How to Train for Your First Marathon (Starting Now)

Thinking of running your first marathon in 2026? Great! But if your plan is to just "run more," you might be setting yourself up for injury, burnout, or worse—quitting halfway through training.

I’m Greg, your USATF Certified Coach with 11 marathons under my belt. If I had to train for my first marathon all over again, here’s what I’d do differently to actually cross that finish line—healthy and strong.

1. Build the Base: Structure Before Speed

Don’t rush into high mileage or intense workouts. Spend the first 6–10 weeks focusing on easy running and strength training. This phase is all about adapting your body to handle the stress of what’s to come.

Strength training is critical—especially for your quads, hips, hamstrings, and glutes. These muscles need to withstand 40,000 steps on race day. The goal here isn’t to run fast yet. It’s to train your body to survive the training.

2. Training Smarter to Avoid The Wall

The "wall" is real. It happens when your body burns through its glycogen stores during the race, leaving your legs heavy and your mind foggy.

To avoid it, incorporate tempo and threshold workouts 1–2 times a week:

• Tempo runs: Medium-hard efforts where you can talk, but don’t want to.

• Threshold intervals: Longer reps like 3x10 minutes at tempo pace with short rests.

These workouts improve your ability to process lactate and push longer without crashing. Not sure what your threshold pace is? Use the calculator linked in the description of my video.

3. The 16-Week Marathon Plan: The 3-Act Structure

Break your training into 3 key blocks:

• Act 1: Base Building (Weeks 1-6)

• Act 2: Speed Development and Lactic Threshold (Weeks 7-12)

• Act 3: Marathon-Specific Steady Work (Weeks 13-16)

Think of your plan as a map, not GPS. Life happens. Adjust as needed. For example, after a hamstring injury, I swapped 3x15-minute threshold sessions for 8x2-minute reps. Still effective, just more manageable.

4. Chunking: How to Mentally Manage the Marathon

Mental strategy matters just as much as physical readiness. Chunk your training and your race:

• Long runs: Break them in half or add pickups in the middle.

• Speed workouts: Make them into games or mini challenges.

• Training blocks: Focus on specific goals each phase.

• Race day: Divide 26.2 miles into 3–4 mental segments.

Planning fallback options helps you stay flexible. If something goes wrong, you’ll know exactly how to pivot.

5. Mileage: Train Honestly, Not Heroically

Your weekly mileage should reflect your experience, goals, and injury history. Ask yourself:

• Have I run before?

• How long ago?

• What’s my current cardio volume?

A general range:

• Beginner: 30–40 miles/week

• Intermediate: 40–60 miles/week

• Advanced: 60–70+ miles/week

More miles isn’t always better. 40 smart miles > 70 random miles. Weight training counts too. Think like an athlete, not just a runner.

6. Mastering the Mental Game

Your brain runs the last 6 miles of the marathon. Build a mental race plan:

• Break the race into chunks.

• Write down how you want to feel at each point.

• Use present tense: "I am strong at mile 18."

• No pace or time goals—just feel-based check-ins.

This mental script becomes your internal coach when things get hard.

Final Thoughts

Training for your first marathon isn’t just about logging miles. It’s about strategy, structure, and mindset. If you want a complete 16-week plan with coaching and feedback—without the $200/month price tag—I run personalized and group coaching programs built just for runners like you. Check the link in the description or drop a comment if you’re curious.

Let’s get you to that finish line.