Marathon Training Plan

JM Coaching was founded by British International long distance runner Jonny Mellor in 2013. Jonny is joined by his wife Sophie, Adam Craig, Jim Vastenburg and Ross Millington supporting athletes worldwide achieve their goals. Using a wealth of experience from competing all over the world and working with hundreds of athletes over the years JM Coaching are one of the UK’s leading online training providers.

Head over to our testimonials page here or checkout our Google Reviews to see some of the runners we’ve helped smash their goals!

Our training plans are also highly rated and featured as best sellers on the TrainingPeaks store platform.

In our opinion TrainingPeaks is the best platform to deliver training to our clients. We’ve used different software packages and TrainingPeaks enables us to deliver the best possible service to runners around the world. Simply it is a training calendar that enables you to view your planned workouts and record your completed sessions, making it the perfect tool for runners and coaches. It’s free to use when you purchase one of our training plans, however, there is an optional Training Peaks Premium version, which you may wish to upgrade to and will allow you greater flexibility in moving sessions around.

The level of detail and support offered in the training plans is reflected in the price of the plans.

In a perfect world, every athlete would hire a coach who can help them reach their potential. The reality is that not all athletes want or can afford a coach. The beauty of the generic training plans purchased on TrainingPeaks is the price and allowing the athlete to take the guesswork out of their training.

We feel we have gone the extra mile (excuse the pun) in offering plans at a cost effective price loaded with tips and advice along the way. Along with access to JM Run Club, the plans offer exceptional value.

Each plan will state the level of runner it is aimed at based on previous times and what you’re expected to be able to complete during week 1 in order to safely progress to run your event at the end of the plan if you don’t yet have any personal bests (PRS).

For example,

The sub 50 10k Training Plan is designed for runners who want to run inside 50mins for 10k. If you have run close to 50mins before or ran around 23-26mins for 5k and 1:50-54 for the half marathon distance then this plan is perfect for you.

This plan is aimed at runners who can already run up to 6-miles during week 1 of the training schedule. If you’re not yet here I would suggest building up to this distance prior to starting the plan. The plan peaks around 28-miles per week.

Unlike generic plans on the internet my training plans are designed specifically for your current fitness level and time goal on race day.

JM Coaching are proud to use Training Peaks to deliver your plan – in our opinion the best and the world’s most popular endurance coaching platform. You can use their free version, or upgrade for more functionality. Training Peaks is an online calendar that lets you record, track and analyse your training sessions.

It has a host of great features, including the ability to export your workouts to your training devices, record sleep and nutrition and much more.

TrainingPeaks give us the platform to deliver a professional service and add various tips and advice along the way.

You can download TrainingPeaks on your smartphone or tablet to access training on-the-go and easily view your training each day. You also have the option to receive your training on a daily basis.

As well as tapping into the mindset of an International athlete who has competed at the highest level in the sport, your training plan also gives you access to JM Run Club with all training plans purchased via TrainingPeaks. Here you will find lots of useful information and guides that explain my methodology and terminology.

You also get to utilise the features of TrainingPeaks for personalised training zones, trackable progress with easy configuration with all major devices, including Garmin, Polar, Apple, Sunto and more. For a full updated list checkout this link.

With all purchases you get email support with the JM Coaching team. If you have any questions regarding your plan please get in touch at [email protected] and we’ll be more than happy to help. As you can understand, some limits apply in comparison to the one to one coaching, however we also give you full access to JM Run Club, with videos and articles to help you train effectively.

Our training plans have been carefully designed to allow suitable recovery between harder workouts however it’s inevitable that occasionally you will need to change training based on work and family commitments.  If you opt for Training Peaks Premium (from $9.92 per month) you have greater flexibility to move training onto various days or you to easily swap a few days around each week to suit your availability.

Yes it is possible to train for multiple events, however every training plan is geared towards achieving your goal for one key race at the end of the plan. If you’d like to train for multiple events, please email us when purchasing your plan and we can make changes based on your requirements.

Smaller races in the lead up to a goal race can help you gain confidence and race skills but isn’t always necessary.

Missing training at some point is inevitable. Whether it’s work or family commitments or a niggle or illness the odd missed training can’t be helped and sometimes can benefit you in the long run to help freshen you up and get ready for your next key session.

You can either move your sessions around within a given week or just accept it as a missed session and move onto the next one.

If you are injured and have doubts we always recommend seeking the advise of a medical professional. Likewise if you’re sick taking some time off is always preferable to recover and prevent missing further training.

Yes, you can find video tutorials and support  via JM Run Club, which is free to all runners purchasing a full or half marathon training plan via TrainingPeaks. Simply checkout the information guide on day 1 of your training plan for details of how to register. Some plans also include specific sessions each week along with a detailed description of exercises to perform, specific and functional for runners.

As well as JM Run Club, you can email the team for support and if you have any questions along the way.

Yes, you can find nutritional support and information via JM Run Club, which is free to all runners purchasing a full or half marathon training plan via TrainingPeaks. Simply checkout the information guide on day 1 of your training plan for details of how to register.

Often you may think it’s best to follow the exact same plan if you’ve set a PR in your last event, however adding some fresh ideas and adding a new stimulus to your marathon training plan is a great way of improving again next time out. By mixing things up you can help prevent reaching a plateau and by adjusting your marathon training schedule you can ‘take the next step’ in your workouts or by increasing the amount of running you do, increasing the pace or duration of your long runs.

If you do decide to re-use your plan, all plans come with a life time guarantee. You can re-use your plan as many times as you like. To access them click on the folder icon on the left hand side of your TrainingPeaks calendar view and re-apply your plan.

Running is simple, but not always easy: to get faster, most runners need to run more! More mileage over a longer period of time is the best way to improve your general endurance; this will allow you to hold the same pace for even longer but not always easy to get right so by following a training plan like one above can help you train for your next event and ensure any increase to your training is both progressive and done safely.