Andy Devaney
With the London Marathon looming large on the calendar, thousands of runners are now deep in that strange annual ritual of long runs, carb calculations, foam rollers, weather apps and pretending that black toenails are simply part of becoming a more interesting person.
Marathon training is often treated like a heroic mileage contest. More miles. Earlier alarms. Longer Sunday runs. A kitchen cupboard that looks like it has been raided by an energy gel salesman with a mortgage problem.
But according to Tom Harrison, Physiotherapist at Bupa Health Clinics, there is a more important target than simply reaching peak mileage: arriving at the start line healthy enough to run the thing.
That sounds obvious, but runners are marvellous creatures. Give them a niggle, a spreadsheet and a pair of carbon-plated shoes, and many will try to negotiate with their hamstrings like hostage diplomats.
Research has shown that four in 10 marathon runners get injured during training, with sudden increases in mileage a significant factor. On race day itself, around 17-30% of runners pick up an injury. In other words, the marathon does not wait until mile 20 to start asking awkward questions. It begins weeks earlier, usually when common sense is quietly being lapped by ambition.
The Missing Piece In Many Marathon Plans
A good marathon training plan should never be just a running schedule. It should include strength work, proper rest, flexible decision-making, fuelling practice and a recovery strategy for the days and weeks after the race.
That last bit is often the forgotten cousin at the family wedding.
Runners will plan every mile before the London Marathon with military precision, then cross the finish line and treat recovery like an optional dessert. The body, having just covered 26.2 miles, tends to disagree.
The real art is not only in completing the race, but in getting there without breaking down and recovering without pretending stairs are a medieval punishment device.
Build Mileage Like A Grown-Up
The main goal, Harrison says, should be simple: get to the start line injury free.
That requires a sensible training plan, ideally beginning at least 16 weeks before race day. The reason is not glamourous, but it is crucial. Your muscles, tendons, joints and connective tissue need time to adapt to the repetitive load of running.
The classic mistake is the sudden mileage jump. Confidence rises, the weather improves, the watch says something encouraging, and before long a runner has turned a steady build into a kamikaze mission.
Recent research suggests not increasing the distance of your longest run by more than 10% above what you have run in the previous 30 days. It is not a perfect law, but it is a useful guardrail for runners who can occasionally mistake enthusiasm for physiology.
The London Marathon rewards patience. It does not care what your training app thinks you should have done on a wet Tuesday in February.
Flexibility Is Not Weakness
One of the most underrated parts of marathon training is knowing when not to run.
Missed sessions happen. Colds arrive. Work interferes. Calves grumble. Life, in its usual charming way, throws a spanner into the neat little plan.
The temptation is to cram missed runs into the following week, as though training load is a suitcase and you can simply sit on it until the zip closes. That is where injury risk starts to climb.
Respect the plan, but do not worship it.
If your body is asking for a rest day, take one. That is not laziness. That is strategy. A runner who misses one session is still a runner. A runner who ignores a warning sign and limps for six weeks has simply bought themselves an expensive lesson in stubbornness.
Strength Training: The Unsung Insurance Policy
For all the talk of mileage, strength training may be the thing that keeps many runners upright.
Harrison recommends including strength work one to two days per week to help the body cope with the repetitive impacts of running. Hip and core strength are particularly important, helping stabilise the body as fatigue builds.
And then there are the calves, those long-suffering little engines that do far more work than they are ever thanked for.
Every stride requires the calf muscles to help propel the body forward. Over 26.2 miles, that becomes an industrial-scale operation. Ignore them, and they may eventually submit a formal complaint somewhere near mile 18.
Good strength training does not need to turn a marathon runner into a powerlifter. It simply needs to make the body more resilient, more stable and better able to tolerate load.
For London Marathon runners, that could mean the difference between finishing strongly and becoming very familiar with the medical tent.
Race Day Rule One: Do Not Bolt Like A Startled Deer
The opening miles of a major marathon are dangerous for one simple reason: they feel too good.
The crowds are loud. The adrenaline is high. Everyone is smiling. Your watch is behaving. Your legs have apparently been replaced overnight by a younger pair.
This is precisely when sensible pacing tends to leave the building.
Going out too quickly is one of the easiest ways to make the second half of the marathon feel like an unpaid debt with interest. Harrison’s advice is clear: start slightly slower than target pace rather than faster.
The marathon has a long memory. It will remember every reckless second you borrowed early and send the bill somewhere around Canary Wharf.
Fuel Before The Engine Coughs
Fuelling is another area where runners can come unstuck, often because they wait until they feel low before doing anything about it.
By then, the body has already started rifling through the cupboards looking for energy.
A general recommendation is to take on 60-90g of carbohydrates per hour of running. That matters because carbohydrate is the body’s main fuel source during a marathon. A typical energy gel contains around 25-30g of carbohydrates, which means runners need to plan their intake rather than hope for the best.
The key is to practise fuelling during training. Race day is not the time to discover that a certain gel disagrees with your stomach, your dignity, or both.
The Marathon Really Begins At Mile 20
There is an old saying that the marathon does not start until mile 20.
It is irritatingly accurate.
The final six miles are where the event changes character. The cheerful rhythm of the early stages often gives way to a more private negotiation between legs, lungs and the small voice in your head suggesting that walking might be a perfectly respectable lifestyle choice.
Mental preparation matters here. Runners should expect discomfort, not fear it. Breaking the final section into smaller chunks can help: the next mile, the next landmark, the next water station, the next familiar face in the crowd.
The London Marathon is famous for its atmosphere, but even the best crowd in the world cannot run the final 10K for you. It can, however, drag something out of you that you did not know was still available.
Recovery Starts The Moment You Stop
Crossing the finish line is not the end of the physical story. It is the start of the repair job.
After the race, rehydration and refuelling should become the priority for the rest of the day. You will have burned a vast amount of energy and lost plenty of fluid, so this is not the moment for heroic restraint.
It is, however, an excellent excuse to be waited on by friends and family.
Sleep should also move right to the top of the list. The body has taken on a major physical and mental load, and recovery requires more than a medal photo and a large meal. Good sleep and proper relaxation help the body rebuild, even if the legs still feel as though they have been assembled from old deckchairs.
Do Not Rush Back Into Running
One of the hardest bits for committed runners is stopping.
Harrison’s general rule is not to attempt a run for at least two weeks after a marathon. For some people, it may need to be longer.
That can feel strange after months of structure, but it is important. The body needs time. Low-impact exercise such as cycling or the elliptical can be useful before running again, but the return should be gradual.
The finish line is not permission to resume full training immediately. It is proof that you have earned a proper recovery.
The Smarter Way To Run The London Marathon
The best London Marathon training plan is not the one that looks most heroic on paper. It is the one that gets you to the start line fit, through the race sensibly, and into recovery without treating your body like a rental car.
That means building mileage carefully, listening when your body complains, adding strength work, practising fuelling, pacing with discipline and respecting recovery.
A marathon will always test you. That is the point. But it should not become a preventable injury wrapped in a finisher’s medal.
Run smart, fuel early, start steady and recover properly. The London Marathon is hard enough without turning your own training plan into the toughest opponent on the course.