Popular marathon training plans differ most in weekly mileage, running frequency, workout intensity, long-run structure, and recovery. Choose an approach whose starting point and weekly demands fit your recent training, available time, and goals.
Each approach prepares you for the same 26.2 miles by organizing the work differently. A marathon plan is a system: the long run, weekly mileage, workouts, and recovery days work together. A session that makes sense in one system can mean something very different in another.
This guide compares eight published marathon training plans, plus three broader philosophies you will often hear runners discussing: Lydiard, MAF and Norwegian threshold training. We will cover what each emphasizes, the practical tradeoffs, and how you can bring your preferred approach into Toga.
Marathon training plans at a glance
Most plans come in several levels, so comparing one author’s beginner plan with another’s advanced plan isn’t a fair fight. To compare like with like, this table uses each plan’s version for an experienced runner peaking around 55 to 60 miles a week, the level of Pfitzinger’s popular 18/55. FIRST and Galloway don’t scale to that volume, so their most demanding versions appear instead. Lydiard, MAF and Norwegian threshold training are philosophies rather than published plans, so they’re covered separately below.
| Plan (version compared) | Plan length | Run days / week | Peak weekly mileage | Longest long run | Hard sessions / week | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pfitzinger (18/55) | 18 weeks | 5–6 | 55 mi | 20 mi | 1–2, plus long and medium-long runs | Runners who respond well to volume and have time for a midweek medium-long run |
| Hal Higdon (Advanced 1) | 18 weeks | 6 | About 55–60 mi | 20 mi, three times | 2 (speedwork and marathon pace), plus the long run | Runners who want a simple, familiar weekly rhythm |
| Hansons (Advanced) | 18 weeks | 6 | About 62 mi | 16 mi | 2 (speed or strength, and marathon-pace tempo), plus the long run | Runners who like running most days and handle cumulative fatigue well |
| Jack Daniels (2Q, 41–55 mi tier) | 18 weeks | 5–7, flexible | 55 mi | Capped by time, about 2.5 hours | 2, one usually built into the long run | Runners who like precise, pace-based workouts |
| McMillan (Level 5, Advanced) | 12–16 weeks | 5–7 | 55–80 mi | 2+ hours, with fast-finish long runs | 2, plus the long run | Runners who want a plan matched to their speed or endurance strengths |
| 80/20 Running (Marathon Level 3) | 18 weeks | 7, with doubles | About 11 hours (time-based) | Time-based | About 20% of training time | Runners whose easy days drift too fast |
| FIRST (marathon plan) | 16 weeks | 3, plus 2 cross-training | Under 40 mi of running | 20 mi | 3 (every run is a key session) | Runners with limited run days who like cross-training |
| Jeff Galloway (time-goal plan) | About 30 weeks | 3 | Low | 26+ mi, run/walk | 1, on alternate weekends | Runners who want walk breaks built into training and racing |
The major marathon training approaches
Hal Higdon: a straightforward build
Higdon’s plans are a familiar starting point for first-time marathoners. His Novice 1 plan lasts 18 weeks, with four running days, one cross-training day, and two rest days in a typical week. The longest run builds to 20 miles, with regular cutback weeks along the way.
The emphasis is on establishing a routine and gradually extending endurance. The novice approach has relatively little formal speedwork; Higdon’s more advanced plans add different demands, so “a Higdon plan” does not always mean beginner training. His Advanced 1 plan, the version in our table, runs six days a week, peaks in the high 50s, and pairs weekly speedwork and marathon-pace runs with three 20-milers.
Who might like it: A first-time marathoner who wants a clear schedule without lots of pace calculations.
The tradeoff: With fewer weekday miles, the long run can account for a substantial portion of weekly training. Look at how long that outing will take at your pace, alongside the distance on the page.
Hansons: the whole week matters
The Hansons Marathon Method, developed by Keith and Kevin Hanson and explained with Luke Humphrey, is often reduced to “the plan with the 16-mile long run.” Its defining idea is actually cumulative fatigue: consistent training across the week, with a balance of easy mileage, faster work, marathon-pace running, and long runs. The standard plans build to six running days. The authors’ overview explains how those pieces fit together.
The familiar 16-mile cap belongs to particular schedules. Humphrey emphasizes that neither 16 nor 20 miles is a magic number; duration and the rest of the week’s volume matter. Also, the “tempo” runs in this system are generally at marathon pace, which differs from how some other coaches use that word.
Who might like it: A runner who enjoys frequent running and wants endurance spread throughout the week.
The tradeoff: Taking the shorter long run while skipping the supporting mileage changes the system. Accumulating fatigue also requires sensible effort control; exhaustion is not the goal.
Pfitzinger: substantial endurance and specific preparation
Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas’s Advanced Marathoning organizes plans by training duration and weekly mileage. The shorthand “18/55,” for example, refers to an 18-week schedule peaking at 55 miles per week, about 89 kilometers. That is a peak, not the mileage for every week.
The approach combines long runs, midweek medium-long runs, threshold sessions, marathon-pace work, and recovery running. Aerobic endurance gets attention throughout the week. The authors explicitly discuss the value, and scheduling challenge, of the midweek run in their guidance on adjusting the plans.
Who might like it: A runner with an established base who enjoys volume and has room for longer weekday sessions.
The tradeoff: Check the ordinary training weeks as carefully as the peak mileage. The time to run, eat, sleep, and recover needs to fit your life before choosing a higher-volume tier.
Jack Daniels: a purpose for every pace
Daniels’s framework distinguishes easy, marathon, threshold, interval, and repetition work. His VDOT system uses current race performance to help establish training paces, with a different purpose for each intensity.
Among the marathon options in Daniels’ Running Formula, the well-known 2Q program organizes each week around two quality sessions. Easy running supplies the surrounding mileage. A quality day can combine substantial easy running with marathon-pace or threshold segments; it is not necessarily a short track workout.
Who might like it: A runner who likes knowing what each session is meant to develop and appreciates flexibility in arranging easy mileage.
The tradeoff: Two quality days can still be a lot of work. Choose an appropriate volume level, preserve recovery between sessions, and set paces from your current ability rather than the marathon time you hope to run months from now.
Jeff Galloway: walking as part of the strategy
Galloway’s Run Walk Run method uses planned walking breaks from early in a session. The run/walk ratio is part of the pacing strategy, rather than something introduced only when you can no longer run continuously. His marathon guidance explains how the approach fits into long-run preparation.
This gives runners a different way to manage effort and break a long distance into repeatable pieces. Run/walk methods can support both completion goals and time goals, depending on the program and athlete.
Who might like it: A runner who prefers regular walk breaks, wants a manageable rhythm, or finds continuous long runs daunting.
The tradeoff: Walking does not make marathon preparation effortless. Some Galloway schedules include very long outings, so check the time commitment and practice the intended run/walk pattern before race day.
FIRST: three runs, with cross-training doing real work
The Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training’s approach, described in Run Less, Run Faster, centers on three running sessions: intervals, a tempo run, and a long run. It pairs them with two aerobic cross-training sessions. Furman’s own explanation makes clear that the cross-training is an important part of the program.
Each run has a defined job and prescribed paces.
Who might like it: A runner who enjoys cross-training and wants it built into marathon preparation.
The tradeoff: Three runs still add up to a five-session week. The concentrated intensity may not suit a runner who struggles to recover from demanding sessions.
80/20 Running: keep the easy training easy
Popularized by Matt Fitzgerald, 80/20 Running emphasizes doing roughly 80 percent of training at low intensity and the remaining portion at moderate to high intensity. In 80/20 Endurance’s plans, that balance is primarily about training time, not simply counting easy and hard runs. Their explanation of intensity balance and time-versus-distance guidance explain the distinction.
This is both a principle and a family of structured plans. It can overlap with other approaches: a plan with threshold or marathon-pace workouts can still contain predominantly easy running.
Who might like it: A runner whose easy days tend to creep faster, or who wants a clearer boundary between easy work and quality work.
The tradeoff: A percentage does not tell you how much total training you can handle. Nor does it mean the harder portion should be all-out. Volume, long runs, progression, and recovery still need a plan.
McMillan: match the training to the runner
Greg McMillan’s system offers plans for different experience levels and runner types, recognizing that athletes respond differently to speed and endurance work. His marathon training guide combines consistent mileage, workout variety, goal-pace practice, fueling rehearsal, and strength and mobility work.
A recognizable element is the fast-finish long run, introduced in the appropriate stage of preparation and alternated with easier long runs. The aim is to practice running well late in an outing, with demands scaled to the athlete.
Who might like it: Someone who enjoys variety and wants to account for their strengths and weaknesses when choosing a plan.
The tradeoff: Select the appropriate version. A long run with a faster finish is a quality session, and needs to be counted that way when organizing the rest of the week.
Three philosophies to know about
These shape a lot of modern training, but none is a single published plan you can follow week by week, so they aren’t in the table above.
Lydiard: build the foundation, then sharpen
Arthur Lydiard’s influence runs through many modern training systems. His approach emphasizes aerobic development first, then successive phases of hill strength, faster work, integration, and tapering toward a goal race. The Lydiard Foundation’s principles also emphasize learning to read effort and adjusting recovery to your response.
The useful idea is the sequence: each phase prepares you for the next. It is broader than a single marathon calendar and does not require every recreational runner to copy an elite athlete’s mileage.
Who might like it: A runner thinking beyond one race who wants to build a durable aerobic foundation and understand how a season fits together.
The tradeoff: Give the foundation time. Compressing several developmental phases into the final weeks before a marathon misses much of the point of the approach.
MAF / Maffetone: aerobic development with a heart-rate ceiling
Phil Maffetone’s method emphasizes low-intensity aerobic development, often guided by his 180 Formula: 180 minus age, with adjustments for health and training history. The intention is to build aerobic fitness while keeping effort controlled.
It can appeal to runners who need a concrete reason to slow down. However, the formula is a guideline, not a personal laboratory measurement, and heart rate responds to factors beyond pace. MAF and 80/20 are also different ideas: an aerobic-only base period is different from a plan that deliberately includes harder work. You still need to decide how to progress long runs and prepare for the marathon itself.
Norwegian threshold training: controlled, repeatable quality
The Norwegian approach associated with Marius Bakken emphasizes carefully controlled threshold work, often using lactate measurements, alongside substantial easy running. Elite versions may include two threshold sessions in a day. Bakken’s description of the model explains the reasoning and explicitly notes that marathon preparation needs more continuous work than shorter events.
For a recreational marathoner, the useful takeaway is the discipline of repeatable, controlled sessions. Adapting that principle does not require copying an elite double-threshold week. Threshold fitness still needs to be combined with long-run durability, marathon-specific preparation, and enough recovery. Adding more threshold sessions to an already demanding marathon plan changes the total training load.
What actually matters when choosing a plan?
The names help you navigate, but these questions usually tell you more about whether a plan will work for you:
- Does the starting point match your recent training? Compare the opening weeks with what you have been consistently doing, including running frequency and long-run duration.
- Where does the work sit in the week? Four shorter weekday runs, a medium-long Wednesday, and two substantial quality sessions are different scheduling commitments, even at similar weekly mileage.
- How much of the long run is demanding? An easy long run and one with marathon-pace segments can have the same distance and very different recovery needs.
- What does the plan expect outside the runs? Cross-training, strength, fueling, and recovery take time too. FIRST is an especially clear example of why the run count alone is misleading.
- Will you enjoy following it? Some runners love precise splits. Others prefer effort, heart rate, or run/walk intervals. Those preferences matter over months of training.
Read the definitions in the plan you choose. “Tempo” can mean marathon pace in one system and threshold effort in another. Likewise, one system’s “Zone 2” is not automatically identical to another’s. Our running pace calculator can help translate distances, times, and paces, but use the chosen method’s definitions to understand a workout’s purpose.
Be thoughtful about combining approaches. Taking a demanding session from each favorite plan can create a week none of their authors intended. Borrow an idea because it serves your training, and account for what it replaces.
Toga’s philosophy: consistency, purpose, and the individual runner
Toga’s default coaching approach draws on principles shared across many successful training systems:
- Easy running builds the foundation. Most training should support aerobic development without compromising the next important session.
- Each workout has a purpose. For marathon preparation, that means prioritizing long-run endurance, threshold development, marathon-pace work, and fueling practice as appropriate for your experience.
- Consistency comes first. Training should build from your history and fit a schedule you can sustain.
- Specificity develops over time. Early preparation establishes a foundation; later training increasingly addresses the demands of your race.
- Recovery belongs in the plan. Easy days and rest days make room to adapt to the work.
- Your preferences and feedback matter. Effort, terrain, weather, and how you are responding provide context for the numbers on the calendar.
Toga uses your goals, training history, schedule, preferences, and injury context to shape an AI-generated plan. Strength and prehab can be included too. As you train, your completed activities and feedback help inform adjustments.
Those principles give Toga a starting point. You can also ask it to build around any of the approaches in this guide.
How to train with your preferred philosophy in Toga
Bring your plan or describe your approach
During onboarding, Toga asks whether you are already following a particular training plan or philosophy. Choose “Yes, I have something I want to follow” to describe it. You can optionally attach a photo or PDF of your plan.
Be specific about what you want to preserve. A plan name helps; its version, weekly structure, and the parts you value help more. For example:
- “I’m following Pfitzinger 18/55. Here is my plan. I want to keep the midweek medium-long run, but my long runs need to be on Saturdays.”
- “I like the Hansons approach and can run six days per week. Build from my current mileage, with the long run balanced against the rest of the week.”
- “I prefer Daniels-style training with two quality days. Help me set the workout paces from my current fitness.”
- “I want to use Galloway-style run/walk intervals in training and on race day. Help me build up the long outings.”
- “I want a FIRST-inspired schedule with three running days and two bike sessions. Include the cross-training when planning my week.”
- “I like 80/20’s emphasis on easy running, and I want most of my training time to stay easy.”
You can describe the same preferences for a Lydiard-style base, McMillan-inspired preparation, a MAF aerobic phase, or controlled Norwegian-style threshold work. Tell Toga what you mean by the label, how much you currently train, and what your week can accommodate.
Review how the approach fits your circumstances
Toga uses the material you share as a reference for your plan’s structure, philosophy, and workout types. Review the resulting schedule, especially the training frequency, long runs, quality sessions, and recovery days. If a defining element matters to you, say so.
Following a philosophy and reproducing a published schedule are different requests. Toga personalizes training around your circumstances; a request for a named method is not a guarantee of a verbatim version of its official plan. Providing the actual plan and explaining which details matter gives Toga a clearer reference.
Some preferences also need reconciling. A six-day running system cannot keep its original structure on three running days. Toga can help you adapt the underlying ideas and understand the compromise.
Keep the conversation going as you train
You can ask the Toga coach to move or modify workouts, change training settings, and adjust the broader plan. Give it context: how a session felt, what time you have available, or which parts of the approach you want to retain.
For example: “I’m traveling Thursday. Help me move my quality session while keeping enough easy running between hard days.” Or: “The long runs are taking more out of me than expected. Can we review the weekly load while keeping the overall philosophy?”
If you have no preferred method, choose “No, let’s start fresh” during onboarding. Toga can build from your goals and experience, and you can refine the approach as you learn what works for you.
The best fit is a plan you understand, can recover from, and can keep following. Pick the ideas that resonate with you, give them a coherent structure, and leave room to respond to the training.
Last updated September 29, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Pick the plan whose first week looks like your current week. First marathon on 15 to 25 miles a week: Higdon Novice 1 or Galloway. Running 30 to 40 miles with a time goal: Hansons Beginner or Pfitzinger 18/55. Only three days to run: FIRST, as long as you do the cross-training.
Hansons spreads the work across six running days and caps the long run at 16 miles. Pfitzinger builds endurance with 20 to 22 mile long runs plus a midweek medium-long run. Daniels centers each week on two quality sessions at precise VDOT paces. Hansons is the most frequent, Pfitzinger the most volume, Daniels the most pace-driven.
No. Higdon, Pfitzinger and FIRST build to 20 miles or more, but Hansons caps the long run at 16 because you run it on tired legs inside a six-day week. Time on your feet matters more than the number: many coaches cap long runs around 2.5 to 3 hours, so slower runners may top out below 20.
Yes. FIRST uses three runs a week, intervals, a tempo run and a long run up to 20 miles, plus two aerobic cross-training sessions. Galloway plans also use three run days, with walk breaks built in. Every run carries more weight, so three-day plans work best when you do the cross-training and recover well between sessions.
About 80 percent of your training time is at low intensity and 20 percent at moderate to high intensity. It is measured by time, not by counting runs. For most runners, it means slowing easy days down so hard sessions can be truly hard. It is an intensity rule, not a full plan with mileage or long runs.
Most running should be easy, every workout should have a purpose, and race-specific work like marathon pace and fueling practice should build toward race day. Toga starts from your training history, schedule and goal, then adjusts the plan based on your completed runs and feedback, including pulling back when you need recovery.
Yes. During onboarding, choose “Yes, I have something I want to follow,” describe the plan, and attach a photo or PDF if you have one. Say what to keep, like Pfitzinger's midweek medium-long run, and what to change. Toga personalizes it to your schedule and fitness, so it will not be an exact copy of the published plan.