Advanced Marathoning

Explore how to train smarter and remain injury-free.

Competing in a marathon requires thorough and intelligent preparation. Advanced Marathoning, Fourth Edition, gives you all the information you need to benefit from a training program that combines coaching best practices with the latest sport science.

Written for serious runners, by the duo behind the hugely successful first three editions, this edition is now in full color and includes the marathon training principles and training programs that thousands of marathon runners have used to set personal bests. 

From among the detailed day-by-day training schedules, you can choose between 18- and 12-week preparation and select weekly distances of less than 55 miles, 55 to 70, 70 to 85, or over 85 miles. Use the expanded guidance on how to adjust those training schedules to enjoy flexibility in your workouts and make the time for proper recovery. Get new information on heart rate training and guidance on how to avoid overtraining and overreaching. The profiles of elite and non-elite runners give you an insider look at how successful marathoners use the philosophies and techniques in this book to set and achieve challenging goals.

Complement your running workouts with exercises for flexibility, core and whole-body strength, and aerobic cross-training to optimize performance and help keep injury at bay. Expert guidance on nutrition, hydration, and the importance of recovery as well as race-day strategies will help you conquer marathons with confidence.

Advanced Marathoning gives ambitious marathoners the information needed to train smarter, remain injury-free, and cross the next finish line stronger and faster than ever.

Pete Pfitzinger was the top American finisher in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic marathons. With a personal best of 2:11:43, Pfitzinger is a two-time winner of the San Francisco Marathon and placed third in the 1987 New York City Marathon. He was ranked the top American marathoner in 1984 by Track & Field News, and he is a member of the Road Runners Club of America’s Hall of Fame. He was a senior writer for Running Times from 1997 to 2007, in which his popular column, “The Pfitzinger Lab Report,” appeared. Pfitzinger has over 30 years of experience coaching marathon runners to achieve their goals. He is also the coauthor of Faster Road Racing.

Scott Douglas is a is a contributing writer for Runner’s World and Outside. He is the author or coauthor of several well-known running books, including Personal Best Running, Running Is My Therapy, and the New York Times bestsellers Meb for Mortals and 26 Marathons. Scott has run more than 130,000 miles since starting as a teen. He lives in North Yarmouth, Maine.