Marathon Plan Intermediate - L3

Great workout schedule

At the beginning of 2021 I decided to train for a marathon. I really enjoy Ben's videos on YouTube and trusted that his plan would get me ready for the feat. I hadn't run a marathon before this but was feeling (perhaps overly) ambitious and targeted a 3h30min time. I followed Ben's intermediate plan (think it was the old one) and completed the Twin Cities marathon in 3h39m23s. Very happy with that and now I have a solid bench mark to work up from. Thanks Ben!!

I bought this plan in hopes of running a 3:30, and after following it to the letter, I ran the 2021 Hartford (Connecticut) Marathon in 3:30:37. This was my first road marathon in literally 20 years, and I beat my PR by 14 minutes. My age-adjusted time was 3:06! I can't say enough about how great this plan is. Two things in particular I loved: First, Ben structures everything around 4 different paces (Easy, Marathon, Tempo, Interval), making it very simple to follow. Second, there's a lot of variation in the workouts so it stays fresh and fun. Thank you Ben Parkes!!

Thank you so much for the plan, it was the best training plan I ever purched. I just ran my first marathon with a time of 3 hours 18 minutes, I couldn't believe it.
I qualified for Boston marathon and that is my next challenge and I want to get down the 3 hours and I know I will with your advanced plan.
I won de 3rd place in my cathegory of 25 - 29 years old female.
And 7th of all the women, it was a though race but thank to your plan I was prepared for it and I killed it.
I fell more motivated than ever, thank you for being an amazing role model and thank you to make me a better athlete and runner.
You'll hear for me soon

Form Mexico
all my love for everyone who is giving your best every day

This is the first Of Bens plans that I’ve used and I LOVE it!
There’s a perfect mix of long runs, intervals, easy and strength throughout the plan.
I appreciate the ‘notes’ column against each weeks plan but most of all I find Bens ‘Marathon Pace Chart’ and ‘Terminology’ info incredibly helpful.
I have already smashed some PB’s whilst training on this plan (even during stride sessions) and I look forward to reaching my end goal of a 3.50 marathon time.
I will be purchasing more of Bens plans in the future, superb value with sound coaching.
Thanks so much Ben!

Following this plan made training super easy. There's a huge difference between Ben's plan and the generic plans you get from race organisers so definitely worth it. The tips for each week and marathon specific sessions were really insightful. The way long runs are instructed made them mentally easier.
At first I thought the mid week long runs would be hard to fit into a 9-5 work week but they were worth the effort (easier once I incorporated these into commute).
After a training block with this plan I ran a 15 minute PB so really couldn't be happier! Thanks Ben :)

I'm looking forward to starting with this new plan. It matches beautifully my weekly routines and job. I already programmed it to my Garmin watch in the calender too :). It has a very good balance between long, interval and tempo runs. This time I hope to have the discipline to run the slow runs really slowly :). Thanks Ben, great job!

I just purchased my plan for Marathon #8 in December.
After watching several of Bens YouTube videos, I’m confident that this plan will be the one to help me get to the next level.

The next few months will be base building and speedwork, and after retiring in January, I have plenty of time to devote to running. No excuses this year.

Thanks Ben, an updates down the road.

Thanks Ben! I managed to get it done following the Level 3 Marathon Plan achieving a massive PB at the London Marathon 3:15:51.

I purchased the level 3 plan 18 weeks out from the 2021 London Marathon with a goal of 3:30 in mind. Following the general 'spirit' of the training plan (adjusting to suit with other commitments) I managed to bank a really solid injury free! training block. I found the Long Runs element of the plan being broken down into sections most helpful especially when I lacked motivation. I trusted the plan, avoiding my natural tenancy to get over keen leading to injury and felt confident on race day. Come race day I had a fantastic day, and knew I'd put in the work.

Along the way I also PB'd at the Big Half 1:32:35 and Berlin Marathon 3:19:43 a week before London! (I was given a late opportunity to run, slightly off plan).

This is the first (and not the last) plan that I bought from Ben to have something to hold on to while getting ready for my first marathon. I followed almost (had 1 week off due to a little overtraining) every detail that is written in the plan and I couldn't be happier with the result! The beginnings were a lil rough; I couldn't "feel" the right marathon pace but after a few weeks only my body adapted to the training and I trusted Ben's plan 100%. I felt very confident during Taper and even though I made the newbie mistake of pacing too fast in the race (I threw it over board on purpose and just went "F*** it - let's do it" :D) - I finished sub 03:30 (just as planned) so the hay was still in the barn thanks to this great plan. Highly recommend! Cheers!