Jack Daniels was an exercise physiologist who studied under Per-Olof Åstrand, worked as Nike's physiologist, and won two Olympic team medals in modern pentathlon. He wrote Daniels' Running Formula while coaching SUNY Cortland's women to seven NCAA Division III cross-country titles, and Amby Burfoot, as editor of Runner's World, named him "the world's best running coach." Every plan from the book that we review is on this page, from a 16-week walk-to-run plan to marathon plans for runners above 100 miles a week, so you can see how they differ before you pick one.
Each plan is graded on the same 31 measures we use for every plan, Buena Vida's own included, with the research behind each measure linked. The ladder is strict. A C is a decent plan with gaps worth knowing about. Open any plan to see what it does well, where it falls short, and who it suits.
- Plans reviewed
- 23
- Goals
- Mile, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Base building
- Length
- 12–24 weeks
- Run days
- 7 a week
- Peak mileage
- 23–84 miles a week
Mile plans
Bring a recent race time, and the VDOT tables set every pace.
IntermediateRequires purchaseYour first real track structure, from aerobic base to race-day sharpness.
IntermediateRequires purchaseA 24-week middle-distance build for runners holding 45 weekly miles and chasing a 1500m PR.
AdvancedRequires purchaseFull track structure for the racer chasing a real peak.
AdvancedRequires purchaseA full 800m build, from base miles through race-day sharpening.
AdvancedRequires purchaseHigh-volume 800m training, with doubles, for the already-committed track racer.
AdvancedRequires purchase10K plans
An 18-week 5K or 10K sharpener for runners already holding 40 to 50 weekly miles.
AdvancedRequires purchaseFour phases, each adding one new kind of speed work.
AdvancedRequires purchaseHalf Marathon plans
Marathon plans
An 18-week walk-to-marathon build for first-timers training three to five days a week.
BeginnerRequires purchaseMarathon training prescribed in minutes, not miles, around your recent race result.
IntermediateRequires purchaseTwo hard days a week, with marathon-pace blocks reaching 14 continuous miles.
IntermediateRequires purchaseAll the hard work concentrated into two sessions a week.
IntermediateRequires purchaseTwelve weeks of compressed marathon prep for runners who already own the base.
AdvancedRequires purchaseDaniels' highest-mileage marathon build, with 14-mile race-pace blocks for runners already at 100 weekly miles.
AdvancedRequires purchaseTriple-digit weeks, organized so only two days a week hurt.
AdvancedRequires purchaseTwo hard sessions a week, and a pace ramp that lands at race day.
AdvancedRequires purchaseTwo hard sessions a week, with 71 to 85 easy miles around them.
AdvancedRequires purchaseA 16-mile marathon-pace block answers the question before race day does.
AdvancedRequires purchaseBase building plans
Sixteen weeks of walk/run ratios that teach a non-runner to hold 30 continuous minutes.
BeginnerRequires purchaseFor runners ready to add structured speed to an easy-running habit.
IntermediateRequires purchaseOne training focus at a time, for sharpening without a race scheduled.
AdvancedRequires purchaseSixteen weeks of structured base work for runners already holding 60 miles a week.
AdvancedRequires purchaseTraining with Jack Daniels
Daniels built his training around one question: what is this run for? The book gives every kind of run a named job in the body, from easy miles to threshold running (an effort you could hold for about an hour) to short, fast repeats. Every pace comes from a recent race, read through his tables, and the paces change only after you race again. So you train as the runner you are today, and you always know why a session is on the page.
The plans cover a wide range. Four fitness plans, White, Red, Blue and Gold, run 16 weeks with no race at the end, from a first walk-to-run to two hard days a week for a runner near 60 miles. The 800-meter and 1,500-meter to 2-mile plans run 24 weeks at three mileage levels each. The 5K to 10K plans run 18 weeks, and the half marathon 22. The marathon set is the biggest: a novice plan that starts from a 20-minute jog, plans written in miles or in minutes, a 12-week finish for runners who already have the base, and six "2Q" plans, where two quality sessions a week carry all the hard running. Most of the race plans expect a base first. Apart from the novice plan, the marathon plans ask for at least 40 miles a week and 2-hour runs before you begin.
All 23 earn a C. Variety is the clear strength: 21 of the 23 score full marks for it, because the sessions are exact, varied and well ordered, and plans built in phases race better than plans that hold one load the whole way. The points they lose sit elsewhere. Many plans print a run on every day of the week, though the book lets an easy day become rest now and then. Many go months without a lighter week to absorb the work: the Red plan has none in 16 weeks. The book has a chapter on strength, but strength never reaches the calendar, and rearranging a missed day is left to you.
These plans suit a runner with a recent race to set paces from, who likes to know the purpose of every run and will take an easy day off without being told. If your legs complain when the weeks never ease off, read the reviews for how each plan handles rest before you commit.
Get more out of your running with Buena Vida
Buena Vida was built by a runner to bring the whole job of training into one place: a plan that fits your schedule and your fitness, coaching on every run, and food targets that keep up with the work you do. Members get personal training & nutrition plans, plus full access to the catalog of pre-written plans for every running goal.
In research studies, runners on plans fit to them improved as much as or more than runners on fixed plans, and fewer of them stalled.
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