| HOW TO JOIN | SPONSOR A RUNNER | RUNNER'S LOGIN |
 |
 |
 |
2010 Training Guides
As created by RFR coach Brian Hamill
With questions, email Brian Hamill
There are four suggested training schedules here, which are labeled “Beginner”, “Conservative”, “Aggressive”, and “PR”.
Each of these is a 19 week schedule, starting in early December, and culminating with the
Beginner A good training schedule for people attempting their first marathon who have not been actively running throughout the summer and fall. This schedule will start with low mileage, and safely increase the long runs to a peak of 20+ miles at the end of March. This will get you fit enough to comfortably finish the
Conservative This schedule is designed for someone who is either a fit first-timer (you’ve been running consistently throughout the summer and fall, and maybe you’ve run a half-marathon before), or someone who’s run a couple of marathons before. This schedule will get you fit enough to run a smart, evenly paced race with a finishing time goal.
Aggressive For the runner who’s finished 2 or more marathons that have been evenly paced and now wants to push the envelope a little to run a faster finishing time. These runners have maintained a level of fitness that includes running 3-4 days per week through the summer and fall (at least 20 miles per week on average).
PR This is the most intense schedule for those team members who have completed 4 or more marathons with a couple of good finishing times, and now want to train hard to beat their best time (a “PR” or Personal Record). These runners should have a good base level of fitness (averaging 30-40 miles per week through the summer and fall).
I encourage you to look at the differences between these schedules, think about your fitness right now, about the time commitments you can make through the winter and early spring (both number of days/week and total time), about your injury history and other factors, and think about your goals for this Boston marathon. It is of course possible to start on one schedule and switch to another if your training is going well or poorly or if other circumstances arise.
I’ve structured these schedules with general guidelines week-by-week rather than absolute requirements. I think this gives you the freedom to adjust to your own home and work schedule while still achieving the desired training.
Keep in mind, though, that there are three regularly occurring structured group runs for local
Saturday morning long runs, affiliated with FitCorp in downtown
Monday night workouts with the Community Running group at MIT indoor track (for extra fee
Thursday night intermediate distance runs that finish at Crossroads Irish Pub in the
Also, I have three very important suggestions that apply to all four training programs and will help greatly to keep you running healthy and injury free: 1) Your long run on the weekend should never be more than half of your weekly mileage that’s too big a leap for your body. 2) Every two or three weeks, decrease or plateau the running volume, both the weekend long run and the total weekly mileage I call this the ratchet method. 3) Long runs deserve a good night’s sleep the night before and a proper nutrition/hydration the day before don’t skip dinner Friday night and then try to run long Saturday morning.
Click on the links below to download your selected training program:
RFR Conservative Training Program
