Below is the list of the long runs for a sample of the plans. Only a subset of the plans for lower mileage, 4 hour marathoners is include' d'. For a complete table, see Full Long Runs Table Plan Warm-up: Warming up is important, not only before the race itself, but before your speed workouts and pace runs. My usual warm-up is to jog a mile or two, sit down and stretch for 5-10 minutes, then run some easy strides (100 meters at near race pace). And I usually cool down afterwards by doing half the warm-up.

Can you combine the above schedules to run three, four, five or more marathons during a relatively short period of time? Anything is possible, and runners differ so much in their ability to recover and to survive punishing training regimens that I can’t dictate what you should or shouldn’t do. But after a bout of multiple marathons, consider taking some time off from training, at least from hard training. And don’t overlook the value of training for short race distances as a means of improving not only your speed, but also your strength. Variety, in this case, is the spice of marathoning life. In 1952, Higdon competed in the US Olympic Trials for 10,000 meters. That was the first of eight Trials appearances for Higdon; his best finish was 5th in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 1960. He had two other top-ten Trials finishes. Hal Higdon is a Contributing Editor for Runner’s World and is the magazine’s longest lasting writer, having contributed an article to RW’s second issue in 1966. He also is the author of more than three dozen books, including Marathon: The Utimate Training Guide and the recently published Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Training. In 2003, the American Society of Journalists and Authors awarded Hal its Career Achievement Award, the highest honor given to writer members. And here’s a pro-tip: use your long runs to experiment with your race day nutrition and hydration. Figure out what types of food work best for you and practice your fueling strategy during your long runs. Trust me, it’ll pay off on race day.Countless half-marathoners have used Hal’s programs, whether getting ready for their first race or their twentieth. Use our half marathon interactive plans to build endurance and taper properly for your...

Enthusiast: This is a runner who has trained hard for marathons in the past and is looking for ways of optimizing their performance.Week 2: Is it time to start training seriously again? Not really. I know it’s hard for an advanced runner to write “0” in your training log, but bear with me for a while, at least to the end of this 5-week program. Even if you have a race scheduled for five weeks after the marathon, or soon after, you will gain no advantage by training hard at this point. Run 3 miles on Wednesday with speedwork Tuesday and Thursday. Friday, take a day off. On the weekend, do a 30-minute tempo run on Saturday and run between 60 and 75 minutes on Sunday. Don’t ask me how far. I don’t want you counting miles this soon. Weeks To 16. This is the number of weeks from the start of the plan to the first 16 mile long run. This section of the training plan I've called the "initial ramp up" that brings a runner from their initial level of fitness to what I consider the threshold of performing long runs.

Listen up, fellow runners, because we’re about to talk about one of the most exhilarating races out there: the half marathon.

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To understand the logic of this program, you must consider the profile of the traditional point-to-point course from suburban Hopkinton into downtown Boston, as described on pp. 144-145 of my book, Boston: A Century of Running, Unfortunately, the coffee-table version from 1995 of that book is now out of print, but a text-only version is available on Kindle. Elite: A runner who is prepared to work 'as hard as it takes' to improve performance and typically is a faster marathon runner. Welcome to my Novice 2 Program for Half-Marathon runners. The difference between Novice 1 and Novice 2 is that Novice 1 is for new runners, newbies, those just entering the sport. Novice 2 is aimed at more experienced runners, who may have run half marathons and even full marathons, but who appreciate a gentle approach to training. Much more information is contained in my new book, Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Training, available from Human Kinetics.

The program is designed for beginning runners, but experienced runners like it too, because of its gentle approach. To participate in this 10K program, you should have no major health problems, and perhaps have done at least some jogging or walking. If running 2.5 miles for your first workout on Tuesday of the first week seems too difficult, you might want to pause before taking your first steps. If you have more than eight weeks before your 10K, switch to an easier (shorter) schedule to build an endurance base.

Hal Higdon is a runner and a long-time writer for Runner’s World. He’s also written a lot of books about writing, and his half marathon training plans are very popular among beginners. Then, there are a couple of other plans for different situations. The book is full of plans. The Beginner Plans Hal Higdon Plans