Marathon Excellence Gale – 18 Weeks
John Davis
About the plan
An 18-week plan adapted from the book "Marathon Excellence for Everyone" by John Davis. Aimed at runners with ambitious marathon goals, three or more years of experience, and who are looking for a significant PR, Boston qualification or other major races. The Gale sits at a sweet spot for many runners: weekly volume between 68 and 81 miles (110-130 km) with significant performance returns, without requiring double workouts every day. Double workouts appear strategically starting in week 5, placed on key days to build volume without compromising the quality of the main sessions. Compared with the 12-week version, this variant adds six extra weeks of aerobic base building before the specific phase, allowing more gradual progress in volume and intensity. It combines long runs with integrated quality work (Kenyan-style progressive runs, marathon-pace long runs with float recovery), Cruise Intervals up to level 3, progressive Tempo Runs up to 50 minutes, intervals at 5K pace and variations faster than race pace (1200m at 107-110% of marathon pace). The peak includes a 20-21 mile (32-34 km) tune-up at 95% of marathon pace — one of the most demanding sessions in the plan.
The plan in numbers
- Duration
- 18 weeks
- Runs per week
- 9
- Weekly volume
- 45 mi · 1h 14m → 85 mi · 7 min
- Longest run
- 22 mi
Week 1 starts at 45 mi · 1h 14m and volume builds to 85 mi · 7 min in week 13, the heaviest of the plan.
A typical week has 9 runs, and the longest session reaches 22 mi (Marathon, week 15).
Race day (26 mi) falls on Sunday of week 18; the week holds 35 mi · 44 min of running before it.
Key workouts
The quality sessions that come up most in this plan:
- Repetition20 sessions across 17 weeks
- Threshold18 sessions across 16 weeks
- Interval17 sessions across 12 weeks
- Marathon13 sessions across 11 weeks
Who it's for
Advanced level. To start safely you should already be running about 45 mi · 1h 14m per week and be comfortable with a 12 mi session — that is what week 1 asks for.
Week 1 — workout preview
45 mi · 1h 14m this week
8.1 mi
8.1 mi · 7 min
3.7 mi · 32 min
6.8 mi
2.5 mi · 35 min
12 mi
3.1 mi
Week 13 — the heaviest of the plan
85 mi · 7 min this week
8.7 mi
3.7 mi
5.6 mi
5 mi
15 mi
7.5 mi
8.7 mi
3.7 mi
7.5 mi · 7 min
20 mi
Plan Structure
18 weeks · 117 workouts · 9 rest days
See the full plan
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