I’m using the Hal Higdon Novice program from the beginning of May for my marathon in September - I fugire I still need to work up my fitness towards that and don’t want to rush anything.

Hi. I use Hal’s beginner program and love it. I am doing the police half which falls pretty much on the weeken that hal asks for a similar distance so its a perfect race for midway to the Calgary Marathon.

Happy Training.

I have used several of Hal Higdon’s programs in the past and loved them. He does a wonderful job of breaking down what to do and explaining how hard to push yourself during each kind of workout. This is especially useful for the novice level or people who haven’t really used training programs before.
Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do well!

Jesslyn

I like the FIRST plan from Furman State (Runners world August Issue). It has three workouts a week, which is good for injury-prone people. The indications are that running less but doing quality workouts is much more likely to get you to the start line without nagging tweaks.

Just another suggestion

Good luck on your marathon!

I used a similar plan for my first half-marathon. I am currently prepping for a full marathon,
and am doing 3 easy days, one day of slight hills at an easy pace, one day of speedwork, and
one long run each week. That way, I can alternate easy and harder runs, and change my routine
a little bit for variety.

When the actual marathon hits, I am currently planning on running for nine minutes, then
walking for one minute, running nine minutes, etc. I’ve seen a lot of advice that short walks
can actually improve your overall time, and make the long races much easier.

Since my marathon is in April, I could always let you know how well (or how poorly) my plan worked.