Marathon Plan Intermediate - L3
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the training plans in miles or kilometers?
Are the training plans in miles or kilometers?
We have written the training plans in both miles and kms, both of which are included in the PDF file so you can refer to whichever one suits you.
The pace charts are also in miles and km's too.
How will I receive my plan?
How will I receive my plan?
You will receive an email with a link to download your plan straight after purchase.
You can also click a link on the checkout success page.
This will download the PDF file to your computer, tablet or phone.
What format do the training plans come in?
What format do the training plans come in?
The plans are a downloadable PDF file which you can view on any device or print off.
You will be emailed the link to download your plan.
Please note the plan can only be downloaded a maximum of 5 times.
I feel I am in between two training plans, which one should I go for?
I feel I am in between two training plans, which one should I go for?
Each plan gives the number of days of training per week, so we’d advise going for the one which best fits in with your current lifestyle and commitments.
Also consider the number of miles or km's for the first week and peak week and compare that figure to where you are currently.
The best success will come from following a plan that is achievable given your lifestyle and current fitness.
Customer Reviews
I wanted to improve my Marathon time and needed a plan that was easy to understand and challenging to make me improve. Bens L3plan & strength plan has proven to be just what I required. I would recommend to other runners who want to follow a good training plan 👍 I am targeting the Brighton Marathon 2025 for a sub 3:30 🤞.
As an experienced runner with more than 9 years running, I was finally looking to take on the full marathon. I chose the ambitious goal of 03:45:00 and thanks to this plan I excelled and on the day had what it took to go even faster resulting in 03:43:23.
The plan its self is no way a picnic and at times it was brutal but stick with it as the results are worth it.
My one thing to suggest to Ben for improvement would be to change the interval from minutes to K's and Miles as that's how I work but I understand its very subjective and I appreciated the two versions of the plan allowing me to work in Kilometers where others can work the same plan in Miles.
Overall would certainly recommend this plan!
And if you're reading this before beginning your training then good luck!
A huge thank you to Ben and team!
I went for the intermediate marathon training plan as I'm targeting 03:45'ish. My last marathon with a different plan was was fairly hard to stick to & a bit too advanced for me. I'll be using this plan for Yorkshire marathon 2024 Oct. Looking at the plan it's really simple to understand & read with colour coded runs highlighting easy steady+ harder workouts. The plan can be flexible to fit around my 12hr shifts etc. very happy & will be starting training in July. 5stars out of 5 . Thanks 👍🏼
3:13:02 with 1,800 ft (550m) elevation gain!!! This was my third ever marathon, after completing my first two several years ago with no training plans at all. I also trained for two other marathons in the past but injured myself in the weeks leading up to the race due to poor pacing in workouts. Using the intermediate training plan and the strength and conditioning throughout for this build made it engaging and kept me focused. I only missed one workout due to sickness and was never feeling even close to any injury or over fatigued even during the peak weeks. The training plan format was ideal for me including the speed workouts and the recovery weeks. I'm planning on using the in-between races plan and then the level 4 advanced plan to hit my BQ in California at CIM. Thank you for everything Ben and Sarah.
The plan was really easy to follow and very informative. I really enjoyed the sessions and the S&C workouts. I hit my goal and went from a 3:59 to a 3:27 at Newport Marathon. I'd happily recommend these plans to anyone and will be trying the in-between plans once recovered. A huge thank you Ben and the team at benparkes.com, I couldn't have got that PB without you😊
What a ride that was. After a mammoth training block. A lot of support and patience from my friends and family, and yet another awesome training plan from Ben, I have finally broken a 13 year standing personal best for the marathon. I am really proud to say that, at a couple of weeks shy of my 57th birthday, I can officially qualify for most of the worlds marathon majors with a time of 3:12:34. 136th out of 716 overall. 9th in age category. Beating my previous time by half an hour and 1 second. I'm knackered but bloody happy with that. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃
I found the structure of this plan very easy to understand and follow, and got much better results with this than with my previous free plan. YoY I managed a 27 minute improvement in similar conditions in the Cracovia marathon. My only suggestion to make this better would be for it to be able to interact with the Garmin APIs and automatically import the whole plan instead of having to set up manually ( although I'm sure that is quite a technical challenge)
Most of my marathons hover around 0350-0355 (did 6 last year). I bought the L3 plan and hope to run 0330-0345 at Boston this April. The plan and workouts are easy to follow and I'm excited to see how it all turns out in a couple months! Thank you Ben and Sarah.
In October 2022 I ran the Venice Marathon in 3:53. Then, I decided to buy Ben's plan to aim for a sub 3:30 marathon.
The plan is very well structured, very easy to follow and with lots of different workouts that help to gain confidence running at MP.
I higly recommend it. Thank you Ben and Sarah!!
Followed the plan step by step. Amazing details and tips along the way. Ran my first marathon and reach my time goal!
I highly recommend.
Thank you so much Ben
