The Roadmap: A Series Introduction

Written By Matt Campbell

The Roadmap

A 15-Week Fall Marathon Training Series

The marathon journey can often appear deceptively straightforward at the outset. But between now and your fall race lies a weaving landscape of training decisions, physical challenges, and mental barriers that can build you into the ultimate racing machine…or leave you overtrained, injured, and possibly unable to make that start line at all. The difference often comes down to navigation—knowing the training principles to embrace and pitfalls to avoid when roadblocks arrive.

You need a roadmap.

Welcome to The Roadmap: our Fall Marathon Training Series—a curated collection of insights designed to guide you through the most critical junctures of your training journey. This isn't a comprehensive training manual or a one-size-fits-all program. Instead, it's a strategic companion offering navigation tools for the moments when the path forward isn't clear.

Each week, we will focus on a single, core concept of training and race preparation. None of it is novel. None of it is proprietary. All of it is straightforward and timely navigation at key stages to help you make smarter, measured decisions and avoid major reroutes or an early exit.

Themes we will explore:

  • Training Principles - Foundational concepts that are as simple as they are effective at keeping you happier, healthier, and faster than ever

  • Workout Spotlights - Detailed breakdowns of high-yield sessions for effective physical, mental, and emotional marathon preparation

  • Practical Insights - Knowledge and concepts are well and good, but real world examples and applications help put these into practice

Concepts we will cover:

  • Building a Strong Foundation

  • The 80/20 Principle

  • Workout Execution vs. Performance

  • Finding Your Mileage Sweet Spot

  • The Role of Speedwork in Marathon Training

  • Distinguishing Marathon Effort from Marathon Pace in Training

  • The Power of Down Weeks

  • Long Run Workouts

  • Preparing for Race Day

  • Surviving the Taper Crazies

Your training journey probably started yesterday. You may have already encountered roadblocks or detours. You may already be in a pothole. It isn’t too late. Your race day success is still within reach and can hinge on the choices you make today (and tomorrow).

Welcome to The Roadmap.

Matt Campbell
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Week 1: Building a Strong Foundation