As the year draws to a close, runners wrapping up the 2025 season will also be looking ahead to the 2026 marathon season.
Several domestic World Athletics Gold and Platinum Label races have already been scheduled on their official websites — is your target race among them? Which exact day will be the first day of your training for next season?
If you haven't made detailed plans yet, take a look at some of our estimates. Generally speaking,marathon training plans are often structured in cycles of 4 weeks,12 weeks,16 weeks and 20 weeks as typical cycle lengths. For runners with plenty of time, longer cycles are better. If time is really limited, even a 4-week block can serve as last-minute preparation.
A preparation training cycle is generally divided into four different phases: the base training phase, the capacity-building phase, the capacity-enhancement phase, and the taper/recovery phase. 16-20 weeks can basicallyprogressively complete the four phases above. With 12 weeks you will usually shorten the base phase; with 4 weeks you’re basically on your own, hoping to achieve a pre-race“race-day activation”.
So, start training early — wehave prepared a 2026 domestic full marathon race calendar (World Athletics Gold or Platinum Label) with preparation dates. Don’t ask me why Xiamen Marathon isn’t listed — since we’re only putting this together now, even a last-minute push would probably be too late.
Previously, Paoye released full marathon SUB 400, SUB 330, and SUB 300 training plans. If you’re targeting one of these, search “课表” on the Paoye Da Baozha WeChat official account to view the complete plan details.
How long would you prepare for a marathon, and how would you structure your training during that time? Leave a comment to share and discuss with everyone.
