Many people who buy a Peloton Bike or Peloton Tread or download the Peloton Digital app for guided workouts do not necessarily have ambitions of running a marathon when they first purchase their Peloton.
However, as you become more and more invested in your workout routine, you might decide that you want to use Peloton to train for a marathon.
The good news is that whether you have Peloton equipment or you are just a Peloton Digital app subscriber, you can train for a marathon with Peloton.
In this article, we will discuss how to use Peloton to train for a marathon and what an effective Peloton marathon training plan entails.
We will cover:
- Is There A Peloton Marathon Training Program?
- How To Follow the Peloton Marathon Training Program
- Is The Peloton Marathon Training Program Any Good?
Let’s get started!
Is There a Peloton Marathon Training Program?
The good news is that if you have your sights set on running a marathon, you can train for a marathon with Peloton.
In fact, Peloton even has a marathon training program curated in the Peloton app, taking all of the thinking out of devising your own Peloton marathon training plan.
Of course, you are welcome to select your own Peloton workouts for a customized Peloton marathon training plan, and this can be a great option for certain runners.
However, taking advantage of the Peloton marathon training program is a great option for beginners or intermediate runners who do not want to work with a coach or find an online marathon training plan that they can try to make work with available Peloton workouts.
For example, imagine that you find an online marathon training plan that you like but you want to use Peloton-guided running workouts and supplementary strength training or cross-training workouts.
Let’s say that your marathon training plan calls for an interval workout of 6 x 800-meter repeats.
You’ll have to search in the library of on-demand Peloton outdoor running workouts and find something that somewhat resembles this workout structure.
This can be extremely time-consuming and you may not be able to easily replicate all of the workouts on your marathon training plan.
For this reason, if you want to use Peloton to train for a marathon, it’s advisable to either follow the curated Peloton marathon training program or create your Peloton marathon training plan by choosing workouts found in the Peloton app already.
How to Follow the Peloton Marathon Training Program
The Peloton marathon training plan is located in the Peloton app under Programs.
You will find the Peloton marathon training program listed as “Road to Your 26.2,” and it is split up into three parts.
The total length of the Peloton Road to Your 26.2 Marathon training plan is 18 weeks, with each of the three parts lasting six weeks.
As can be expected, the Peloton marathon training plan is primarily running workouts, but there are also stretching and strength training workouts geared towards runners as well.
The running workouts are designed to be outdoor runs, so they are only audio-guided workouts. Of course, you are welcome to run on a treadmill.
However, If you plan to run outside, you don’t have to worry about having access to video or needing to watch anything as you run.
Like most marathon training plans, the Peloton marathon training program gradually builds in volume and intensity, particularly in terms of your long run distance.
The first week of the program has a long run of 8 miles and you progress to a 20-mile long one before beginning the marathon taper.
For this reason, beginners will need to work up to a long run of 8 miles before they can begin the official Peloton Marathon Training Plan.
There are other running programs in the Peloton app that begin with shorter distances, even a “Couch to 5k” type of program for novice runners. There is also a good 10 km training program.
Once you have sufficient endurance to run 8 miles without stopping, you can start the Road to Your 26.2 program.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you have been running half marathons or have more endurance built up than that necessary for just an 8-mile run, you can skip a few weeks into Part 1 of the Peloton marathon training program or skip Part 1 entirely and jump in at Part 2.
You do not need to have the Peloton Tread or a treadmill of any type to do the Peloton marathon training program. The runs are all possible outdoors, although you can run on a treadmill if you prefer.
There are also two strength training workouts per week.
Is the Peloton Marathon Training Program Any Good?
One nice thing about following the Road to Your 26.2 Peloton marathon training plan is that the program keeps track of your progress on all of the suggested planned workouts and you can earn badges along the way as you accomplish different goals.
There are different workouts that you will find each week in the Road to Your 26.2 program. The marathon prep classes are marathon training workouts where you run portions of the workout at goal marathon pace.
This is, of course, an important part of marathon training, but what is great about these workouts is that the Peloton instructors leading the workouts provide helpful tips and strategies for training and racing a marathon.
It is kind of like running with a friend and a coach all at the same time.
Interestingly, you can’t find these marathon-specific running workouts in the Peloton Digital app without navigating through the Road to Your 26.2 program.
Therefore, even if you want to create your own custom marathon training plan with Peloton rather than follow this curated program, you may want to pick out some of these workouts by going into the program.
One nice thing about the Peloton marathon training program is that not only do the workouts build upon one another in terms of intensity and distance, but the workouts are designed to flow in the order in which Peloton has suggested them.
For example, the instructors often make reference to the workout you did yesterday or will do tomorrow, such as, “In yesterday‘s strength training session,“ or “In tomorrow’s long run…”
This really helps you feel like you are following a well-thought-out training plan.
One of the nice features of the Road to Your 26.2 Peloton marathon training program is that there are exclusive 10-minute guided warm-up runs before each long run.
These not only help physically warm up your body and prepare you for the long run, but also help quell your anxiety about taking on a distance you have never run before.
They are motivating and educational. Also, many runners are prone to just jump right into their running workouts and skip the warm-up, so having these deliberate, standalone warm-up runs can be really helpful.
What Are The Drawbacks of the Peloton Marathon Training Plan?
Although there are many benefits of the Peloton marathon training program, there are also some drawbacks that may make you decide that it is best to create your own marathon training plan with Peloton workouts.
One of the biggest issues for many runners is the fact that the workouts in Peloton marathon training program are primarily time-based rather than distance-based. Many marathon runners prefer to train by miles (or kilometers) rather than minutes.
Another downside for beginners is that although there is some amount of guidance during many of the Peloton running workouts on the marathon training plan, the cues are often fairly vague. You might be told to run at “tempo pace” or “marathon pace”.
If you do not know what these paces should be, you’ll have to look it up on the internet for yourself.
If you still want to use Peloton to train for a marathon but want to come up with your own Peloton marathon training plan, that is also a totally viable option.
You may prefer to just use Peloton workouts as the “accessory“ to your running workouts.
For example, you might choose any online marathon training plan and then listen to whatever podcasts, music, audiobooks, or your natural surroundings when you run and then use Peloton workouts for strength training, cross-training, stretching, and recovery.
You can find the complete Peloton Marathon Training Plan here.