Running guides

Training, pacing, racing, nutrition and recovery, explained from the research. Every claim links to its source.

Training

• How a marathon training plan is builtA marathon training plan combines rising weekly distance, a long run, easy and hard running, lighter weeks and a taper. The research backs some of these parts and says little about how to combine them.
• 80/20 running: what the research says80/20 running means keeping most training easy. A 2024 meta-analysis found a small VO2peak advantage for polarised training, but small studies in recreational runners found no significant difference in performance.

Pacing

• Marathon pace chart: pace and splits for your goal timeFind your goal time for the even pace and splits to run it, per kilometre and per mile, then see what the research says about holding that pace over 42.195 km.

Racing

• How long should a marathon taper be?Two to three weeks, with weekly volume cut and fast running and most running days kept, is what the research supports. Whether two or three is better is not settled.