Running Plan Review Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week
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. This schedule is one of five in the book for running a second marathon soon after the first, and it covers a ten-week gap.
You'll begin the week after your race. Week 1 asks for about 21 miles across four running days, then 32, then 41, then 56. The plan reaches 68 miles in week 7 before tapering. By week 3 you're doing real training again, and by week 5 you're running a 19 to 20 mile long run.
The chapter is written for runners who typically build to 60 or 70 miles a week. The grids run flat by weeks-to-next-marathon rather than in named blocks. Threshold work is prescribed in minutes, VO2max repeats run at 5K effort, and two tune-up races appear in the closing weeks. The last three weeks taper into race day.
Come to this having actually raced a marathon days before week 1. There is no marathon-pace run anywhere in the ten weeks, because the plan assumes you carry race-pace fitness out of the marathon you just finished. Strength work is programmed in the book but never scheduled, so you'll place those sessions yourself. The taper still carries a marathon-pace dress rehearsal in race week, which is the only goal-pace running you will do.
What follows is our full review of the plan. Buena Vida grades every plan on the same detailed, 31-point benchmark. Each measure comes from peer-reviewed sports-science research and proven coaching best practices.
Workouts
Similar plans
Our Review
Ten weeks between marathons sounds tight, and the schedule treats it that way. You get three weeks of recovery, four of training, and three of taper. You'll want to know what that leaves out before committing.
There is no marathon-pace run in this plan. Not a short one, not a token block inside a long run. Across ten weeks you never once practise goal race pace. That is deliberate. The plan assumes you rehearsed it thoroughly before the marathon you just ran, and that the fitness is still in your legs. Inside ten weeks that assumption mostly holds. The consequence is that this schedule maintains rather than sharpens. You'll arrive at your second start line with your endurance intact and your pace judgement resting entirely on what your last race taught you. The rebuild that gets you there is steep, more than doubling your weekly load across the first month, so the early small weeks are not optional.
Pick this if you raced a marathon days ago, trains at 60 to 70 miles a week, and has a clear target from the first race to work against. If you want to run faster than last time rather than as fast, a standard build gives you the race-pace work this omits. If you finished the first marathon hurt, treat that first.
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Structure
Does the plan build you up smartly?
The schedule runs flat by weeks-to-next-marathon rather than in the named blocks the mileage chapters use. The arc is visible in the volume: three weeks of recovery and rebuild, four weeks of training, three weeks of taper. Lighter weeks carry no label. You read the structure off the mileage rather than from the page.
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Prevention
Does the plan protect you from injury?
The opening rebuild is the risk. Your weekly load more than doubles inside the first month, which registers as a sharp spike on any acute-to-chronic measure. The context matters: you are returning to a load your legs held recently rather than reaching past it. Chapter 4 of the book programs strength work that never reaches the calendar.
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Flexibility
What happens when you miss a day?
Threshold sessions run in minutes rather than miles, so the dose sits right at whatever pace you hold. A decision table tells you when missed training means resuming and when it means changing your goal. No session is tagged as cut-first. With ten weeks and no margin, you'll be making those calls yourself.
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Readiness
Will the plan deliver race-day fitness?
No marathon-pace run appears anywhere in the ten weeks, which is the plan's most consequential omission. Two tune-up races give you competitive starts in the closing weeks, and long runs return to 19 to 20 miles in weeks 5 and 7. Race specificity rests on what you carry out of the marathon you just ran. Within ten weeks that is defensible, but it means the plan maintains rather than sharpens.
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Variety
Are the workouts varied enough?
Eight run types fill the ten weeks, from recovery days through threshold, VO2max intervals and long runs. Hill sprints appear once, in week 4, as 10-second efforts on the end of an easy run. Reps run 600 metres and 1 kilometre at 5K effort. The absence of marathon-pace work narrows the range compared with the tier chapters.
Plan Strengths
- Three weeks of real recovery open the plan, giving your legs the repair a marathon actually needs.
- You climb back to 68 miles by week 7, which is training rather than treading water.
- Long runs return to 19 to 20 miles twice, so your legs meet the distance again before race day.
- Threshold sessions run on the clock, landing the same dose on your legs at any pace.
- Two tune-up races give you a read on pacing judgement before the second start line.
Weaknesses & gaps
- No marathon-pace run appears anywhere, so you never rehearse goal effort across ten weeks.
- Your weekly load more than doubles in the first month, the steepest ramp in this family.
- The plan assumes you raced days before week 1, and nothing verifies that you did.
- Chapter 4 of the book programs strength work that never appears on your calendar.
- No workout is marked cut-first, leaving you to choose blind when a week collapses.
What this plan does not give you
The largest omission is marathon-pace running: there is none. Across ten weeks you never practise goal race pace, and the plan is relying on the rehearsal you did before your last marathon. Within ten weeks that is reasonable, but if your goal has changed you have no session in which to test the new number. Strength work is programmed in chapter 4 of the book but never scheduled, so place two short sessions on your easier days. Pace prescriptions assume the book is nearby: threshold pace resolves through Appendix B's equivalent race times, but the fourth edition dropped the chart converting a goal time into a 5K pace, so interval targets need a recent race. The rebuild also deserves respect. Your load more than doubles across the opening month, so take the small early weeks exactly as written rather than as a suggestion.
What the science supports
Training in phases beats holding one load
The ten weeks move through three phases despite carrying no printed block headers: three weeks of recovery and rebuild, four of training, three of taper. Each phase does a distinct job, which is what makes a second marathon feasible. Holding one gear across the same span would leave you either underprepared or stale.
Bradbury et al. 2020; Tønnessen et al. 2014; Casado et al. 2022
Long runs are essential for the marathon
Long runs return to 19 to 20 miles in weeks 5 and 7, with 16 to 17 mile runs around them. You are refreshing marathon endurance rather than constructing it, since the marathon you just ran did the construction. Shorter, faster sessions do not hold that resilience across ten weeks.
Toresdahl et al. 2021; Jones & Kirby 2025; Casado et al. 2019
Race-pace training pays off near your threshold
This plan contains no marathon-pace run at all. It leans entirely on the race-pace specificity you carry out of your recent marathon, which within ten weeks is largely intact. The trade is real: you maintain the ability to hold goal pace but never test or adjust it before the second start line.
Pierce et al. 1990; Hewson & Hopkins 1996; Jones et al. 2021
A taper makes you 2-6% faster on race day
The closing three weeks bring volume from about 68 miles to 24 while intensity stays. A tune-up race sits two weeks out, VO2max repeats follow, and a dress rehearsal at marathon pace lands in race week. Cutting volume while holding the sharp work is what produces the taper's reliable gain.
Tune-up races may sharpen pacing
Two tune-up races sit in the closing weeks, one at 8K to 10K. They will not add fitness this close to a marathon. Their value is a read on your pacing judgement, which matters more than usual here because no marathon-pace session exists to calibrate you.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week good for beginners?
- No. Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week is built for advanced-level runners. A true beginner should start with a lower-mileage plan.
- How many days per week does Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week require?
- The plan runs on a schedule of multiple weekly runs. See the at-a-glance strip for the exact count.
- Does Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week include a taper?
- Yes, the plan includes a taper into race week.
- What is the rubric grade for Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week?
- Advanced Marathoning Multiple Marathoning, 10-Week grades C on the Buena Vida rubric.