Training 5 min
What should I do when I miss a week of marathon training?
A missed week won't derail your marathon, but how you restart matters. Return to easy running, reassess your timeline, and adjust your training load rather than trying to catch up. Most runners bounce back within two weeks if they stay patient.
Assess why you missed the week
Before restarting, understand what happened. Illness, injury, work pressure, or life events all need different responses. If you were unwell, allow extra recovery—your body needs time to fully recover, not just absence from training. If it was circumstances, you may return sooner. This distinction shapes your next steps.
Start with easy running, not hard efforts
Your first run back should be gentle. A 20–30 minute easy jog at conversational pace re-establishes the habit and lets your body settle. Resist the urge to make up mileage or intensity. One easy week restores aerobic fitness far better than rushed, hard sessions.
Decide whether to extend your race date
The answer depends on how close race day is and your training age. If you have 12+ weeks left and this is your first missed week, you can continue as planned. If you have fewer than 8 weeks remaining or you've had multiple interruptions, moving your race by 2–3 weeks gives you genuine fitness gains rather than panic training. A well-trained athlete always outperforms an undertrained one, regardless of date.
Return to your structured plan gradually
- Week 1 back: easy running only, 60–70% of your normal weekly mileage
- Week 2: introduce one short tempo or interval session at low intensity
- Week 3: resume your regular session types at normal load
- Skip the long run if you've been away more than two weeks; build it back by 1–2 km per week
Adapt your plan instead of starting over
If you're using RunV Premium with a Coach Crawford marathon plan, you can adapt your schedule to fit your week when sessions are missed, rather than abandoning it. This means you stay on track without the stress of restarting from scratch or chasing missed workouts. Visit runv.app/coaching/ to see how to build or adjust a plan to your timeline.
Watch for overtraining on your return
Many runners overshoot when restarting—adding too much volume or intensity too fast leads to injury or burnout. Patience is harder than speed, but it works. If you feel stale, heavy, or sore beyond normal muscle fatigue after two weeks back, ease off for another week. A missed week is temporary; an injury is permanent.
Trust the taper and peak training
Your marathon fitness comes from consistent effort over months, not one perfect week. A single missed week reduces your peak by roughly 2–3%, which most trained runners absorb without problem. The race-specific fitness you've built stays. Focus on the weeks ahead, not the one you lost.
FAQ
- Will one missed week ruin my marathon?
- No. One week loses minimal fitness—about 2–3% of your aerobic capacity. What matters is how you return. Easy running and gradual progression will restore your training rhythm within two to three weeks.
- Should I do a long run immediately after returning?
- No. Wait at least one week before attempting your scheduled long run. Ease back with easy-paced shorter runs first, then rebuild long-run distance by 1–2 km per week. Jumping straight into a 20 km run risks injury.
- Is it better to postpone my race if I've missed training?
- Only if you have fewer than 8 weeks left or have had multiple missed weeks. If you have 12+ weeks remaining, continue forward. A fit athlete on a normal plan always performs better than one chasing a rushed schedule. Postponing buys peace of mind and genuine fitness gains.
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RunV turns this thinking into your plan — adaptive coaching that rebuilds after every run.
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