Sub-4 Hour Marathon

About the plan

A 16-week plan for runners aiming to run the marathon in under 4 hours (5:41/km pace, or 9:09/mile). Breaking 4 hours is one of the most coveted milestones in road running and demands consistent preparation with threshold work and prolonged endurance. The plan trains 4–5 days a week with a long run that reaches 2:30 and two quality sessions a week. The specific phase includes mixed and long intervals (up to 8 min), plus fast finishes and tempo runs of up to 30 minutes to develop the ability to sustain race pace.