Returning to marathon training after injury, which plan would suit best?

[Notsleepinghelp]

I’m coming back to running after getting injured about 5 weeks ago. I was 6 weeks out from what would have been my first marathon, my last long run before I had to stop was 16 miles. I’ve learnt a couple of lessons since then, number one being that I need to strength train (and have already been doing this for a couple of weeks), and number two that my training plan probably wasn’t great!
I used Runna, and I was doing 4 runs a week, my mid week runs were quite short with usually one easy, one tempo, one intervals, then the long run at the weekend. I’ve since seen advice suggesting that my mid week vs long run mileage wasn’t balanced well, and that as a novice I probably didn’t need so much speed work.
My question is what training plan should I use instead? I want to run an October marathon, assuming my recovery continues well, and would likely be able to do an 18 week one. I’ve seen the Hal Higdon novice 2 one online, which looks decent? I went a good advancement from a standard beginners plan, but not crazy hard given I got injured. Just wanting other runners’ opinions really!

Back in the day, sites like Runners world would have training plans online or in their magazine.

Basically though, 3 runs/week is plenty for a beginner. You could probably get away with 2 for a bit to fit in a couple of strength sessions. Definitely not 4 plus strength.

One long and slow
One faster - either tempo or intervals
One short & easy recovery.

what was the injury?

Thanks for the advice. 3 x a week seems quite low mileage though? I was planning on doing strength on 2 of the days I run (either immediately post run or run in the morning and then strength in the evening) so I’d still get the rest days.
I injured my tibialis posterior tendon, but it presented as calf pain/shin splints. I’m rehabbing by doing ankle strengthening and glute work as that’s where I’m weak. The physio advised running 3 x a week for now before the marathon block starts (I’m building up from run walks at the minute).

My DPs best friend is a sports physio who refers to Runna as “the ski holiday.” … I’ll say no more!

I think you can’t go wrong with Hal and one of the base training plans will likely fit the bill.https://www.halhigdon.com/training/base-training/

I think a lot of this depends on what you were doing before. Not how far or long but these sort of questions

How long have you been running before injury?
Have you done many races? Half marathon, 10ks etc?
You said you were up to 16 miles previously. How many times have you run that far?
Have you regularly been doing long runs (say running longer for 90 minutes regardless of how far) for a long time?

I'm not an expert in marathons by a very long shot but I have run 9 marathons so got a bit of experience. I probably wouldn't train for a marathon unless I've been injury free and running regularly for a good few months beforehand. This October seems a bit optimistic to me but then I don't know how many years you've been running.

With regards to a plan I think the amount of time you are out running is more important than the distance. So you need to make sure you have long runs of at least 3 hours run time regardless of how many miles that is. Generally the slower the better.

Have you tried Jeff Galloway run walk run method? Very good for preventing injuries

Oh no!
I am following a Runna HM plan but am only in the second week of a free trial. I was considering subscribing because it has given me a 20 week programme so I don't have to work out which bits to repeat with a standard 12 week programme, I don't have to think about what to do each session, and sessions are automatically downloaded to my Garmin. Is this a bad idea? I'm pretty good at skipping sessions or holding back if I am not feeling up to it and am very aware of not allowing niggles to turn into injuries. Am I on a fool's errand?

Sorry @Notsleepinghelp - don't want to hijack the thread!

Thank you for this considered response. So I’ve been running properly consistently just over a year running 3-4 times a week (but been on and off since 2015!). I ran a v.hilly half marathon in sept 2025, then a flat 10k in Nov 2025. Launched into marathon training in Jan 2026 and did not miss a long run in that time (12 weeks) before getting injured. I’d done 4 runs over half marathon distance (including another hilly half marathon race) before getting injured.

Would you say I don’t have the time on my feet to get back to a marathon plan?

Most training plans are actually designed for athletes, even if they say otherwise. 4 sessions a week from not much will cause injury. I would aim for 3 sessions a week, but build up the distance over at least double the number of weeks suggested and build in a recovery week every month.

Reading your training, I think you've built up much too fast with too many long runs since January without much basis. You probably need to be injury free for 3 months before you start training seriously again, and then you need to build up more slowly. It's aim for 10ks in the summer and marathon distances in the winter or spring

Definitely don’t need to worry about hijacking! FWIW my two cents would be Google for a 20 week half marathon plan instead. It’s great that you’re good at not pushing things if you’re not feeling great, but I found it really hard to skip runs when it’s on a tick list and your mileage is tracked. My brain didn’t like things not being done, but that’s me!

Thanks @Notsleepinghelp

I’m more easy going about missing sessions or dialling down the pace if I’m not feeling it. That’s why I quite like that it is a 20 week program so I know I can do this without having to try and work out how to stretch out a 12 week plan myself.
I also know that if I’ve paid for it I am more likely to stick with it. I am not a natural runner and need extrinsic motivation to make me do it.

I hope you can get back into your plan - I am in total awe of anyone who aims for a full marathon!

Runna is quite pushy with pace and number of runs.
A 20 week half marathon plan is a lot too, unless you’re starting from scratch!
A hal Higdon base plan and then a 12 week marathon plan would be much more appropriate if you’re already a runner

@Lastqueenofscotland2 Not sure if that was a typo but I'm doing a half marathon rather than a marathon.

Why is it better to follow one plan for 8 weeks then start on a new plan for 12 weeks rather than following a single plan for 20 weeks?

I have had a quick look at the Hal Higdon plans and they don't seem much different to any of the other plans that are freely available.

I don't know why I am being so defensive of Runna btw! I think I am trying to weigh up whether to commit a fairly sizable chunk of money to something mainly because it syncs to my Garmin so I don't have to think about it. 😁

20 weeks is a massively long block, the injury risk is massive with long blocks, a base plan isn’t really a training block is just maintenance fitness.
Proper structured training where you’re getting fitter and faster does lead to injury risk!

But I’m assuming a 20 week plan vs a base plan + 12 week plan is like this:

…I’ll end up at the same place at the end

Sorry, I’ve written an essay but here’s what I’m doing.

I’ve just finished a training block for a 20 mile race. I increased from 3 runs to 4 in February when I started training for this. I got a bit carried away in the school holidays and ran too much including a 19, 20 and 20 miles on consecutive weekends (chapt GPT plan but I did more than it was asking because I was enjoying running so much!!) I got patello femoral pain syndrome and could hardly run for the whole of my taper. Saw a physio though and managed to do my race without too much pain. I’m now on a ten day running ban and working hard on my rehab exercises during this time.

I’ve got a September marathon booked and my physio was pretty encouraging about me doing it. I’m going to drop my runs down to three a week though. I already cycle every day too and plan to do 3 runs and 2 stair master sessions + 2 strength a week. A lot of the endurance runners I follow online are very positive about the stair master. I’ve found an online plan which I think looks good. I’m going to swap out most of the easy runs for stair master and just keep the long run, the tempo and the hill session. https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a62736482/3-day-a-week-marathon-training-plan/

I’ve done a lot of running in the past including one marathon but I’ve only been consistent with my running since October - although had a strong aerobic base from cycling. I love long runs so I really want to do the marathon and I think I can as long as I’m sensible and do a lot of cross training.

good luck xx

Thank you for your reply and for the link. I’ve literally today been thinking I could swap an easy run really straightforwardly to a session on the elliptical (I’ve kept my aerobic base up on one of these since being injured), so train 4 x a week but only 3 of them would be runs (with strength tagged onto the elliptical day and one other day). My calf injury stopped me doing the stair master otherwise I’d try that out as yes I’ve also seen good things!

Best of luck for your September marathon!

Stair masters are brutal!

The 'Furman FIRST' method is great for 3 days per week, the book is called 'run less run faster '. I got injured on a 5 x week runners world plan so I used it for my second marathon. I stayed injury free and took 45 minutes off my time. It has 2 non-running cardio and 2 strength sessions a week too.