Personalized Marathon Training Plan Guide
Preparing for a marathon requires a systematic training plan. RunBox AI coach creates a customized 16-20 week marathon training plan based on your fitness level, goal time, and available training time.
Why Choose an AI-Customized Marathon Training Plan?
- Personalized Assessment: Based on your running experience and fitness condition
- Smart Adjustments: Training intensity optimizes automatically with progress
- Scientific Pacing: Based on your target finish time
- Injury Prevention: Reasonable intensity progression to avoid injuries
celebrity show: tricked into running only to get addicted
No matter what the whole world says, I believe my own feelings are correct.
Regardless of how others see me, I will never disrupt my own rhythm.
If you like something, you can naturally persist in it; if you don't, it won't last long.
——Haruki Murakami, 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running'
The editor at Codoon found me and asked me to talk about my running story. When I first heard about this task, I was reluctant. There have been many incidents related to running in my life, but to tell a story... I really have to start from the beginning.
My full name is Yang Zongzhou. Because my surname is very rare, every time I introduce myself, I have to explain the character 'Yang' for a long time, which often leads to a confusing loop similar to 'Ma what Mei? Ma Dong what? What Dongmei?' So later, whenever I introduce myself, I use my stage name—Er Dan, which is catchy and memorable.
Although I look like someone born in the '80s, I am actually a Libra man born in the '90s. I like running but not marathons. So far, I have participated in about 30 races of various sizes. From my first marathon time of 3:20 to my current 2:52, I've only improved by 28 minutes in over four years, averaging 7 minutes per year, so I really don't dare to talk about experience.
- It all started with a ridiculous bet -
The reason I started running was because of a bet. In my first year of high school, two of my buddies made a bet, saying that if I could run 10 kilometers in under two hours, they would each give me 100 yuan. For that 200 yuan, I trained hard, but instead of getting the money, I was selected for the school sports team, and thus began my running career.
But at that time, I hadn't thought about something as distant as a marathon.
In 2014, I was serving in the Gobi Desert in the northwest. A local friend, knowing my training results, encouraged me to participate in a marathon. You should know, in the army, I only ran 5-kilometer armed cross-country runs, or at most 10 kilometers on my own, so I had no concept of what a marathon was.
But then I thought, I'm a PLA soldier, how could I back down? I patted my chest and agreed. After that, under the skeptical gaze of my captain, I began preparing for my first marathon. Thanks to the captain's understanding and support, I was allowed to train for the marathon outside of my regular military training.
At that time, none of us knew how to prepare for a marathon, so the only way to prepare was to keep piling up the mileage. After completing 25 kilometers for the first time, I finally got to register for the Shanghai Marathon. I remember back then, it wasn't popular to draw lots; getting a spot depended entirely on internet speed (first marathon 3:20). That's how I muddled my way into the marathon circle.
- After finishing my first marathon, I got cocky -
Sometimes, life really needs a sense of ceremony. Before participating in a marathon, I thought running was just running, and a race was just a race. But when I stood on the marathon course, I realized everything was different—you have no opponents; your only opponent is yourself.
After completing my first marathon, I got cocky. I thought, I can finish a marathon? That's 42.195 kilometers! I'm so awesome!
After finishing the marathon, I got hooked on trail running. But unexpectedly, my first trail run ended in injury and withdrawal.
It was during a downhill section at the 10-kilometer mark that my iliotibial band started to hurt intensely. It was my first trail run, and I didn't know the rules. Naively, I thought there would be a shuttle bus at a checkpoint to take me to the finish line if I withdrew. So, I persisted from the 10-kilometer mark to the 25-kilometer checkpoint. But who knew, the checkpoint was halfway up the mountain, and the shuttle bus was at the foot of the mountain. I had to inch my way down the mountain, taking over an hour to cover 1.5 kilometers.
The pain is still vivid in my memory, so much so that later, whenever I participated in a trail run, I would carry 100 yuan with me. This way, if I had to withdraw, I could take a taxi from a village back to the hotel to rest.
The race that restored my confidence was the half marathon at the 2017 Wuxi Marathon. At that time, my injury had gradually healed, and my goal was to finish in 1 hour and 26 minutes, breaking my previous personal best. For this, I specifically asked a good friend, Er Ha (you can tell from the name that he's brothers with Er Dan), to pace me.
On race day, he set a pacing plan for me and secretly adjusted my goal to 1 hour and 22 minutes. At that moment, I really wanted to kick him. Fortunately, after following the pacing plan in the early stages, except for tying my shoelaces at the 10-kilometer mark, nothing else happened. I finished in 1:22, successfully achieving my goal, and finally regained my confidence in racing.
Since then, whether it's a marathon or the trail runs that once injured me, I've been able to overcome the psychological shadow of injuries, complete races according to my plan, and start to enjoy them.
- The ill-fated relationship with Lao Zhao -
I have many labels, but the one most remembered and talked about is 'Lao Zhao's private pacer.' Lao Zhao is that handsome buck-toothed Zhao @ Slightly Chubby Lao Zhao, a running enthusiast who loves the Song Dynasty.
Before last year's Hangzhou Marathon, he begged me to help him break 3:30. Since I needed to do a training run for the Shanghai Marathon the following week, I agreed to his request without much thought.
In the last 10 kilometers of that race, under my relentless scolding, Lao Zhao barely managed to finish in 3:28—a time he has yet to surpass. Because of that private pacing service, at every post-race dinner, there would always be someone who, upon introducing themselves, would say, 'Oh, you're Er Dan! You're Lao Zhao's private pacer!'
Originally, this was my honor, but over a year has passed, and Lao Zhao hasn't made any progress (he says it's because of plantar fasciitis). Instead, he was overtaken by Chen Zhong and Shen Wu Ze. So now, the title 'Lao Zhao's private pacer' has become a great shame for me.
Every time we eat, the first thing I do is distance myself from Lao Zhao. 'You are his private pacer, your whole family is his private pacer...' Of course, if Lao Zhao can set a personal best at the Shenzhen Marathon, I would reluctantly accept this title again.
After saying so much, I just want to convey one point. Running a marathon is a hobby that requires a sense of ceremony. The first time you finish, the first time you withdraw, the first time you pace someone to a personal best, the first time you help someone achieve their dream—we have joy, pride, disappointment, and gratitude.
From initially just running casually to now running marathons and trail runs, from 5km to 42.195km to 50km to eventually 100km+, we can set distance as our goal, pursue speed, and take pride in completing a hundred marathons.
From initially using running as a stepping stone to later treating it as an interest, and eventually making it a part of life.
If you like something, you will naturally persist in it. Running has no form of restriction as long as you love it. Because of deep love, you persist.
Start Your Marathon Training Journey
With RunBox app, you'll get:
- GPT-4o powered personalized training plans
- Daily training guidance and feedback
- Nutrition and recovery advice
- Real-time progress tracking
Download RunBox now and let our AI coach create your personalized marathon training plan!
