Pfitzinger: the 18-week marathon plan, session categories and first weeks
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Who it is for
The plan described is for mid- to high-level marathoners running 50 to 70 miles a week (about 80–110 km). The authors say to run at least 40 miles (about 64 km) a week before starting and to have recently completed a run close to the first week’s long run. With a much smaller base they suggest a base programme first.1
The four phases
Endurance, lactate threshold plus endurance, race preparation, taper. The plan is written day by day, with the category of each session, so the balance of the week is visible. You can move a day, but lost work should not be made up with several hard days in a row.1
The eight session categories
| Category | Distance or duration | How it is described |
|---|---|---|
| Long run | 17 miles or more | Builds from a slow start to about 20% slower than marathon pace at mile 5, then about 10% slower for the last 5 miles. Not a slow jog, according to the authors. |
| Medium-long run | 11–16 miles | Reinforces the long run, at a similar pace. |
| General aerobic | up to 10 miles | Steady, moderate pace to build volume. |
| Lactate threshold | tempo of 4–7 miles, at least 20 minutes at threshold pace | Close to 15K to half marathon race pace; slower runners nearer 15K. After a 2–3 mile warm-up. |
| VO₂max | repeats of 600 to 2000 m | At 95–100% of VO₂max pace, close to 3K–5K race pace; for marathoners the authors specify 5K pace. |
| Speed | repeats of 50 to 150 m | For leg speed and form, with plenty of rest, often at the end of an easy run. |
| Recovery | short run | Relaxed pace, clearly slower than the other workouts. |
| Marathon pace | medium-long or long run with most of it at goal pace | Practises race pace and form. |
Why few speed sessions
The authors write that they built the plan around the systems that most determine marathon success, in this order: endurance, lactate threshold and VO₂max. For them long runs and tempo runs matter more than track repeats.1
The first three weeks
From the table published in the article (miles, 1 mile = 1.61 km; Monday rest or cross-training; Thursday and Saturday recovery):
| Weeks to goal | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | General aerobic 8 + 10 × 100 m strides | Medium-long 11 | Recovery 5 | Aerobic 9 | Recovery 5 | Medium-long 15 | 53 |
| 16 | General aerobic 8 + 10 × 100 m strides | Medium-long 12 | Recovery 5 | Aerobic 9 | Recovery 5 | Long 17 | 56 |
| 15 | Threshold: 9 with 4 at 15K–half pace | Medium-long 13 | Recovery 5 | Medium-long 11 | Recovery 5 | Medium-long 15 | 58 |
Illustrative example
A week like the first has 53 miles, about 85 km: the long run is 15 miles (24 km) and three days out of seven are recovery or rest. It is not a plan to copy: it shows how the source distributes the work.
Limits
- One magazine article, from 2001, by the authors themselves. The book Advanced Marathoning and current plans are not among the sources: they may differ.
- It is a plan for high volumes. For lower volumes the authors point to other plans in the book, not reproduced here.
- The source consulted does not report a controlled study comparing this plan with others.
- The plan is for the road marathon.
Sources
- Scott Douglas, Pete Pfitzinger, Marathon Advantage, Runner's World, 1 July 2001. runnersworld.com. Read.
Source read on 29 October 2026.