Running Plan Review Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk
By Advanced Marathoning (4th ed.) — Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas Requires purchase Visit plan website
Plan at a Glance
Pete Pfitzinger ran two Olympic marathons before turning to coaching. The system he built with Scott Douglas puts half the instruction on the calendar and half in the book. This tier is for runners chasing a time rather than a finish.
You'll run seven days most weeks and peak near 85 miles, with easy doubles appearing once volume climbs. Recovery days split into a morning and an evening run rather than stretching into one long shuffle. The centrepiece is a single run of 22 to 24 miles in week 11, the longest anywhere in the book.
Four blocks organise the 18 weeks: endurance, lactate threshold, race preparation, then a three-week taper. Threshold sessions run on the clock, up to 45 minutes at lactate-threshold pace. Marathon-pace work grows across four long runs to 14 continuous miles at goal pace in week 13. Three tune-up races sit in the race-preparation and taper blocks, and two dropback weeks are marked on the schedule.
Come in running at least 55 miles a week with a recent long run near 16 miles. Doubles start once you pass 75 miles, and the book is clear that a second run under 25 minutes is not worth the trouble. Strength work is programmed in the book but never scheduled.
The review below is Buena Vida's full assessment of the plan. We grade every plan against the same detailed, 31-point benchmark. Each measure draws from peer-reviewed sports-science research and proven coaching best practices.
Workouts
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Our Review
At 70 to 85 miles a week, you're past the point where marathon training fits neatly around a life. You've run marathons before and you want a time. This tier assumes both, and it asks for a run that most plans never prescribe.
That run is 22 to 24 miles in week 11, seven weeks out from race day. The placement is the interesting part. Most plans push their longest effort as close to the race as they dare, then taper on tired legs. Here you do the hardest single thing you'll do, then get seven weeks to absorb it, with the long runs after it settling back to 20 or 21. You are not trying to survive that run in week 11. You are trying to be a runner who has already done it by the time race week arrives, and that is a different psychological position to start from.
The right runner here holds 55 miles a week, with a marathon finish behind them and a time goal in front. If you cannot give seven days a week including easy doubles, drop to the 55 to 70 tier. If your longest run has never passed 18 miles, build there first rather than starting here.
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Structure
Does the plan build you up smartly?
Four blocks run across the 18 weeks: endurance, threshold, race preparation, then taper. Two dropback weeks are marked in the column header, so the lighter weeks are stated rather than inferred. Volume swings deliberately between blocks, dipping to 61 miles in the second dropback before climbing back above 80. The three-week taper keeps a tune-up race and a marathon-pace rehearsal while cutting roughly a third of peak volume.
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Prevention
Does the plan protect you from injury?
Progression stays controlled at high volume, with the largest week-to-week step near 11% and no runaway week. Both dropback weeks pull you below the prior three-week average, giving your legs a defined window to absorb the load. Doubles do real work here, splitting recovery days so you accumulate mileage without extending time on your feet. Chapter 4 of the book programs strength work that the calendar never shows.
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Flexibility
What happens when you miss a day?
Threshold running is prescribed in minutes, reaching 45 minutes at lactate-threshold pace in the second block. A decision table tells you when missed training means resuming and when it means changing your goal. What is absent is a cut-first tag on any session. At seven runs a week that omission matters more, because there are more things you could drop and no guidance on which.
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Readiness
Will the plan deliver race-day fitness?
Marathon-pace work builds through 8, 10, 12, then 14 continuous miles at goal pace across four long runs. Three tune-up races give you competitive starts through the race-preparation and taper blocks. The long run peaks at 22 to 24 miles in week 11 and settles to 20 or 21 afterwards. By race week you'll have rehearsed goal pace four times and raced three.
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Variety
Are the workouts varied enough?
Ten run types fill the calendar once doubles are counted, from recovery pairs through threshold, VO2max intervals, and marathon-pace long runs. Hill sprints are new in this edition, running 10 to 12 seconds up a moderate grade before a set of strides. Interval reps run from 600 meters to 1,000 meters at 5K effort. The variety is in what each session asks of you rather than in rep length.
Plan Strengths
- One run of 22 to 24 miles lands seven weeks out, so your legs absorb it long before race day.
- Easy doubles split your recovery days, letting you bank mileage without more time on your feet.
- Marathon pace reaches 14 continuous miles, so goal effort is thoroughly familiar to you.
- Two marked dropback weeks pull your load below the prior three-week average, and your legs reset.
- Threshold sessions stretch to 45 minutes on the clock, which builds the ceiling your race pace sits under.
Weaknesses & gaps
- Seven running days with doubles leaves you little room to absorb a bad week or a late night.
- Your longest run sits seven weeks out, further from race day than the evidence recommends.
- Chapter 4 of the book programs strength work that never reaches your calendar.
- No session is tagged as cut-first, and at seven runs a week you have more choices to get wrong.
- You need 55 miles a week before week 1, and nothing in the plan verifies you have it.
What this plan does not give you
The gap is the book. Strength work is programmed in chapter 4 but never scheduled, so place two short sessions on easier days and keep them clear of the evening before a hard run. Pace prescriptions assume the book is nearby. Threshold pace resolves through Appendix B's equivalent race times, but the fourth edition dropped the chart that turned a goal time into a 5K pace, so your interval targets need a recent race. Doubles need a decision too. The book sets 75 miles a week as the threshold below which a second run is not worth the trouble, and it wants any second run to last at least 25 minutes.
What the science supports
Training in phases beats holding one load
The 18 weeks run through four blocks, each with its own job. Endurance builds the first six weeks. Lactate-threshold work, meaning steady efforts just under the pace where breathing gets ragged, carries the middle five. Race preparation brings tune-up races and marathon-pace long runs, then three weeks of taper. Volume swings deliberately between blocks rather than climbing in a line.
Bradbury et al. 2020; Tønnessen et al. 2014; Casado et al. 2022
Long runs are essential for the marathon
The long run peaks at 22 to 24 miles in week 11, the longest single effort anywhere in this book. Long runs of 20 to 21 miles bracket it, and marathon-pace blocks sit inside several of them. Accumulated long-run stress is what builds marathon resilience, and no amount of shorter, faster work substitutes for it.
Toresdahl et al. 2021; Jones & Kirby 2025; Casado et al. 2019
Race-pace training pays off near your threshold
Marathon-pace running sits inside four long runs, in weeks 2, 5, 9, and 13, growing from 8 to 14 continuous miles at goal pace. For runners targeting a time at this volume, race pace sits close to the threshold where specificity pays. Threshold sessions keep separate days so the two stimuli stay distinct.
Pierce et al. 1990; Hewson & Hopkins 1996; Jones et al. 2021
A taper makes you 2-6% faster on race day
The final three weeks bring volume from about 85 miles to 28 while keeping intensity intact. A tune-up race sits two weeks out, VO2max repeats follow, and a marathon-pace dress rehearsal lands in race week. Dropping volume while holding the sharp sessions is the combination that produces a measurable race-day gain.
Tune-up races may sharpen pacing
Three tune-up races run through the race-preparation and taper blocks, two at 8K to 15K and one shorter. They add little fitness by themselves. Their value is rehearsal: starting at the right effort in a crowded field, which is the skill that protects your first 10 miles on race day.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk good for beginners?
- No. Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk is built for advanced-level runners. A true beginner should start with a lower-mileage plan.
- How many days per week does Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk require?
- The plan runs on a schedule of multiple weekly runs. See the at-a-glance strip for the exact count.
- Does Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk include a taper?
- Yes, the plan includes a taper into race week.
- What is the rubric grade for Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk?
- Advanced Marathoning 18-Week, 70 to 85 mi/wk grades B on the Buena Vida rubric.