preparing to run the London Marathon (or other marathons) during 2024.
This week sees a continuation of the ‘build’ phase of the schedule. Training sessions converge around your goal marathon race pace.
As always, you must be in good health, and at a reasonable level of fitness, before starting with any prolonged exercise training regime. Marathon training is particularly taxing, both physically and mentally. If you are in any doubt, please consult a health professional.
Specific session variations, according to goal race finish times, are noted where necessary. The overall finish time range is 2:30–4:00 hours, with each full plan based on thirty minute demarcations. Groups are classified as follows :-
Group A 2:30–3:00, Group B 3:00–3:30, Group C 3:30–4:00
Warm-up & Cool-down
Most key sessions within the schedule require suitable warm-up and cool-down phases either side of the session. These are noted on the training plans and in the accompanying help notes. In general, the shorter, more intense the session, the longer these need to be.
For long runs, use 5–10mins to ease yourself in to the session if necessary. A short walk of 5–10 minutes, post-run, can help to kick-start the recovery process. Aim to push through your walking stride rather than strolling.
Nutrition & Hydration
All key sessions require appropriate nutrition and hydration, both before and after. Some longer sessions require nutrition/hydration during your run; these are your race specific sessions.
There is an optimal window of up to an hour post session to take on protein and carbohydrate; this will kick-start your recovery.
Training Phase
Build
Training Focus
Endurance/Speed/Race Pace
Key Sessions (from sheet)
1. Tempo Intervals
3x (2mi/3km (106–108% MRP); 0.5mi/1km (~85% MRP)
Here you continue the transition from shorter to longer intervals, while still running quicker than MRP. By splitting longer sessions into smaller chunks with recovery, you can extend the distance/duration of work done in a single session.
Tempo runs fall somewhere around ‘threshold’ level, although runners will vary somewhat. It’s important as an individual that you try and ‘dial’ in to your own personal level. As a guide they should feel ‘comfortably hard’ with an RPE around 7/10.
For this run, maintain effort/pace that is greater than your MRP, but be sure to ease back during the recovery phases. This helps you to do half as much again as the previous week’s tempo session but at a similar intensity.
All groups to complete the session as is, with Group A again at the low end of the range.
2. MRP
6 miles/ 10km (100% MRP)
This is a your first look at consistent MRP. Get used to ‘dialling in’ this pace/effort; it’s vital to be able to transfer this ongoing experience to your actual race day. In essence, nothing should be different. Although the fatigue component can’t be included within these short runs, you still need to be able to maintain the pace to achieve your goal.
Before any MRP type session, always consider specific protocols that you intend to use on race day. These should include pre-run fuel/hydration; warming up/stretching; practising with gels or drinks and using particular running equipment during the run. Similar to the pacing factor noted above, these need to become second nature throughout your training, helping to avoid unknowns on race day.
For this type of run, use a course that has similar profile to London (or your chosen marathon). Avoid running with music/pod-casts etc; it’s important that you get a consistent ‘feel’ for what you want to achieve. Aim to get up to speed as soon as you can, then try to relax and let it flow. Remember, however, that these early MRP runs are your ‘training ground’ where you should adjust and tweak as necessary, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
All groups to run the session as planned.
3. Long Run Progression
18 miles/ 31km (90–102% MRP)
(5mi/8km 90%, 5mi/8km 95%, 4mi/6km MRP, 3mi/5km 102%, 1mi/2km cool-down)
The focus is to continue building endurance, fatigue resistance and resilience, all requirements for a successful marathon. Where possible, work on routes that have similarities to London, or your chosen marathon.
Today introduces the progression format built-in to a long run session. The idea is to induce stress into the body by gradually increasing the intensity as the run progresses. Consequently, the back-end of the run becomes more taxing. In theory, the progression run can induce more training load than a comparable ‘steady paced’ version, so the distance can be concomitantly shorter.
With that in mind, keep the early phases of the run within your parameters, to avoid getting tired too soon. As always, keep your effort as smooth as possible. Avoid speeding/slowing as it will drain your energy levels much quicker. Over half the run will be completed before you get in to your MRP phase, so note what your body is feeling like at that point, and if there are any nuanced differences to the short MRP session completed earlier in the week.
Taking on fuel during these longer sessions will support your energy requirements, as well as allowing your stomach to become accustomed to ‘feeding’ while running. Also be aware that hydration needs to be considered; running consistently dehydrated or under-fuelled will lead to a gradual breakdown of your immune system.
Post-run; be sure to get into the habit of re-fuelling/hydrating correctly. Out of all of the training sessions, the long run is the one you need to pay attention to the most.
Support Sessions
Between key running sessions, you will be doing recovery/easy running, resting, or strength/mobility/flexibility work, dependent on your group.
Recovery/Easy Runs
These will usually follow key sessions. They help to keep you ticking over, adding easy mileage, as well as promoting recovery.
Group A
Either double day runs of 30–40 minutes, or single runs of 50–60 minutes. Intensity RPE 2–3
Group B
Either double day runs of 30 minutes, or single runs of 40–50 minutes. Intensity RPE 2–3
Group C
Single runs of 40–50 minutes. Intensity RPE 2–3
As the schedule training volume increases, it could be worth considering some form of cross-training in place of easy/recovery runs. Bike, swimming, aqua-jogging and/or elliptical trainer are all viable alternatives.
Rest Days
You need to take full rest days from running. However, some light exercise is fine, such as walking or flexibility/mobility work. Avoid heavy cross-training. Extra rest days should be taken if you feel they are needed. This may become apparent as the schedule progresses into extended long runs sessions.
Group A — One full rest day on a 7–10 day rotation, dependent on current fitness level.
Group B/C — One full rest day on a 7 day rotation. Post long run would be best at this stage.
Strength/Flexibility/Mobility
Without doubt this sort of training is highly beneficial. The types of training are beyond the scope of these articles, so you will need to source it separately.
In general, heavier weighted work is suitable during the early training phase, gradually easing back as the running load increases.
Flexibility and mobility work can be done almost anywhere. Pilates is a great option. You can keep this going throughout the schedule on a regular basis.
That’s all for week eight.
Any questions, feel free to comment, or contact me directly.
Good luck with your training.