Canova Marathon – Special Blocks
Renato Canova
About the plan
Renato Canova's marathon translated for an advanced amateur, in single sessions and without the Kenyans' 124 miles (200 km) a week, but with the logic intact: progressive specificity. The four fundamental weeks build the base with short fartlek, medium runs at marathon pace and progressive long runs. The six special weeks bring the coach's trademark: the alternations (1 km at threshold, 1 km at marathon pace, without stopping), long 2 km intervals, short hill climbs, and a long run that begins to finish at race pace. The five specific weeks converge everything on goal pace: alternations in which marathon pace is the slow part, medium runs of 7 to 9 miles (12 to 14 km) at race pace, and the specific long run of 20 miles (32 km) with 15 miles (24 km) of it at goal pace. Monday is always strength work, alternating plyometrics and circuit, because for Canova strength and running belong to the same microcycle; there is no full rest day until race week, and Saturday is regenerative. Volume runs from 42 to 62 miles (68 to 99 km) per week with a cutback every three or four weeks. It is for runners who have already run a marathon at high volume and want a cycle in which every workout looks a little more like the race than the one before.
The plan in numbers
- Duration
- 16 weeks
- Runs per week
- 6
- Weekly volume
- 43 mi · 20 min → 62 mi
- Longest run
- 20 mi
- Strength sessions per week
- 1
Week 1 starts at 43 mi · 20 min and volume builds to 62 mi in week 13, the heaviest of the plan.
A typical week has 6 runs, and the longest session reaches 20 mi (Long, week 10).
Strength work comes in once a week, in sessions of about 16 min.
Over the final 3 weeks volume drops from 62 mi to 19 mi so you arrive at the race rested.
Race day (27 mi) falls on Sunday of week 16; the week holds 19 mi of running before it.
Key workouts
The quality sessions that come up most in this plan:
- Threshold16 sessions across 12 weeks
- Marathon13 sessions across 11 weeks
- Long10 sessions across 10 weeks
- Interval7 sessions across 7 weeks
Muscles worked most
- Glutes
- Quadriceps
- Calves
- Hamstrings
Who it's for
Advanced level. To start safely you should already be running about 43 mi · 20 min per week and be comfortable with a 14 mi session — that is what week 1 asks for.
Week 1 — workout preview
43 mi · 35 min this week
15 min
3.7 mi · 20 min
6.2 mi
7.5 mi
7.5 mi
5 mi
14 mi
Week 13 — the heaviest of the plan
62 mi · 15 min this week
15 min
12 mi
6.2 mi
6.2 mi
12 mi
5 mi
20 mi
Plan Structure
16 weeks · 110 workouts · 2 rest days
See the full plan
Create your account to unlock every week, sync with your watch and get personalized paces.