Masters (40+) Marathon Training Plans
"I will never again train without a plan! Your plan really helped me to train consistently."
CRT - Marathon
Is A Masters Marathon Plan Right For You?
Our Masters Marathon training plans are designed for runners over 40 years old. Although plenty of younger athletes love them too.
The workouts are just as tough as with our normal training plans, but with more scheduled recovery days. And more strength and conditioning work, so you stay strong and flexible.
Masters marathon runners face different challenges to younger athletes. Families, busy careers and lack of sleep are just a few. That said, not all over 40 runners require a Masters-specific training plan. Some find it easy to carry on with a normal training load, while others need to change their approach to training.
- Premium plans with coach support for any level
- FREE TASTER PDF versions of our shorter plans!
When to Consider Choosing a Masters Plan:
- Your training time availability is reduced with work and family commitments.
- You feel sleep deprived from daily stresses.
- Your body has different needs in terms of recovery, strength and flexibility training.
- You suffer recurrent injuries.
- You feel constantly fatigued or overwhelmed by your regular training.
- You keep catching colds and other viruses.
Can I Still Race Successfully?
Yes! In fact, by following our Masters running plans, you may well race better than ever. The key to success is training consistently, without missing workouts due to injury, fatigue or time limitations. It’s not always about who attempts the most training.
All our training plans adhere to the principle of “Progressive Overload”. Meaning that the stress placed upon your body gradually increases over time. By training consistently with regular recovery periods, you’re more likely to absorb the gradually increasing training loads, without breaking down.
How is a Masters Plan Different?
Rest and Recovery
Intensive marathon training will cause you muscle damage. As we mature it can (arguably) take longer for your muscles to adapt and remodel. This decline in rate of recovery will vary according to genetics and training history. Insufficient recovery time can lessen the effect of the workout and leave you more prone to injury. Masters Marathon plans have more rest days each week (1 or 2 days per week) and a 1:2 ratio of active recovery weeks to hard weeks (this is 1:3 in regular plans). That means you’ll do two weeks of challenging training, and then take an active recovery week (with around half the training stress).
Strength and Conditioning
As we get older, our muscle density begins to decline, and it becomes crucial to counter the effects of age-related muscle loss.
When you choose to follow Phil’s Marathon Masters plans, you can download the associated FREE Strength and Conditioning plan. These have two scheduled strength and conditioning workouts per week, designed to promote:
- Performance through improved strength and power.
- Increased muscle mass.
- Injury prevention by strengthening connective tissue, muscles, and tendons.
- Flexibility to maintain power through a full range of movement.
- Improved bone density.
- Fat-free body mass (a leaner physique).
All Strength and Conditioning workouts can be carried out at home. There are also alternative exercises if you prefer a gym based workout.
Training Intensities and Volume
Training intensely is the key to success in any sport, regardless of age. Strong performances come from having a solid base and workouts that maximise your anaerobic fitness, speed, power and skill. Evidence suggests that higher intensity work with less volume is beneficial for the Masters athlete, even for Marathon Training. Shorter, more intense workouts will also free up valuable time for recovery and work/family commitments. Masters plans optimise your training time with the right ratio of volume and intensity relevant to each plan.
Approach to Training
As an older athlete with a full life, prioritising is an essential skill. Ideally schedule your week, planning times for family, training, work and sleep. You should also be prepared for the curve balls that cause chaos in your best laid plans. Consistency in training is arguably the most important trait amongst successful Masters athletes. Here are some ideas to help you stick to your regime:
- Use your commute as an opportunity to train.
- Add in strength and conditioning at home, with the kids if necessary!
- If you can’t do a whole session, do part of it, something is always better than nothing.
- Commit to a lunchtime workout.
- Double up run workouts with Strength and Conditioning sessions and save showering twice.
- Life will occasionally get in the way and if you need to miss the odd workout, let it go and move on. It happens.
Top Training Tips For A Marathon
Running Tips
Total beginners should start off by aiming to run two or three times per week, starting with 15 or 20-minute runs. If running non-stop feels too hard for you initially, include periods of walking until you’re eventually fit enough to jog without stopping.
Then you can aim to increase the duration of your workouts by no more than 10% per week. If you ignore this, you increase your risk of getting injured. Your runs should not feel too intense at this stage either – ideally you should be able to talk while you’re running, as a way of knowing that you’re not going too hard. If not, slow down or include some walking sections.
Once you have built up to running 30 minutes comfortably, you can then base your training around three key runs per week. The first key weekly run should be a long one, where you slowly build up from doing 30 minutes, eventually right through to 2 hours 30 minutes of low intensity running. This could take you many months to accomplish, as you get fitter and fitter. Progress your long-run distances slowly and steadily, so that your body can adapt to the increasing demands. Don’t shortcut this process.
The second key run should be a speed session, with a warm up, a warm down and some harder efforts sandwiched in between – such as 4 x 4 minutes hard with 2-minute recoveries. These sessions will train you to run at any given pace for less effort.
Your third key weekly run should be a marathon race pace session. Aim to build up from 30 to 90 minutes, at your target marathon race pace. Any other runs you do in addition to your three key sessions should be steady jogs of 35 to 60 minutes.
If possible, do some of your running on soft surfaces like grass or trails, to reduce the impact on your body. Training on hillier terrain is good too, because it spreads the load to a wider range of muscle fibers, compared to running on flat ground. Always be mindful of avoiding injury – over half of all runners are injured every year. In our novice, intermediate and advanced marathon training plans we make every fourth week an “active recovery week” where the training is half as much as normal. This gives your body a chance to recover and get stronger, reducing your chances of getting injured.
Strength Training Tips
We include two sessions per week in our FREE Strength and Conditioning plans. These workouts can help improve your strength and flexibility, leading to more efficient movement patterns and fewer injuries. We suggest you only do strength work in addition to at least three runs per week, rather than instead of them.
Using A Marathon Training Plan
Online training plans are for athletes who don’t feel the need for a personal coach, but who still want the structure and planning of an expertly-written training program. Research has shown that you are twice as likely to reach your goals if you train with a structured plan.
If you have a recent background of fitness or sport, it could take you 20 to 24 weeks to get fit enough to conquer a marathon. If you’ve been more sedentary over the last few years, it’s harder to predict. Either way, you need to build up your training gradually over a period of months. Fitness improvements build up slowly and gradually, like coffee dripping through a filter into a jug. The key is to avoid injury, by building up slowly and steadily. There are no shortcuts.
Compatible with over 100 apps & devices, including:
Compatible with over 100
apps & devices, including:
Head Coach & Founder: Phil Mosley
Why Use Our Training Plans?
Flexible, structured training for any level
Research-backed plans for any experience-level that fit around your lifestyle. From leading endurance coach Phil Mosley.
The world's best training app
We use TrainingPeaks for personalised training zones, trackable progress and so much more - on any major training device.
Certified coach support (rated 4.9/5)
On top of full help-centre & FAQ support (with videos), our coaches will quickly reply to any questions you have about your plan via email!
1. Choose from over 35 plans from 6-39 weeks long
With beginner, intermediate, advanced, masters (40+) and off-season plans – we’ll have the perfect one for you.
2. Activate your free TrainingPeaks™️ account
A flexible calendar, targeted training zones, trackable progress and so much more – on any device.
3. Get your online plan and start ticking off sessions!
Keep motivated with any of your training questions answered quickly by our team of certified coaches!
About Phil Mosley
Phil is a recognised expert with over 20 years of experience, having featured on many endurance sports publications. He founded MyProCoach in 2010 to to offer the world’s most comprehensive range of online training plans, all designed to help you enjoy the same success that himself and his athletes have, while still making sure you have quality time for your family, friends and career.
Masters Marathon Plans (6-39 Weeks)
WITH FREE EMAIL COACH SUPPORT
We use TrainingPeaks to deliver your plan – the world’s most popular endurance coaching platform. Free to use, TrainingPeaks is an online calendar that lets you record, track and analyze your training sessions.
It has a host of great features allowing you to get as in-depth as you like, including the ability to export your workouts to your training devices (Garmin, Zwift, Apple Watch etc) and follow them in real time.
TrainingPeaks enables us to set you in-depth training plans in a way that other formats cannot. Phil Mosley is a Certified Coach and one of the best-selling coaches on the platform.
Whenever you need help with your training plan, we aim to respond to your emails within 24-hours. Our Certified coaching team are on hand to answer any questions during the first use of your plan, plus a bonus three months after its completion.
During checkout, please also share your email so I can send you a series of 5 helpful emails to get you started.
As you can understand, some limits apply (for example, we can’t analyse your data or edit your training plan) but for anything else relevant to your training, we would love to help. You also have full access to our online help centre, with videos and articles to help you train effectively.
We have a huge range of plans that enables you to select one that best meets your goals, schedule and ability. If you’re not sure where to start, read on below for a quick overview.
What type?
Our Standard and Masters plans are designed to get you ready for your target event, while our Off-Season plans are designed to allow you to recover from a tough season whilst maintaining your well-earned fitness. Generally, Masters plans are designed for athletes over 40 years old, although plenty of younger athletes love them too. The workouts are just as tough as with our standard training plans, but with more scheduled recovery days. Some find it easy to carry on with a normal training load, while others need to change their approach to training.
What length?
For the best outcome, count back from your “A” target race date and simply choose a plan to fill that gap (you can still work in other, smaller races during your plan). Note that longer plans start easier and progress more gradually than shorter plans. The body responds best to constant, gradual progression with regular recovery periods, and that’s exactly what our plans are designed to give you!
What level?
Choosing the correct level will help you get the most out of your plan. Generally, if you’ve never done this event before or currently train up to a few times per week, you might consider a Beginner plan. Alternatively, if you’ve done this event many times before or currently train 5+ times a week, you might consider an Advanced plan.
But don’t worry too much – we also let you swap the level for free within 14 days of purchase, if you find it too easy/hard!
Visit the MyProCoach Help Center for further guidance and to contact our Certified coaching team.
Certainly! Our training plans allow you to easily swap a few days around each week to suit your availability. Or you can swap out a session, to attend a similar group workout instead. That’s fine. If you opt for TrainingPeaks Premium (from $9.92 per month) you can even drag & drop your workouts onto different days. We give a few recommendations on how to best do this in our help centre.
And you can also train for multiple events! Our training plans guide you up to your target “A” race, but it’s also good to include some “B or C” races along the way. Our help centre goes through the exact steps you should take to enable you to get full benefit, without detracting from your key focus
Trial Us With Our FREE TASTER Plans! (8- And 12-Week PDFs Only)
- No coach support, personal intensity zones or tracking software
- Standard (non-masters) version only
Beginner (6-39wks)
Perfect for your first Marathon-
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Intuitive tracking software
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Help centre & FAQ support
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Email access to coach
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From just $2.72/week!
Intermediate (6-39wks)
For seasoned runners-
Premium, flexible plan
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Intuitive tracking software
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Help centre & FAQ support
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Email access to coach
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From just $2.72/week!
Advanced (6-39wks)
Slash your race-times-
Premium, flexible plan
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Intuitive tracking software
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Help centre & FAQ support
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Email access to coach
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From just $2.72/week!
Join Over 40,000 Successful Athletes
- Rudi VittoriIRONMAN 70.3, July 2019Great coach and great support organization I'm 63 years old and on 26th of may I completed my first IronMan 70.3 in St. Pölten (Austria). I managed to finish the race only thanks to your plan and your personal support and for this I wanted to thank you. You are a great coach15 Jul 2019Boris IliykovIRONMAN 70.3, September 2019My best performance and my new personal best Never felt so good on a race day before. I was well prepared thanks to the advanced 70.3 plan and had my best swim/bike/run splits and even with a flat tire I was able to achieve a new personal best. The plan was well structured with the idea of training... >> read moreNever felt so good on a race day before. I was well prepared thanks to the advanced 70.3 plan and had my best swim/bike/run splits and even with a flat tire I was able to achieve a new personal best. The plan was well structured with the idea of training smart not long and and I was able to push hard for the entire race. Thank you! << read less22 Sep 2019Chris SharkeyIRONMAN 70.3, December 2019Thank you! Just wanted to thank you for the training plan and your advice through the plan. I have just completed the Bahrain IRONMAN 70.3 and had a wonderful day. I smiled all the way through it. It was my first triathlon and was delighted with a time of just under 6 hours.09 Dec 2019
- AlexIRONMAN, July 2019Thanks so much for your plan! Hi Phil, I would never have expected to improve so much in only 12 weeks. Your training plan (IM Intermediate, 12 wks) allowed me to improve my own record on IM70.3 by 25min to reach 4H51 at Les Sables d'Olonne and my IM record by almost 2 hours to reach... >> read moreHi Phil, I would never have expected to improve so much in only 12 weeks. Your training plan (IM Intermediate, 12 wks) allowed me to improve my own record on IM70.3 by 25min to reach 4H51 at Les Sables d'Olonne and my IM record by almost 2 hours to reach 10H48 at Roth. I am so happy with those achievements that I now decided to try a marathon plan for the end of my season. Next year, I will target to qualify for IM70.3 world championship and will definitely use your plan again! Thanks, Alex << read less12 Jul 2019AndréanneIRONMAN 140.6, September 2019I am so proud, I finished with a BIG smile! Hello to the whole coaching team @ myprocoach.net! A very quick note just to say a big THANK YOU! This Saturday, I just finished my first IM distance Triathlon in Almere (Nederlands) in 11:22. It was such an amazing event, and I am so proud I finished it with a... >> read moreHello to the whole coaching team @ myprocoach.net! A very quick note just to say a big THANK YOU! This Saturday, I just finished my first IM distance Triathlon in Almere (Nederlands) in 11:22. It was such an amazing event, and I am so proud I finished it with a BIG smile! I have followed your intermediate IM training plan and it guided me through a smooth, injury free (!) and constant evolution toward that big race. I wanted to ensure I share this and say a big thanks the whole team for getting me there, 😉 All the best and continue the great work! Andreanne << read less18 Sep 2019Christina RoehrenbeckIronman 70.3 Luxemburg, July 2019Perfect plan for my first 70.3 I used Phil's Novice 70.3 plan (28 weeks) to prepare for my first ever 70.3 in Luxemburg. My goal: finish with a smile. Being a slower athlete (sometimes THE slowest) I always struggled with finding a plan that would fit my needs: it would have to take my slower paces... >> read moreI used Phil's Novice 70.3 plan (28 weeks) to prepare for my first ever 70.3 in Luxemburg. My goal: finish with a smile. Being a slower athlete (sometimes THE slowest) I always struggled with finding a plan that would fit my needs: it would have to take my slower paces into account but still would have to prepare me for a race longer than 7 hours. It actually was my first plan I purchased from Phil. It worked out perfectly for me! Distances and duration, even of the longer sessions, were totally fine for me and when needed paces and the plan itself were adjustable to my needs. Still, I was training for a middle distance so there definetely is some work to do but it was totally managable, also in between my every day life and job. And after some ups and downs on race day I crossed the finish line in Luxemburg. << read less23 Jul 2019
- KatSprint Triathlon, September 2019First Place! I’ve been using your plans for the last 2 seasons (both tri and an off-season half marathon last year). Results of my last race this weekend, thank you!18 Sep 2019Kerry SmithLoved everything about it I followed the beginner Olympic triathlon program and loved it. At first it felt like I wasn’t doing enough, but soon realised I had been over training and by following Phil’s sweet spot training I actually started getting faster and stronger even though by time I was doing less. I... >> read moreI followed the beginner Olympic triathlon program and loved it. At first it felt like I wasn’t doing enough, but soon realised I had been over training and by following Phil’s sweet spot training I actually started getting faster and stronger even though by time I was doing less. I managed to catch a cold the week of my event, but despite this I was able to compete and finished the event within my time goal (less than 3hrs 30) and recovered well the next day. I felt strong throughout the event (well, except the last 3k which were up a very rude hill), and had confidence in my race pace and nutrition strategy which came with the training. I emailed the coaches several times in my training and the replies were prompt and very thorough. I also loved that the training sync’d to my Garmin watch and prompted me live during training. I’ve just downloaded the intermediate program and plan to try another Olympic in 6 weeks time and see if I can do it a bit quicker! Thank you, the plan was brilliant! << read less22 Feb 2020Dan ForerIRONMAN 70.3, May 2020Quality: Intermediate 70.3 Quality Ironman 70.3 intermediate plan. I recommend it! I’m an amateur with 10yrs of competitive Tri and duathlon racing at world level in the past. I’m also experienced in training with no plan and a few extra kgs - this doesn’t work. I’ve trained in squads, on generic plans, dedicated... >> read moreQuality Ironman 70.3 intermediate plan. I recommend it! I’m an amateur with 10yrs of competitive Tri and duathlon racing at world level in the past. I’m also experienced in training with no plan and a few extra kgs - this doesn’t work. I’ve trained in squads, on generic plans, dedicated one-to-one coaching in that time with various approaches from sprint to full Ironman. So I’ve seen a lot what what is out there. This plan is quality. On reading I could tell it was very good. The difficulty as intermediate is well placed. Its suitable challenging for someone with racing background but who’s been out of the game for a short while too. The plan is centred around initial tests to baseline your ability, so in this regard it is personalised to your ability. As the athlete, you must still use your smarts to listen to your body when training but on this plan I felt the fatigue was always well managed. The plan in Training Peaks is brilliant. Full description of each session automatically customised to the required intensity using your previous test results. The plan is also periodised into build and peak phases with a clear distinction in the type of training in each phase with progressive adaptation of sessions within the phases. It’s very well thought out. You are also able to re-use the plan in Training Peaks which is ideal especially when unforeseen events occur like race cancellations and you need to restart or just aim for another race date. The results. I’ve seen significant improvements across swim, bike and run. Biggest gains being on the bike! I’ve also followed the strength and conditioning sessions in the plan so injury prevention and support for better person is handled by this aspect. The team is also very supportive and motivating via social channels. They really take an interest in the athletes who purchase their plans. So be sure to follow myprocoach on FB and insta. I highly recommended this plan, so get it and shift your attention to picking the race now! << read less21 May 2020
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*on average athletes use their plan twice (our plans can be activated multiple times for free)
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