Hansons Marathon Method – Just Finish
Hansons
About the plan
The entry-level version of the Hansons method, for runners who want to finish their first marathon without speed work. The core idea is the same as in the team's more demanding programs: cumulative fatigue, meaning you run often so your body learns to work a little tired instead of relying on one giant weekend long run. That is why the long run never goes beyond 14 miles (22 km) and each week has five or six short runs, all easy, with Wednesday always off. The plan starts with three runs a week and adds days until week four; volume rises in four-week cycles (three weeks of progression, one of cutback), from 14 to 31 miles (22 to 50 km). In the last six weeks, Thursday gains a block at marathon pace, from 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km), to rehearse race pace, an adaptation borrowed from the Hansons Beginner program. The final week cuts the load and ends with the race on Sunday.
The plan in numbers
- Duration
- 18 weeks
- Runs per week
- 5
- Weekly volume
- 14 mi → 31 mi
- Longest run
- 14 mi
Week 1 starts at 14 mi and volume builds to 31 mi in week 16, the heaviest of the plan.
A typical week has 5 runs, and the longest session reaches 14 mi (Long, week 16).
Over the final 2 weeks volume drops from 31 mi to 9.9 mi so you arrive at the race rested.
Race day (26 mi) falls on Sunday of week 18; the week holds 9.9 mi of running before it.
Key workouts
The quality sessions that come up most in this plan:
- Long17 sessions across 17 weeks
- Marathon6 sessions across 6 weeks
Who it's for
Beginner level. To start safely you should already be running about 14 mi per week and be comfortable with a 4.3 mi session — that is what week 1 asks for.
Week 1 — workout preview
14 mi this week
3.1 mi
3.1 mi
3.1 mi
4.3 mi
Week 16 — the heaviest of the plan
31 mi this week
3.7 mi
5 mi
6.8 mi
1.9 mi
14 mi
Plan Structure
18 weeks · 87 workouts · 39 rest days
See the full plan
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