London Marathon
Strength and
Conditioning

What strength work can add

Running economy describes the energy cost of running at a given speed. A 2024 review of 31 studies found that heavy resistance work and combined strength methods could improve this measure. Evidence certainty was low to moderate, and the studies covered different runners and protocols. This does not promise a particular marathon time. Llanos-Lagos et al., 2024.

A 2025 trial adds a useful endurance detail. Twenty-eight trained male runners completed ten weeks of running alone or running plus twice-weekly strength and plyometric training. The added training improved economy late in a 90-minute run and subsequent high-intensity endurance. It did not test a marathon race, and its results cannot be assumed for every beginner or female runner. Zanini et al., 2025.

The practical choice is to build strength with a dose you can recover from. More gym fatigue is not the goal.

Which muscles should the programme train?

Running uses coordinated muscle action. The following is a practical movement map, not a ranking of muscles or a test for injury risk. Biomechanical modelling identifies important support and propulsion roles for the calf muscles, with thigh and hip contributions changing through the stride. It does not prove that one exercise improves marathon performance. Hamner, Seth and Delp, 2010.

The exercise choices are coaching applications of anatomy. They are not six separate promises of faster running. Keep a small, measurable selection instead of adding every option.

Start with two strength sessions

These examples suit an adult who already runs regularly and can perform the exercises comfortably. A new lifter should begin with one or two sets per exercise, lighter loads and coaching before using the full plan. A runner with pain, recent surgery or a health restriction needs an individual assessment.

RIR means repetitions in reserve: finish most sets when you could still do another 2–3 good repetitions. Use a controlled lowering phase of about two seconds, then rise smoothly. No bouncing or grinding. Warm up for 8–10 minutes with easy movement and lighter practice sets. Times below include preparation, rests and equipment changes.

Session A: squat, calf and upper-body support — 45–60 minutes

Session B: single-leg strength and calf capacity — 45–60 minutes

These doses are a starting proposal. Running research supports strength training as an adjunct; it does not validate this exact exercise list. Do not convert the sessions into a breathless circuit. Allow enough rest to maintain the intended strength work. Llanos-Lagos et al., 2024.

Choose 2, 3 or 4 total training days

The day count includes running and strength. Some days combine both, either together or in separate sessions on the same day. These are weekly layouts, not complete distance-by-distance marathon plans. Long-run distance, total running volume and harder work must fit your current base and race goal.

The A and B menus above are the full versions. For short A, use squat 2 × 6–8, Romanian deadlift 1 × 6–8, bent-knee calf 2 × 8–12, row 1 × 8–10 and side plank 1 × 20–30 sec per side. For short B, use split squat 2 × 6–8 per leg, leg curl 1 × 8–12, straight-knee calf 2 × 8–12, press 1 × 8–10 and dead bug 1 × 5–8 per side. Retain the listed rests and RIR; allow 30–40 minutes each including preparation. These replace the full sessions.

Keep the running priority clear

On combined days, do the priority run first. Separate strength by several hours where practical; the total still counts as one training day. If running leaves you unable to lift with control, reduce or omit the lifting. Gym progress is useful only when it fits the wider preparation.

Concurrent-training research finds that endurance and strength can coexist, with explosive strength more sensitive to interference in some arrangements. It does not establish a universally best timetable. Schumann et al., 2022.

Use an appropriate official London Marathon running plan or your coach's plan to set the running progression. If it requires more days than you can train, revise the whole plan; do not simply delete runs and assume the same outcome.

Conditioning: keep running specific

Use easy running for much of your running volume, with harder work set by your running plan and current ability. Easy means you can speak in full sentences. The long run should develop from a distance you already tolerate; this page does not set mileage or a compulsory weekly percentage increase.

For an established runner whose plan already includes quality work, one possible session is 10–15 minutes easy, 3 × 6 minutes at a controlled effort of about 6–7/10, two minutes easy between efforts, then 10 minutes easy. That is 18 minutes of work and 42–47 minutes total. It replaces the week's quality session. It is not extra work to add to intervals, hills and a hard long run. This is a coaching example, not a study-derived marathon prescription.

Cycling or an elliptical can provide an alternative aerobic session when appropriate, but neither reproduces all running demands. Gym circuits and HYROX stations also have a different purpose. For combined training principles, read how to combine strength and cardio.

Mobility and stretching with a clear purpose

Before training, use 5 minutes of easy movement, then ankle rocks, controlled leg swings and bodyweight squats: about 6–10 repetitions of each. Follow with lighter sets of the first lift. Choose movements that improve your comfortable range that day.

Separate flexibility work can include the following optional menu. Use a mild stretch for 20–30 seconds, twice per side, after training or at another time. Select two or three relevant areas; do not force all five.

Stretching can improve range of motion. Longer static holds immediately before explosive tasks can impair acute performance; the wider warm-up matters. Stretching has not shown a clear general protection against overuse injury. The menu and doses above are practical options, not a proven marathon injury-prevention routine. Behm et al., 2016.

Periodisation: build, maintain, then arrive fresh

If the race is more than 16 weeks away, use the earlier months to establish a repeatable running base and learn the gym movements. Do not bring the hardest race-specific weeks forward just because preparation starts in autumn. This is a planning recommendation; the amount of base training remains individual.

Periodisation means changing the training emphasis over time. Count backwards from the race. This 16-week example assumes you enter with an established running base. It is a strength-support framework, not a promise that every new runner can prepare for a marathon in 16 weeks.

An example final adjustment is two brief gym sessions with 1–2 sets per familiar lift early in the taper, then one easy, short session early in race week if it has worked well before. Omit lower-body lifting if it leaves residual soreness. Do not introduce new jumps, slow-lowering methods or maximal tests close to the race.

Endurance taper research supports reducing training volume while retaining some familiar intensity. It does not provide an exact lifting schedule for every marathon runner. The gym example above is a conservative coaching decision. Wang et al., 2023.

Where jumps fit

For a runner already comfortable with jumping, a coach might trial 2 × 8 low two-leg ankle hops, once weekly after the warm-up, with 60–90 seconds between sets. Keep them crisp and stop before landing quality changes. Replace some assistance work to make room. This is an optional entry dose, not the plyometric protocol from the cited trial. Do not add jumps during a sudden running increase or when the calf/Achilles is painful. Zanini et al., 2025.

Progress without chasing fatigue

Use the same range, tempo and rest when comparing sessions. If 3 × 6–8 reaches 8/8/8 with about two good repetitions left, and running recovery remains acceptable across two comparable exposures, add the smallest practical load and return towards six repetitions. If the equipment jump is too large, retain the load. This is a coaching rule, not a biological deadline.

For an experienced lifter, Tempo's descending-volume model can be an alternative for one main lift:

This replaces a main exercise prescription; remove assistance or allow more time for the extra first-week sets. The percentages describe repetition count, not weight, effort or total training stress. Do not apply the same cuts automatically to easy running or the long run. Simple progression is often the better starting option. Current ACSM guidance does not establish complex cycles as essential for average healthy adults. ACSM, 2026.

After a reduced week, begin the next block from work you tolerated. Do not automatically start heavier. Compare the first week with the previous first week under the same conditions; repeat or reduce the dose if the running load or recovery has changed.

Record exercise, load, sets, repetitions, RIR and next-day response. If soreness changes your stride, repeated runs deteriorate or fatigue persists, hold progression and remove a set from the main lower-body work before reassessing. Stop a painful exercise; persistent or worsening pain needs appropriate assessment. Do not make up missed sessions by doubling the next one.

Plan your preparation with Tempo

Bring your race date, current running week, recent long-run distance, previous gym work and available days. Julian can review how strength training could fit the plan. See About Julian and request a consultation.

For a shorter introduction, read strength training for runners.

Books and evidence notes

Research links appear next to the claims they support. The exact programmes, split layouts, mobility doses and decision rules are coaching proposals informed by that evidence. They have not been tested as a complete Tempo programme.

• Richard Blagrove, Strength and Conditioning for Endurance Running (Crowood, 2015). Sport-specific background reading; publisher details verified, not a claim that the full book was reviewed for this page. Publisher listing.
• Tudor Bompa and Carlo Buzzichelli, Periodization of Strength Training for Sports, 4th edition. Useful planning framework; the publisher's introduction was consulted. Publisher introduction.
• Charles Poliquin, Modern Trends in Strength Training, Volume 1, Reps and Sets, third-edition title in the supplied library copy. Selected pages informed the attention to rep brackets and training records. This is a historical coaching influence, not a claim about what Poliquin would prescribe today or proof of the example cycle. Exact local provenance is recorded in the editorial source register.

General training education for adults; individual health restrictions and return from injury need individual advice.

Continue your preparation

• Strength training for runners
• Combine strength and cardio

Discuss your goal, current training and available days with Julian at Tempo in Fitzrovia.