Training for a Marathon in 2025?

Marathon Prep For Every Goal

The year has just begun, and many of us are looking at resolutions and debating what's actually realistic as we kick off 2025. 
I like to break resolutions down into key areas of my life: family, work, spiritual, and fitness. While they are distinct buckets, often they blend together, as one could argue there's quite a bit of spiritual development involved in training for a race. 
Today I want to focus on marathon training, as many will set this goal, but few will actually make it to the starting line. Here are three resources that can help you if this is on your list. 

The Resources

1.Hal Higdon's "Marathon"

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Hal takes you through a 30 week program, with a base building phase, followed by 12 weeks of more intense training. Higdon's program incorporates 4 days of running per week and 2 complete rest days. It's a great resource to keep you organized and most importantly instill confidence in what you're doing. 

2. Luke Humphrey's "Hanson's Marathon Method"

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Humphrey's program is 18 weeks with 6 days of running each week. The entire emphasis of this program is to get you used to running on tired legs. So, for example, you'll complete more shorter, fast runs, while only running at marathon pace on Saturdays. Given the 6 days of training, this book also some good tips on nutrition and sleep. 

3. Jeff Galloway's "The Run Walk Run Method"

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If you're my age and over 40, I'd suggest this book. The program lasts 26-30 weeks, incorporates recovery into each workout, and maxes out your mileage at 35 miles/week. Put simply, this is the training program I'd use if you're less concerned about running fast and more concerned with staying healthy and completing your race. 

Final Thoughts

Rather than rattle off a long list of books, I think you'll find the most value in these three. Each offers a pretty different approach depending on how much time you have to train, where you run, and your goals around speed. 

Training for any race, whether it's a 5k or a marathon, is a journey in itself. Enjoy the process, as it's rather silly to train for 30 weeks in misery, and then enjoy a single day. 

Be well friends.