Sub-Elite Marathon Training Plan: 16 Weeks, 120 km Peak, 2:20 to 2:45

A sub-elite marathon plan runs 16 weeks at six runs a week, peaks at 120 km, and holds 34 km long runs for most of the build. It fits runners whose races predict a 2:20 to 2:45 marathon: roughly a 14:30 to 17:15 5k, or a half marathon between about 1:07 and 1:19.

The 16 weeks

Sample plan · Sub-elite marathon

16 weeks, 6 runs a week, peak 121 km, longest run 35 km. Built for a recent 5k of 16:00 (VDOT 64.6). 84 % of the running is easy.

BaseBuildPeakTaper

Week	Km	Key sessions	Long run
1 Base	73	Easy running only	32 km long run
2 Base	78	Easy running only	35 km long run + strides
3 Base	84	Easy running only	34 km long run
4 Base, recovery	66	Progression run: 16 min M · 16 min T	30 km long run
5 Base	92	Cruise intervals: 4 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog)	34 km long run
6 Base	99	Tempo run: 25 min T	35 km long run + strides
7 Build	105	Cruise intervals: 5 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog); Long intervals: 4 × 3 min I (3 min jog)	34 km long run
8 Build, recovery	82	Broken tempo: 2 × 11 min T (2 min jog); 30/15 sets: 2 × (13 × 30 s I / 15 s jog), 3 min between sets	34 km long run
9 Build	115	Tempo run: 30 min T; Hill repeats: 11 × 75 s I (2 min jog)	34 km long run
10 Build	120	Progression run: 34 min M · 34 min T; 5k time trial	34 km progressive long run
11 Peak	120	Marathon-pace run: 11 km M; Cruise intervals: 5 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog)	34 km long run with marathon-pace finish
12 Peak, recovery	90	Marathon-pace alternations: 8 × 1 km M (1000 m jog); Broken tempo: 2 × 11 min T (2 min jog)	34 km long run
13 Peak	120	Marathon plus threshold combo: 4 km M · 1 km T · 4 km M · 1 km T; Tempo run: 30 min T	34 km long run with marathon-pace finish
14 Peak	121	Marathon-pace run: 12 km M; Progression run: 34 min M · 34 min T	34 km long run with marathon-pace finish
15 Taper	78	Marathon-pace alternations: 8 × 1 km M (1000 m jog)	24 km dress rehearsal
16 Taper	40 + race	Sharpener: 3 × 1.6 km M (1 min jog); race day	None, race week

Open this plan with your own race time →

• Base, weeks 1 to 6. From 73 to 99 km. Long runs start at 32 km, because a runner at this level arrives with the base already built. Quality is threshold: progressions, 4 × 1.6 km cruise intervals, a 25-minute tempo.
• Build, weeks 7 to 10. 105 to 120 km. Threshold grows to a 30-minute tempo and a 34-minute marathon-pace plus 34-minute threshold progression. Short VO2max work (30/15 sets, 11 hill repeats of 75 seconds) keeps the top end sharp. A 5k time trial closes week 10.
• Peak, weeks 11 to 14. Three weeks at 120 km around a 90 km recovery week. Mid-week marathon-pace runs of 11 and 12 km, 8 × 1 km alternations, and the marathon plus threshold combination. Long runs of 34 km finish with 8, 10, then 16 km at marathon pace.
• Taper, weeks 15 and 16. A 24 km dress rehearsal with 10 km at marathon pace, then race week.

Who counts as sub-elite

Sub-elite is the level just below professional: fast club and championship runners. Here it means a predicted marathon faster than 2:45, roughly VDOT 59 and up in Jack Daniels' system. A 2:30 marathon is VDOT 66. The sample runner has a 16:00 5k, VDOT 64.6, which predicts 2:33.

Marathon finish	Race pace	Easy	Threshold	Interval
2:20	3:19	3:39–4:23	3:10	2:54
2:33	3:37	3:57–4:45	3:26	3:09
2:45	3:55	4:16–5:07	3:42	3:24

Easy pace at this level is still 20 to 70 seconds per km slower than marathon pace.

Volume is the difference, and where this plan stops

The paces in the table follow the same formula as a beginner's. What changes at this level is how much running sits under them.

This plan peaks at 120 km, about 75 miles, inside the 70 to 85 mile band of Pfitzinger's higher Advanced Marathoning schedules. Haugen (2022) found world-class marathoners run 160 to 220 km a week in mid-preparation, over 11 to 14 sessions. Casado (2021) found world-class performance is best predicted by the volume of easy running plus deliberate practice of tempo and short intervals. That is the same shape as this plan, at a larger scale.

The generator has limits a sub-elite runner should know:

• Six runs a week, no doubles. Past 120 km, single runs get too long to recover from. If you already run twice a day, take the plan's quality sessions and long runs and split the easy days yourself.
• The long run caps at 34 km. At sub-elite easy pace that is about 2 hours 20 minutes, so the long runs hold at 34 km from week 5 instead of growing.
• The dress rehearsal is capped at 24 km. It is a race-kit run, not a last long run.

Your plan from your race

The marathon training plan generator builds the full 16 weeks from your recent race, your weeks, your days and your long-run day. Add a goal time and it shows the gap to your prediction. Free, no email, PDF included, and the week-10 time trial updates every pace.

FAQ

How many kilometres a week for a 2:30 marathon? This plan peaks at 120 km on six days. The world-class range reported by Haugen is 160 to 220 km, so there is room above it if you recover well.

Do I need doubles for a sub-2:40 marathon? Not for the volume in this plan. Six runs averaging 20 km reach 120 km. Doubles make sense once single runs would have to average well over 20 km.

Why are there so few hard sessions? 84 % of the running is easy. Two quality days and a long run with a marathon-pace finish are enough stimulus. More would cut into the easy volume that predicts performance at this level.

Can I use the plan for a shorter build? Yes. The generator accepts 12 to 24 weeks. A 12-week build starts at higher volume and shortens the base phase.

Only need your training paces? Enter a recent race:

Race report: Berlin Marathon 2026 results, the winners, the course record and the numbers.

More in this series: the beginner, intermediate and advanced marathon plans, and the sub-elite half marathon plan.

Sources

• Haugen et al. 2022, training of world-class distance runners
• Casado et al. 2021, predictors of world-class long-distance performance
• Bosquet et al. 2007, tapering meta-analysis
• Jones 2024, physiological resilience

Cover image: TrainingZones.