Customer Reviews
I followed this plan before my Sub 3 attempt at Chester Marathon this year. At first I wasn’t quite sure I’d be able to hit the peak miles but I found the structure of this plan amazing. It built me up week by week and I managed to hit every single run on the plan! I loved knowing what I was doing each week and the structure it gave me. I found my fitness really clicked in the peak weeks and I knew I could do it. I ended up running Chester in 2:53:36 so I managed to smash my goal and I put a huge part of this down to Bens plan. Highly recommend this to anyone looking at getting a PB. #GetItDone
I've been trying to run sub 3 for a few years. Finally got their at London this year Previously I had been crashing at about 18 miles and tailing off to 3 03 / 3 05 / 3 07.... Repeat, etc.
This year i was able to stay on pace through to the finish - though the last few miles were still super tough.
Why did come good this year? Lots of reasons. But following a plan was a major factor. It meant more miles. More focused sessions. Its a tough plan, and I missed the odd run/session. But having it all laid out makes training so much easier.
Oh and its only 6 quid. So do yourself (and Ben and Sarah) and get on it.
I've been running for years but never followed any kind of training plan. Just head out and do whatever I felt like doing on the day. I ran one full marathon about 7 years ago using that approach. I did ok, and ran a 3:22:54 with a major "hit the proverbial wall" issue at mile 24. Struggled my way in the last 2 miles. I missed my goal and did not get my Boston Qualifying time.
Now, at 44 years old, I set myself the lofty goal of breaking 3 hours and getting that Boston Qualifying time. I knew I was going to need a structured plan to accomplish this. I chose the Advanced Plus plan to get me there. I liked the easy to follow structure of the plan and the build up of the mileage was perfect for me. The pace chart was an invaluable tool also. I always knew where I needed to be for pacing on each run, and definitely kept me from over running those easy days. Followed the plan to the letter, only missing 1 run through the whole 15 weeks.
I could not be happier with my results! Ran a 2:52:20. Almost 8 min under my goal time, and crushed my BQ time by almost 28 min. Bonus, no hitting "the wall". I felt strong all the way to the end. My fastest 5K was the last one, and my fastest mile was the last one @ 6:09 min/mi.
Thank you Ben! I will be using this plan again in my training for Boston.
I have the advanced marathon plan ready to work through it for London marathon in October, I have had a look through and it looks very good and I am looking forward to getting started on it later on in June. I will be interested if it can help me beat last year 2.53.39 and will let you know how I get on
I must admit this plan is super easy to follow and it’s very well structured. Those double run days paid off and got the time I wanted at Manchester Marathon. Highly recommended if you’re going for sub 3 and under, Thanks Ben 👍🏻
Used this plan to train for my first marathon stepping up from the shorter distances. Excellent plan if a little daunting with the volume of running in it. Great structure of week, excellent workouts and variety. It meant even with the mileage involved each run had purpose and as a result kept my motivation up.
Due to young family and a busy job i had to restructure the week to suit my time availability, but i still hit most of the running albeit lots of evening runs and only skipped easy runs when time didn't allow. Goal achieved at Yorkshire Marathon when i ran 2:43.
Time to refocus and break the 2:40 barrier.
thanks Ben
This program is easy to follow and very detailed with the distances and paces we need to follow. It is not an easy program to do and has some very difficult workouts during the week. I think that for those who want to run a fast marathon this is the ideal program.
hi ben I'm enjoying training plan only used for 3 weeks I'm 55 did 2.57 marathon last year hoping I get under 2.55 at London marathon 2024 I've never done strength work and I never ran as much at marathon, tempo,interval pace so hoping this speeds me up
After hitting a bit of a plateau with marathon times (2.54, 2.54 and 2.57) I purchased the 15 week level 5 plan. Throughout there was a balance between easy, tempo, interval and long plus strength. At no point did I feel fatigued and was always able to hit my targets for the day. The plan gave me confidence and come race day the k's flew by. A new pb smashed by over 10 minutes and a time of 2.43. I would recommend this plan in a heart beat. Thanks Ben and Sarah
Keen to improve my marathon time. I've purchased the Advanced training plan from Ben Parkes. The plan was easy to download and provides excellent guidance and information, gave a score of 4/5 as I've not yet put it to practice.
