- Irish Marathon Olympian
- 2:09:49 marathon
- Sub-2:12 ×5
The 16-week marathon plan, built by a 2:09 Olympian.
A structured marathon build for runners who want purpose, confidence and race-day discipline, without guessing what to do each week.
- 16 weeks, from controlled aerobic work to race-week sharpening
- Pace zones you set to your own goal
- Marathon-pace work, race simulations and a proper taper
- Warm-up, fuelling, recovery and strength guidance
● The problem
Most marathon training is too random.
Runners rarely fail because they lack motivation. They fail because the build is messy: too much intensity, not enough progression, long runs without purpose, and no clear plan for race-specific work.
- 01You run hard often, but not specifically enough.
- 02You know the goal pace, but not how to make it feel controlled.
- 03You get fit, but arrive at race day without marathon confidence.
- 04You taper by guessing and hope you got it right.
● The solution
A serious structure for serious marathon runners.
The 262 Marathon Plan gives you the framework: aerobic development, threshold control, marathon-pace specificity, race simulations, recovery and a proper taper.
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16-week build
A progressive structure that moves from controlled aerobic work to marathon-specific preparation and race-week sharpening.
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Marathon-pace work
Regular sessions and long-run blocks that make goal marathon pace feel familiar, economical and repeatable.
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Pace zones
Clear zone guidance for recovery, endurance, marathon pace, threshold and VO2-style efforts.
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Session options
Key workouts come with options, so you can adapt the plan without losing the purpose of the week.
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Race simulations
Long sessions that rehearse pacing, fuelling, mental discipline and the specific fatigue of the marathon.
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Fuel, recovery, strength
Guidance on warm-ups, nutrition, recovery, strength training and the taper, so the plan works beyond the workouts.
● Inside the plan
Not just workouts. The full build.
The weekly training structure, and the guidance that helps you carry it out properly.
Pace zones
Know the effort
Recovery, endurance, marathon pace, threshold, VO2 max and all-out intensity, explained clearly.
Weeks 1–16
Follow the build
Each week gives you recovery runs, key workouts, easy running, long runs, and rest or cross-training.
Race-specific
Rehearse race day
Race simulations and marathon-pace long runs prepare the body and the head.
Warm-up
Prepare properly
Warm-up structure, strides, drills, activation and reset guidance before session days.
Fuel
Practise nutrition
Daily nutrition, pre-run fuelling, long-run carbohydrate practice, race-week loading and race-morning guidance.
Taper
Arrive sharp
The final weeks cut the load but keep race-pace rhythm, so you arrive fresh rather than flat.
● Sample week
Week 1, as written.
An example week from the plan. Every week is laid out like this, day by day.
Week 1
Example from the plan
● The coach
Olympic-level principles. Made practical.
Stephen Scullion is an Irish Marathon Olympian and 2:09 marathon runner. This plan is built on the same principles that underpin elite marathon preparation: consistency, specificity, aerobic strength, threshold control and recovery.
The goal is not to destroy yourself in training. The goal is to arrive at race day prepared, confident and ready to execute.
● Fit check
Who this is for.
This is for you if
- You are training for a marathon in the next 16 weeks.
- You want clear weekly structure and purpose.
- You are chasing a PB, a sub-3, or a more disciplined build.
- You already run consistently and want a serious plan.
- You want to practise fuelling, pacing and race-day execution.
This is not for you if
- You are injured and need rehab guidance.
- You want fully personalised one-to-one coaching.
- You are not ready to run several days a week.
- You want a beginner couch-to-marathon plan.
- You want random hard workouts rather than a structured build.
● Verified reviews
Structure builds confidence.
Five-star reviews from verified buyers of the 262 Marathon Plan.
Best training plan available for runners who want to improve and push themselves.
Not boring, easy to follow, strides make the slow runs interesting.
Really good – focus on HR zone and time rather than pace / time is good. Pretty heavy schedule of running each week but feel comfortable to adjust to 4 runs a week. Using in conjunction with RunZones plan. Thanks!
Really good plan, would love to have what days to do strength work (do you do it on recovery days or do it on workout days to fully recover on recover days).
● Add the strength work
Pair it with the Strength & Plyo Programme.
Twelve weeks, two sessions a week, at home or in the gym. Every exercise drawn step by step and filmed.
See the programme
262 Marathon Plan
Train with structure.
Race with confidence.
The 16-week marathon plan built by Irish Marathon Olympian Stephen Scullion.
