This is not a drill, if you are running the 2025 TCS London Marathon, there is now only 16 weeks to go until event day. And do you know what that means? If you haven’t started training yet, now really is the time to get started.

For some of you reading this, you may already be well underway with your training, but for a lot of us (myself included) we will be planning to start on Monday 6th January, which means it is time to get organised, get motivated and most importantly get excited for what is to come.

I also totally understand that some of you may be feeling nervous or perhaps even overwhelmed about starting your training, so today I am going to break down exactly how the next 16 weeks should look, and of course how Coopah can help you along the way too.

BUILD YOUR BASE (WEEK 1-4)

I have touched on this subject a number of times, but no matter what your starting point, or your previous experience, this really is one of the most important parts of marathon training. This first block is not the time to be heading out for your longest runs, or doing the hardest workouts, it is essentially prepping your body for what is to come later down the line.

I know it can be really tempting to jump in head first and try to make loads of progress in those first few weeks, but just remember that the aim of following a training plan is to build up your fitness over the weeks and months ready for event day, not to be your fittest or fastest in those first few weeks.

Also if you have a specific time goal in mind, do not feel disheartened if that pace feels really tough (or maybe even impossible) at this stage. Remember, nobody (not even elite athletes) will be at their peak 365 days a year, and that it is completely normal to have periods where your fitness and pace drop. So for now you just need to focus on staying consistent, working hard and trust the process.

BUILD STRENGTH (WEEK 5-8)

This will be where your plan gets taken up a notch - your long runs will start to get longer, the interval runs will be building in intensity, and depending on your marathon goal, it’s also a great time to introduce some target pace miles into your long runs.

Now if this sounds daunting, try not to panic, as remember you will have had four weeks of training to get to this point. And after four weeks of consistency, you should start to notice a difference in your overall fitness, which is one of the most motivating things about marathon training in my opinion.

And those distances and paces that maybe once felt impossible, will hopefully now start to not only feel possible, but be within touching distance.

BUILD SPEED (WEEK 9 -12)

Okay I will level with you, these are probably going to be the most challenging weeks of your marathon plan. But lets face it, who said marathon training would be easy?

These weeks are what you would call your peak weeks, this is where you will be doing your longest runs, your hardest interval sessions and where I would also suggest to book a race to use as a warm up for the main event, and it can also be a great opportunity to go for a PB (personal best) and use as a benchmark for your training

Again, I know this might sound really overwhelming and you may already be panicking about having to run for +3 hours, but please try to relax, take a step back and remind yourself you have over two months until you get to this point.

It is also super important to ensure you are looking after yourself properly in between all of the running at this stage too - getting enough sleep, fuelling well and incorporating rest and recovery into your week are all things that will help make these peak weeks feel a lot more manageable, and enjoyable too (ps - don’t worry, we will be covering all these topics over the next few weeks to ensure you have all the information you need for a successful training block)

TAPER TIME (WEEK 13-16)

You’ve made it. This is the final stage of your training plan, and probably one of the most important parts. Essentially, the hard work is done now, and your taper really is the time to just make sure you are both mentally and physically prepared for event day.

During the last few weeks of your plan, your volume and intensity will start to gradually decrease which allows your body to recover and repair ready for race day.

Now whilst this may sound like the dream after 13 weeks of hard work, a lot of runners can actually find the taper period quite challenging, with the biggest worry being they are going to lose fitness before the event. Well, I am here to tell you that is not the case.

A phrase I got told years ago (and that has stuck with me ever since) is that when you are standing on the start line, you want to feel like a coiled spring - full of energy and ready to spring into action. And that is only going to happen if you give your body the chance to recover and relax in those final weeks leading up to the race. If you make the mistake of trying to cram in last minute long runs or hard training sessions, they might feel great at the time, but you are then wasting all that race day energy on a random training run. So my biggest tip to you, is hold yourself back during your taper and save your effort for when it really counts.

So Coopies, there’s only one thing left to say to you all… Good luck!

I am super excited to be starting my own plan on Monday, and it is so motivating to know that I will be training alongside thousands of you ready for our victory lap on 27th April 2025. We’ve got this.

Coach Jordan x