There is so much fetish surrounding the marathon that even those who start running now, after ages of sedentary lifestyle, can imagine themselves quickly completing the 42.2 km. I waited a good couple of years to complete my first mara, in 2015.
But with AI being so easy to use, I suppose many people are looking for a recipe there. I did that too. Calling myself a beginner, I asked Gemini and ChatGPT to set up training to face a mara in 2026.
Gemini started by inflating my ego with a metaphysical twist: “What an incredible goal. Running a marathon is as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a physical challenge.”
And then he warned: “As your ‘digital coach’, I need to be the floor of your excitement: training for a marathon from scratch in less than a year is a considerable challenge for the body. The biggest risk for beginners is not the breath, but rather the joints and tendons, which take longer to adapt than the heart.”
The machine didn’t consider the goal impractical and proposed an 18-week training structure, which it called the “gold standard for first-time marathoners.”
Well, the “gold standard” is well balanced, I would say consensual among coaches, as it combines light running, to be done “at a pace where you can talk without getting out of breath”, a weekly intensity training session, a weekly “long run” (more mileage training), more rest and strengthening, which the machine called “crucial”.
The spreadsheet suggested by Gemini is below.
Second – Total rest – Muscle recovery
Tuesday – Light run – 5 to 7 km at a comfortable pace
Wednesday – Strengthening – Focus on legs, core and glutes (Bodybuilding/Pilates)
Fifth – Rhythm run – 6 km (1 km easy + 4 km a little faster + 1 km easy)
Friday – Light run – 5km or regenerative walk
Saturday – Long run – Start with 10km and increase by 2km each week
Sunday – Active rest – 30 min walk or yoga
ChatGPT was less excited about the idea: “The marathon demands a lot from the body. If you are completely sedentary, it might be safer next year. But you can try this year if you already have some base (even a small one).”
And he proposed an 18-week plan with periodization, that is, with different intensities and volumes throughout the weeks. The model is this:
Second – rest or mobility
Third – light running
Fourth – tempo or interval training
Quinta – rest or strengthening
Friday – light running
Saturday – rest
Domingo – long run
And the peak phase, between weeks 11 and 15, involves a long run of up to 32 km at a “really slow pace”.
Finally, I asked the coach and partner Wanderlei Oliveira, the WO, to comment on the training. He said that “some guidelines are coherent”, but the assumption is not. He recommends that beginners only face the mara after three years of training.
This is provided that an initial medical assessment is carried out, without which the “risks are great”.
After that, for him, a coach must evaluate the technical level; then, yes, you must acquire experience in races from 5 km to 10 km (“at least eight in two years”) and 21 km (“two in two years”), in order to “know what running is and have an idea of distances and pace”.
WO warns that “increasing volumes from 2 km to 32 km”, as proposed by Gemini for long runs, generates “high risk of injury” and could put everything in jeopardy.
“The increasing volumes are gradual, but calculated and cautious!”
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