Marathon strength workout: how to lift through a marathon build

A good marathon strength workout is short, heavy-ish and boring: a few hard sets of a squat or hinge, some single-leg work, calves, a bit of upper body, done in 35 to 45 minutes. Twice a week early in the build, once or twice in the peak weeks, never the day before the long run. That's the whole answer. The rest is detail about timing, because timing is where marathon strength training actually goes wrong.

Most runners either quit the gym the day they sign up for a marathon or keep their old lifting program and wonder why every long run feels like wading through wet sand. Neither is necessary. You can do the scheduling by hand with the rules below, or hand it to an app like Runna that also programs strength and let it keep heavy legs away from your long runs.

Marathon strength training: what the job actually is

During a marathon build, running is the priority and lifting supports it. That one sentence decides almost everything:

• ›You're maintaining, not peaking. No PR attempts until after the race.
• ›Volume goes down, load mostly stays. Fewer sets, still heavy enough to matter.
• ›The long run gets the best legs of the week. Lifting moves around it, not the other way.
• ›Sessions stay short. You have a lot of running to recover from.

If you want those rules already turned into weeks, that's what a marathon training plan with the lifting slotted in is for. For the big picture of the build itself, the long run, easy miles and taper, start with how to train for a marathon. This post is only about the gym side.

The same logic applies to shorter races. If you're training for your first half, the long run is shorter and you have a bit more room for lifting, but the order of priorities doesn't change.

Why strength training for marathon runners is worth the time

The case for lifting isn't folklore. A systematic review by Blagrove and colleagues (2018) of 24 studies on middle- and long-distance runners found strength training improved running economy by 2–8% in most of the studies that measured it, with time-trial and sprint performance also tending to improve. Body composition was not negatively affected. The authors suggest two to three sessions a week.

Running economy is how much oxygen a given pace costs you. Better economy means marathon pace is a little cheaper, which matters most at mile 20, not mile 2.

There's also a study on recreational marathoners specifically. In Li et al. (2021), 38 recreational marathon runners added either heavy strength training or complex training (heavy lifts alternated with plyometrics) twice a week for six weeks, alongside their running. Both groups improved running economy and maximum strength. A third group doing "endurance-strength" training instead didn't improve running economy. Small study, six weeks, but it points the same way as the reviews: load matters.

Two honest caveats:

• ›Not every study finds a benefit. Blagrove's review says the improvements weren't consistent across all the studies it reviewed.
• ›Lifting is not an injury shield. A randomized study of first-time New York City Marathon runners (Toresdahl et al., 2020) found a self-directed 10-minute strength routine, three times a week, did not reduce overuse injuries that stopped people finishing. If something hurts, see a professional, not a resistance band.

The broader case, including what to lift in general, is in strength training for runners.

Marathon runner weight training: what to lift

You don't need a special marathon exercise list. You need the same few patterns any runner should train, done with real load.

Pick one from each row, not all of them. For a ranked breakdown of which lifts actually help runners, and which ones mostly waste your time, that post goes exercise by exercise.

The marathon strength workout

Here's a session that fits most of a marathon build. About 40 minutes.

RPE 7–8 means two or three reps left in the tank. Not grinding, not easy. On a week when the running is heavy and your sleep is bad, the same RPE means a lighter bar, which is exactly the point.

The second weekly session can be lighter and upper-body biased: rows, presses, carries, a single-leg exercise at moderate effort, and calves again.

Where the lifting goes in a marathon week

This is the part that matters most. A good session on the wrong day is a bad session.

The rules behind it:

• ›Never heavy legs the day before the long run or a quality run. That's the one that gets broken most.
• ›Heavy lifting can go on a hard-run day (run first, lift a few hours later) or on an easy day. Stacking it on the quality day keeps your easy days genuinely easy. Putting it on an easy day keeps both hard sessions fresh. Pick what your schedule allows.
• ›Nothing heavy the day after the long run. It's the hardest session of the week, even when it's slow.

Why separate by hours rather than doing both back to back? An updated meta-analysis by Schumann et al. (2022) found concurrent aerobic and strength training didn't compromise maximal strength or muscle growth, but explosive strength gains were blunted more when both happened in the same session than when they were separated by at least three hours. That's the practical version of concurrent training: the interference is real but small, and mostly a scheduling problem.

How it changes through the build

Your lifting shouldn't look the same in week 2 as in week 16.

Every third or fourth week of the build, the running steps back and the lifting should too. Treat it as a recovery week for both: fewer sets, same exercises, lighter feel.

In the last two to three weeks, the lifting follows the same logic as the running: cutting volume before race day, keeping a little intensity, adding nothing new. Light upper body, mobility and maybe a few easy bodyweight sets in race week. Strength does not evaporate in two weeks.

Heavy or light?

The old runner's instinct is high reps with light weights "for endurance". You already have an endurance program. It's called running.

The studies above that improved running economy used heavy or explosive work, not long circuits. Heavy here means heavy for you: if you've never lifted, spend the first few weeks learning the movements with lighter loads and build from there. Never start a heavy squat program in the middle of a marathon peak. Our guide to weight training for runners covers the heavy-vs-light question in more depth.

Common mistakes

• ›Quitting the gym on sign-up day. Then wondering why you feel weak in week 14.
• ›Keeping your old lifting program unchanged. Five leg sessions and a marathon build don't fit in one person.
• ›Leg day on Friday, long run Saturday. You'll feel it by mile 10.
• ›Chasing PRs in the peak weeks. Save it for after the race, when the running drops.
• ›Getting sore on purpose. New exercises and high-rep burnouts make you sore. Sore legs run badly.

After the marathon

Once the race is done and you've had a couple of easy weeks, the priorities can flip. The off-season is the best time to push strength because nothing is competing with it. And if you're already eyeing something longer, the same principles apply to what is an ultra marathon training: more time on feet, so lifting stays short and well placed.

How exrsz handles strength in a marathon build

exrsz builds one periodized plan from your race date, schedule, level and equipment, with running and lifting balanced in the same plan, so leg day never lands the day before your long run. It adapts each week to how you actually trained and reshuffles missed sessions so the build still lands on race day.

FAQ

How many strength sessions a week should marathon runners do?

Two in the base and early build, one or two in the peak weeks. The Blagrove et al. (2018) review suggests two to three sessions a week for distance runners, but during a marathon peak one well-placed session is often enough to hold strength.

What is a good marathon strength workout?

A squat or hinge, a single-leg exercise, calf raises and an upper-body pull, for two to four hard sets each with a couple of reps left in the tank. Add a few jumps at the start if you're comfortable with them. Around 40 minutes is plenty.

Should marathon runners lift heavy?

Heavy for you, with good technique and reps left in the tank. In recreational marathoners, heavy strength training and complex training twice a week improved running economy, while an endurance-strength program didn't (Li et al., 2021).

When should I stop lifting before a marathon?

Do your last meaningful lower-body session about 10 days out, then stick to light upper body and mobility. You won't lose meaningful strength in two weeks.

Can I lift the day after a long run?

Upper body or mobility, yes. Heavy lower body, no. The long run is a hard session even when it's slow, so give your legs at least a day before loading them again.