Marathon training plan for beginners: your first marathon in 18 weeks

Your first marathon in 18 weeks: the prerequisites you need, how the long run grows safely to just under 30 km, how to fuel and why the taper matters.

Daniel Gruber · 18 October 2026 · 6 min read

Marathon training plan for beginners: your first marathon in 18 weeks

In short

Before starting the plan you should be running two to four times a week and have occasionally covered 15 to 18 km in one go (source: Runner's World).
Runners doing less than 30 km a week before a marathon had twice the injury risk (source: Rasmussen et al. 2013). The long run should never grow more than ten percent beyond your longest so far (source: Frandsen et al. 2025).
A strict three-week taper made recreational marathoners a median 5:32 minutes faster (source: Smyth and Lawlor 2021).

For most recreational runners, a marathon is the big goal. The good news: you don't need to be fast, you need to be well prepared. This plan takes you to your first marathon in 18 weeks with four runs a week. It shows which prerequisites you should bring, how the long run grows safely, how to fuel along the way and why the last three weeks matter so much.

Are you ready for a marathon plan?

A marathon plan isn't a way to start running; it builds on a foundation. Runner's World names two prerequisites for a first marathon: you should have been jogging regularly two to four times a week for a while, and you should occasionally have run longer runs of 15 to 18 kilometres. If you're over 35, get a medical check first (source: Runner's World).

Weekly volume counts too. A study of 662 finishers of a Danish marathon found that runners doing less than 30 kilometres a week before the race had twice the injury risk of those running 30 to 60 kilometres (source: Rasmussen et al. 2013, International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy). The authors therefore recommend at least 30 kilometres a week.

If you can't yet run 15 kilometres in one go, a half marathon is the better next goal. After one season with it, you'll have the base for a marathon.

How the plan works

The plan lasts 18 weeks, just like Hal Higdon's well-known "Novice 1" plan for first-time marathoners. The key principles are similar too: four runs a week, every third week a bit easier, a half marathon as a test at the halfway point and a three-week taper before the race (source: halhigdon.com).

Each week you run:

two easy runs of 6 to 10 kilometres at conversational pace,
one run with changes of pace of 8 to 12 kilometres, for example as a fartlek with several faster stretches,
one long run at the weekend, very easy.

The long runs are slow, and that's deliberate. As Hal Higdon puts it, there's no such thing as too slow on a long run (source: halhigdon.com).

The long run: week by week

The long run is the heart of the plan, and it's where most mistakes happen. A large study of 5,205 runners showed that the biggest risk isn't weekly volume but the single run that's much longer than anything before: when a run was 10 to 30 percent longer than the longest of the previous 30 days, the injury rate rose by 64 percent (source: Frandsen et al. 2025, British Journal of Sports Medicine). That's why the long run here never grows by more than ten percent.

Week	Long run	Note
1	14 km	start
2	15 km
3	12 km	easier week
4	16.5 km
5	18 km
6	14 km	easier week
7	19.5 km
8	Half marathon	race test, don't run it all-out
9	15 km	easier week
10	23 km	try out your fuelling
11	25 km
12	18 km	easier week
13	27 km
14	20 km	easier week
15	29.5 km	longest run
16	22 km	taper begins
17	16 km
18	Marathon

The distances are a guide. If you were ill for a week, don't make anything up; pick up again with the last long run before the break.

Run the half marathon in week 8 as a test, not as a personal-best attempt. It shows you what crowded starts, aid stations and your race pace feel like. You'll find suitable dates in our half marathon calendar 2027.

Fuelling: practise in training

For most recreational runners a marathon takes well over three hours; the global average finish time in 2018 was 4:29:53 (source: RunRepeat). You can't do that without fuelling along the way. For efforts of two to three hours, sports science gives up to about 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. Your body only absorbs more if you use mixtures of glucose and fructose (source: Jeukendrup 2014, Sports Medicine). Above all: try gels and drinks on your long runs, and don't use anything new on race day (source: Runner's World).

Tapering: three weeks of less

In the last three weeks you run much less so your body can recover. It pays off: an analysis of 158,117 recreational marathon runners found that a strict three-week taper made runners a median 5 minutes 32 seconds faster than barely reducing training, which is 2.6 percent (source: Smyth and Lawlor 2021, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living).

On race day

Start slower than you feel. After three weeks of tapering you'll feel fresh, and the atmosphere at the start will pull you along. The first kilometres decide how the last ones feel.
Walk through the aid stations. Hal Higdon recommends walking through aid stations rather than drinking on the run (source: halhigdon.com). You lose hardly any time and drink more.
Your plan, your fuel. Stick to what worked in training.

Which marathon to pick first?

If you want to race in spring, start in early December: for the Deutsche Post Marathon Bonn on 11 April 2027, week 1 begins on 7 December 2026, and for the Uniper Düsseldorf Marathon on 18 April a week later. For the Generali Köln Marathon on 3 October 2027, the plan starts at the end of May. All dates are in our marathon calendar 2027, with details on the Rhineland races on the pages for the Cologne Marathon, Düsseldorf Marathon and Bonn Marathon.

Long runs in a group

Running three hours on your own is tough. In a group the time passes faster, and the easy pace almost takes care of itself because you're talking. Some running groups offer a long, easy run at the weekend. You'll find groups near you in Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Check the prerequisites Run regularly two to four times a week, occasionally 15 to 18 km in one go, ideally at least 30 km a week. Over 35: get a medical check first.
Weeks 1–7: base Four runs a week; the long run grows from 14 to 19.5 km, and every third week is easier.
Week 8: half marathon test A half marathon race, but not run all-out.
Weeks 9–15: long runs The long run grows to just under 30 km, never more than ten percent beyond your longest so far. Practise your fuelling.
Weeks 16–18: taper and race Three weeks of much less running, then start slowly on race day and walk through the aid stations.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to prepare for a first marathon?

Hal Higdon's well-known beginner plan lasts 18 weeks, just like this one. Before that you should have been running regularly for a while and occasionally covered 15 to 18 km in one go.

How long should my longest training run be before a marathon?

In this plan just under 30 km, three weeks before the race. More important than the exact number is that the long run grows step by step and is never much longer than your longest so far.

How many kilometres a week do I need for a marathon?

A Danish study recommends at least 30 km a week: runners doing less had twice the injury risk.

What should I eat during a marathon?

For efforts of two to three hours, research suggests up to about 60 g of carbohydrate per hour, more only with glucose-fructose mixtures. Try gels and drinks on your long runs first.