Welcome to our Runner's World Club Sub-4:00 marathon plan, written by world-class coaches Tom Craggs and Robbie Britton. Here, we are offering non-members a free two-week sample of the schedule – to access the full plan, and a library of 80+ more plans for all distances and time goals, sign up to Runner's World Club membership here.
For many people, the marathon is a bucket-list event and can be the ultimate endurance running challenge. However fast you’re aiming to cover the 26.2 miles, it is a physical and mentally demanding challenge that needs respect. However, with the right training, discipline and recovery, the buzz from completing a marathon is like nothing else. Our marathon plans progressively develop your endurance and strength, to prepare you to cover the distance in your target time goal. Before starting, remember to get organised and ring-fence this time, as the consistency of your long runs and structured sessions are key to arriving on the start line fully prepared.
Who is this plan for?
Our Sub-4:00 marathon plan, encompassing five to six runs per week, is aimed at experienced runners who are regularly running a minimum of four times weekly. The advanced nature of this plan means you should have some experience of structured, interval-based training before you start.
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What types of session are included in the plan?
Rest days are an important part of your recovery and adaptation. Respect them and use them as a chance to reflect on your sleep and nutrition. Find some calm space and time to wind down to lower your stress levels and have some time away from your smartphone.
Running at a relaxed, conversational pace helps to build aerobic capacity, increases your ability to burn stored fats and promotes muscular recovery. Easy runs also allow you to increase your training volumes in a sustainable way. While we have suggested a guideline pace, how these runs feel is even more important. You should be able to hold a comfortable conversation and breathe easily. If you run to heart rate, these runs might be between 60-75% of your maximum heart rate, depending on the individual. You can replace some of these easy runs with cross-training sessions of a similar volume and intensity on a bike, rowing machine or elliptical trainer, or in the pool, swimming or aqua jogging. This is a good idea if you are injury prone because it will reduce the impact on your muscles and joints, while still working your heart and lungs.
Interval sessions involve a series of short repetitions of running, typically between 30 secs and 5-6 mins, with either static rest periods or a very easy recovery jog. Interval training is designed to get you breaking out of your comfort zone and challenging your body to work harder or faster, building fitness, as well as mental resilience.
Fartlek training is similar to interval training but differs in that the recovery periods are run at an easy or even steady intensity, rather than static rests. Often fartlek sessions will have a more relaxed structure and include a mixture of different paces in one session. They can be an effective way of varying your paces while maintaining a focus on continuous running and building endurance.
These sessions are designed to allow you to sustain higher intensity paces for longer. They can include a mixture of longer intervals between 3-15 minutes or they can be run as continuous efforts of between 10-40 minutes. They are run at a strong, but just about sustainable, intensity. It’s typically a pace you could hold for 60-70 minutes in a race.
Progression runs – which progress in speed as the run goes on – are a great way to start to work quality running into your week without getting too worked up about structure. They are good for getting you used to running at the intensity you would in a race and can be an effective way of adding more threshold running and race-pace efforts into your training week.
Long runs are a key run in your training plan. They are an essential building block for endurance, and not only have a wide range of positive effects on your cardiovascular system, but condition your muscles and bones to run for longer, while also helping to improve your running economy. Some long runs will be run at a fully easy intensity but sometimes you may be asked to run at a stronger pace or even include some blocks of race pace running, depending on what you are training for.
Strides are a good way to get used to running faster and developing speed without the demands of full sprinting. They involve running short efforts, normally between 60-100m, where the focus is on running at a fast but relaxed speed and running with good form. In the plan, we include strides + drills as part of our warm-ups before interval training to help you prepare for the sustained faster running in the main session. This could be a combination of 4-6 x 60-100m strides (fast but not flat out) plus 3-5 drills, such as high knees, ‘A’ skips and ‘B’ skips (find more on these here). In the plan, you may also see strides included after easy runs on occasions to help promote a feeling of speed and zip even on low-intensity days.
Strength and conditioning sessions are an important complement to your running. By building a greater number and size of muscle fibres, strength training can help you to sustain paces for longer, improve running economy and may prevent injuries. We have written some bodyweight plans, but feel free to replace these with gym-based strength training or Pilates.
Do I need to stick to the exact durations prescribed for each session?
While we have given precise durations for each session, if your run ends up 5-10 minutes shorter or longer, that’s okay – you don’t have to stick to the durations 100%. For some sessions, you may also be given the option to rest or run/cross-train and, for these, we have noted the maximum duration the session would last for if you opted to exercise. But if you decided to rest this number wouldn’t apply. On some days, you will also be given the option to rest or run/cross-train in addition to completing a strength workout – again, for these sessions, we have given the maximum duration if you decide to do both (eg, a 30-min run + 30 mins strength training = 60 mins total). However, if you choose to only strength train on these days, the duration will be 30 minutes.
Training plan
Below is a two-week sample of our 16-week Sub-4:00 RWC training plan– running 5-6 days a week. For the full plan – or to access the same plan but with 3-4 runs per week instead – sign up to become a Gold or Silver member. We also have Sub-3:45 and Sub-4:15 options available, if you find this one isn't quite right for you.
Plus, Gold members can also sync our plans to their training devices (including Garmin, Apple Watch, Suunto, Polar, and more), allowing you to follow sessions in real time with guided prompts – taking all the thinking out of training for a race. Sign up to become a Gold member today!
• Warm-up: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km run + strides and drills.
• Main set:
• 3 mins @8:05/mile or 5:01/km + 90 secs easy.
• 2 mins @7:45/mile or 4:49/km + 90 secs easy.
• 1 min @7:20/mile or 4:34/km + 90 secs easy.
• Run easy for 2 mins and repeat twice more.
• Cool-down: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
• Coach notes: This is a fartlek run, so don't get too stressed about being really tight with the pacing. It's not an interval session with static recovery, though, so keep easy running on the 90-sec and 2-min recoveries rather than resting completely.
Wednesday
EASY RUN
• 30-45 mins easy to steady.
• Duration: 45 mins.
• Relaxed/conversational run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km with the last 10-15 mins @9:20/mile or 5:46/km.
• Coach notes: Stay relaxed throughout the start, and if you're not feeling your best today, keep the entire run easy.
Thursday
INTERVAL RUN
• 10 x 20 secs.
• Duration: 43 mins.
• Warm-up: 15-20 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
• Main set: 10 x 20 secs @95-100% effort with 1-min full recovery between.
• Cool-down: 5-10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
Friday
REST OR EASY RUN + STRENGTH TRAINING
• Duration: 75 mins (total).
• Take a rest day from running, or complete a relaxed/conversational 30-45 mins run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km. Follow this up with strength training: find our Foundation Workout B at the link here.
• Coach notes: Stay relaxed throughout the run, but increase the pace a little in the second half if you feel good.
Saturday
FARTLEK RUN
• 12 x 45 secs.
• Duration: 44 mins.
• Warm-up: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km + strides and drills.
• Main set: 12 x 45 secs @8:05/mile or 5:01/km with 75 secs @9:20/mile or 5:46/km between.
• Cool-down: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
• Coach notes: This is a fartlek run, so don't get too stressed about being really tight with the pacing. It's not an interval session with static recovery, though, so keep easy running on the 75-second recoveries rather than resting completely.
Sunday
EASY RUN
• 75-90 mins easy.
• Duration: 90 mins.
• Relaxed/conversational run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
• Coach notes: Stay relaxed throughout, but increase the pace a little in the second half if you feel good.
Monday
STRENGTH TRAINING
• Foundation Workout A.
• Duration: 30 mins.
• Take a rest day from running. Find our Foundation Workout A at the link here.
Tuesday
EASY RUN
• 30-45 mins easy + strides.
• Duration: 45 mins.
• Relaxed/conversational run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km. At the end of the run, add in 3-4 strides @7:20/mile or 4:34/km.
• Coach notes: Stay relaxed throughout and only add the strides if you're feeling good at the end.
Wednesday
FARTLEK RUN
• 15-18 x 1 min.
• Duration: 56 mins.
• Warm-up: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km run + strides and drills.
• Main set: 15-18 x 1 min @8:05/mile or 5:01/km with 1 min steady between.
• Cool-down: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km
• Coach notes: This is a fartlek run, so don't get too stressed about being really tight with the pacing. It's not an interval session with static recovery, though, so keep running on the 60-sec recoveries rather than resting completely.
Thursday
EASY RUN
• 30-45 mins easy run or cross-training.
• Duration: 45 mins.
• Relaxed/conversational run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km, or cross-training such as bike, hike, or swimming.
• Coach notes: Stay relaxed throughout, but increase the pace a little in the second half if you feel good.
Friday
REST OR EASY RUN + STRENGTH TRAINING
Rest or 30-45 mins easy + Foundation Workout B (30 mins).
• Duration: 75 mins (total).
• Take a rest day from running, or complete a relaxed/conversational 30-45 mins run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km. Follow this up with strength training: find our Foundation Workout B at the link here.
• Coach notes: Stay relaxed throughout the run, but increase the pace a little in the second half if you feel good.
Saturday
INTERVAL RUN
4 x 6 mins.
• Duration: 52 mins
• Warm-up: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km + drills and strides.
• Main set: 4 x 6 mins @8:05/mile or 5:01/km + 2 mins easy.
• Cool-down: 10 mins @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
• Coach notes: The 2-min rests can be static or a very gentle jog.
Sunday
LONG RUN
90-105 mins easy.
• Duration: 105 mins.
• Relaxed/conversational run @9:45/mile or 6:04/km.
• Coach notes: Get organised and plan out a route the day before. You could also arrange to meet a friend and run some, or all, of the route together.
Robbie Britton is an ultra-endurance coach, athlete, author and the British 24hr record holder (277km/172miles). He is also one the brains (alongside Tom Craggs) behind all our Runner's World Club training plans.
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