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
from running novice to revered kuang god chasing dreams and setting personal bests at the beijing marathon
I am Kuang Kuang, also known as 'Kuang Shen.' I have been running for 2 years and have participated in 14 marathons (4 half marathons and 10 full marathons). My personal best for a half marathon is 1:37, with my best placement being fourth. My personal best for a full marathon is 3:26, with my best placement being eighth. I am a national second-level marathon athlete and have qualified for the Boston Marathon (BQ). I also led a team to cycle 2,100 km along the Sichuan-Tibet Southern Line in 25 days.
It sounds impressive, but it's actually not that extraordinary.
When we see someone achieving something in a particular field, they have likely gone through unknown hardships over a period of time. However, we prefer to attribute their success to talent, genetics, or other external factors that we lack because acknowledging others' efforts and matching their level of hard work is really difficult.
I often feel like a failure because I don't work hard enough. Whenever people say I'm 'amazing' or 'naturally gifted,' I feel ashamed. I used to be someone who took an hour to run 5 km, with an average pace of 9 minutes per kilometer. I have proof.
For someone like me who could only complete 5 km with frequent stops, I felt that running a marathon in my lifetime would be enough. Coincidentally, the registration for the 2017 Beijing Marathon was in full swing, so I set my sights on it.
At that time, I silently told myself: I must run the 2018 Beijing Marathon and measure this city I've lived in for years with my own feet. However, having never participated in any race, I didn't even qualify to register. First, I needed a certified race result. If I couldn't run a full marathon, then I'd run a half marathon. So, I participated in my first half marathon on September 23, 2017, the Beijing Women's Half Marathon, and finished in 1:50.
In the race report for that event, I said: 'This half marathon was not just my first race and my first personal best, but more importantly, it gave me a result, qualified me for a full marathon, and gave me a 10% chance of getting into the Beijing Marathon... I was one step closer to my goal.'
A 10% chance of getting into the Beijing Marathon meant I still had a 90% chance of not getting in. Someone told me that the Beijing Marathon lottery favors good results, and that women who finish a full marathon under 4 hours are guaranteed entry. I naively believed it and even created a sub-4-hour training plan.
As soon as I announced my plan, it was met with a lot of skepticism: 'Your schedule is too packed! Don't you rest? It's unrealistic! You can't possibly complete this plan! You won't break 4 hours with such a heavy training load! Plans can't keep up with changes!'... No matter what others said, I just went ahead and did it. The results would speak for themselves.
During that period, to strictly follow my plan, I no longer had time to hang out with my gym buddies, and I spent less time with my family. Apart from working, sleeping, and eating, I was either lifting weights or running.
Finally, on March 24, 2018, I completed the Zhengkai Marathon in 3:54, breaking 4 hours in my first marathon. All the doubts were dispelled, proving the saying: 'If you want to achieve something, first find someone who has done it and see how they did it.'
I accidentally came across Shen Wu Ze's story on Codoon, followed his Codoon account, and read all his posts. His example inspired me to pursue my dreams with all my might.
On April 15, 2018, I paced a friend at the Taishan Marathon and finished in 4:05.
On May 12, 2018, I participated in the Beijing Yanqing Women's Half Marathon, set a personal best of 1:43, and finished fourth. I met more outstanding people and made myself known to more people.
In the race report for the Yanqing Women's Half Marathon, I wrote: 'After a year of running, I've met so many excellent people... I began to understand what it means when they say,
Running has made me more confident and changed my lifestyle. I can no longer tolerate being timid and aimless. If I have a dream, I will go all out and chase it bravely.
On June 1, 2018, despite doubts from many, I started my journey of cycling the Sichuan-Tibet route. I led a team of 17 people to cycle 2,100 km along the Sichuan-Tibet Southern Line, and 13 of us reached Lhasa after 25 days. During this period, I documented our journey on my public account and, with Codoon's promotion, gained 130,000 followers, inspiring many to fulfill their own Sichuan-Tibet dreams.
Next, on July 8 and August 12, 2018, I completed the Meiqi 100 and Shibotu 100 cycling events at the Hai Tuo station.
On September 16, 2018, I set a personal best of 3:33 at the Beijing Marathon, qualified as a national second-level athlete, met my idol Shen Wu Ze, and got to know more outstanding people.
Before running the Beijing Marathon and cycling the Sichuan-Tibet route, my dreams were limited to these two goals. After completing them, I realized there were more challenges like the 3:30 marathon, BQ, China's Big Four, and the World Marathon Majors. After cycling the Sichuan-Tibet route, I discovered new routes like the Xinjiang-Tibet route, Yunnan-Tibet route, Qinghai Lake, Taiwan Island, and Hainan Island.
I felt that 3:33 was not far from 3:30, so I hastily signed up for two more races at the end of the year: the Rizhao Marathon on October 14, 2018, where I set a personal best of 3:33 by 8 seconds, and the Qingdao Sea Marathon on November 11, 2018, where I crashed and finished in 3:43.
They say, 'The roads you travel, the people you meet, the books you read, and the things you learn will eventually reflect back on you.' In 2018, I was fortunate to become a signed runner for Rudy, a Codoon KOL, and an ambassador for City Micro Marathon.
In 2019, I started using races as training.
On March 17, I completed the Chengdu Double Heritage Marathon in 3:33.
On March 24, I set a personal best of 3:29 at the Wuxi Marathon, breaking 3:30 back-to-back and qualifying for BQ.
On April 7, I completed the Heze Marathon in 3:30, finishing ninth in the country.
On April 14, I set a personal best of 1:37 at the Beijing Long Distance Running Festival half marathon, directly qualifying for the Beijing Marathon.
On May 12, I completed the Tongzhou Canal Half Marathon in 1:39, finishing ninth.
On May 19, I completed the Jinzhong Marathon in 3:39, finishing eighth internationally.
On June 16, I set a personal best of 3:26 at the Shandong Haiyang Marathon, earning a spot in the domestic elite honors (top 300 men and top 330 women share a prize pool of 150,000).
Loving something and striving to do it to the best of your ability, while also winning some prize money along the way, feels really great.
The upcoming races include the Taiyuan Marathon on September 8, the Rizhao Marathon on October 13, the Beijing Marathon on November 3, and the Shanghai Marathon on November 17.
I think I will keep running. The reason I work so hard is that I don't want to despise myself when I grow old.
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!
