Marathon Weekend 2026

[The Expert]

Yes, please @camaker I'd love to see it continue. You've done a great job with it! I know a few of us are willing to pitch in here and there when you're otherwise occupied or to just give you a break, so feel free to tap us in when needed.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: Yes to keeping it going! You’ve done a great job for MW2025 and look forward to more great SAFD this year! And I agree with @The Expert , I’m sure lots of us would be happy to jump in if you need a break from time to time!

 

[Erika10021]

SAFD: Please continue SAFD! I love it, even if i don't respond very often.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD: Absolutely, let’s continue SAFD. @camaker thank you for doing it. It’s a wonderful way to keep the conversation going and get new people involved in our cult.

 

[mmm_texas]

I know I said it years ago and it didn't sway the majority then, but let me throw it out there again.

I really think SAFD should be its own thread. Every separate topic should be its own thread. It's intentionally easy to create new threads, that's the way these forums are supposed to work, and that's how they seem to work best. It would certainly make finding actual MW news easier, since SAFD ends up being the majority of the posts.

Thanks for listening!

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: we should definitely keep up our tradition, it's very enjoyable

 

[Fischstick]

SAFD: keep it going!

 

[Ronski]

Question for marathoners! 2026 MW will be my first attempt at the marathon distance. I'm a chonker and will be just shy of 60y/o in Jan 2026.
I currently run using Galloway @ about a 12:45 pace. I will be following rD beginner marathon training plan which is about 28 weeks.

So, the question is: Between now and the start of the plan (around July1) where should I concentrate my efforts? Distance? Pace? Consistency?

I am currently doing 3x a week, but my "long" run is only about 5 miles. I have been focusing on incrementally altering my r/w ratios to try and get near a :30/:30.

I have a history of trying to do too much and getting hurt-- I'd like to break that cycle!!!

 

[AZMermaid]

Great question Ronski! Following along for peoples thoughts as I’m in a similar boat with my first but needing to get ready to start the plan. But you are more fit than I am!

SAFD- I say yes! I see the Argument for the own thread and understand it… but think there’s a long gap between news so it keeps this thread active.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

SAFD: Dittos to earlier comments.
To @Ronski : start training now, even if it is just what I call “maintenance” runs. Mine are 3 to 4 miles long, roughly every other day, and it sounds like you are already doing similar. Keep it up to build up muscles and stamina. Cross training with cycling, swimming, or lifting weights is also good. And definitely keep optimizing your running/walking intervals.

FWIW, I will also be a week or so shy of 60 for MW2026.

Let me chime in for today’s SAFD since I wasn’t there: The new course layout. What was your most or least favorite aspect of the new course? What would you like to see different?

 

[camaker]

Question for marathoners! 2026 MW will be my first attempt at the marathon distance. I'm a chonker and will be just shy of 60y/o in Jan 2026.
I currently run using Galloway @ about a 12:45 pace. I will be following rD beginner marathon training plan which is about 28 weeks.

So, the question is: Between now and the start of the plan (around July1) where should I concentrate my efforts? Distance? Pace? Consistency?

I am currently doing 3x a week, but my "long" run is only about 5 miles. I have been focusing on incrementally altering my r/w ratios to try and get near a :30/:30.

I have a history of trying to do too much and getting hurt-- I'd like to break that cycle!!!

My suggestion would be to work on your running base. A lot of injuries come from trying to build from a small base up to full marathon volume. The more miles your body is used to running consistently, the smaller the jump from base to marathon-ready will be, reducing the risk. The biggest benefit I saw in my running as far as injury prevention goes was increasing my running base from an ~25 miles/week level to a base of ~35 miles/week. The more consistent and higher your running volume prior to starting the marathon plan, the more success you're likely to have.

 

[camaker]

SAFD: Dittos to earlier comments.
To @Ronski : start training now, even if it is just what I call “maintenance” runs. Mine are 3 to 4 miles long, roughly every other day, and it sounds like you are already doing similar. Keep it up to build up muscles and stamina. Cross training with cycling, swimming, or lifting weights is also good. And definitely keep optimizing your running/walking intervals.

FWIW, I will also be a week or so shy of 60 for MW2026.

Let me chime in for today’s SAFD since I wasn’t there: The new course layout. What was your most or least favorite aspect of the new course? What would you like to see different?

You answered the SAFD question and then proposed a new SAFD question? That might be better as a last SAFD on the 2025 thread rather than a first question for 2026.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD: I am definitely in favor of keeping SAFD going. I realize that it can make searching for past posts a bit difficult, but I think that is more than offset by the increased engagement with the thread which makes getting questions answered in a timely fashion, and from more than one source when they are subjective/perspective based questions, much more likely.

ETA: I’ve never found this crew to be an asked and answered bunch (in the best way). I’ve always thought the MW thread is populated with people who are happy to help and offer feedback, even if something has been addressed quite often.

 

[Ronski]

My suggestion would be to work on your running base. A lot of injuries come from trying to build from a small base up to full marathon volume. The more miles your body is used to running consistently, the smaller the jump from base to marathon-ready will be, reducing the risk. The biggest benefit I saw in my running as far as injury prevention goes was increasing my running base from an ~25 miles/week level to a base of ~35 miles/week. The more consistent and higher your running volume prior to starting the marathon plan, the more success you're likely to have.

Does it make sense to increase my long run mileage too early when the plan starts at a lower level? Or should I work on increasing long run mileage early then jumping into the plan at a later date?

The beginner plan calls for 30min, 30min, and a longer weekend run-- I'm currently doing 3miles, 3 miles and a 3-4-5 mile weekend run (depending on whether I've changed my ratio that week). When changing ratio's I adjust in 15sec intervals and hold at the new ratio for 3 weeks to give myself time to adjust.

Should I factor additional time into the plan to account for time off due to injury, life, etc???

 

[SheHulk]

Does it make sense to increase my long run mileage too early when the plan starts at a lower level? Or should I work on increasing long run mileage early then jumping into the plan at a later date?

The beginner plan calls for 30min, 30min, and a longer weekend run-- I'm currently doing 3miles, 3 miles and a 3-4-5 mile weekend run (depending on whether I've changed my ratio that week). When changing ratio's I adjust in 15sec intervals and hold at the new ratio for 3 weeks to give myself time to adjust.

Should I factor additional time into the plan to account for time off due to injury, life, etc???

Not putting words in the mouth of @camaker , but increasing volume doesn't have to mean all in the long run. In fact, it shouldn't mean all in the long run. I don't do Galloway, but my understanding is that those plans suggest a range for the weekday runs, and 30 min is on the low end of that range. Somebody who runs Galloway could speak to this better, but I think it's probably better to not plan on always running the minimum on those weekday runs. Especially if you're slower, that could be only 5-6 miles during the week and then some way longer long run. I'm sure people have completed the marathon that way, but it sounds like you're asking for advice, so mine would be: Because you have time to ramp up between now and the start of your training plan, the more comfortable you can be, inching up those weekday runs to the longer side, 45 min, at least some of the time, the better.

PS I'm speaking as someone who would also have been described as a "chonker" running my first 2 marathons, and thinking I could do the minimum on my online training program and get through. I did, but it was very painful. I've found over the years that the more base I've had built up, the better I could handle the miles in training and the race, and the better experience I had.

 

[mmm_texas]

Question for marathoners! 2026 MW will be my first attempt at the marathon distance. I'm a chonker and will be just shy of 60y/o in Jan 2026.
I currently run using Galloway @ about a 12:45 pace. I will be following rD beginner marathon training plan which is about 28 weeks.

So, the question is: Between now and the start of the plan (around July1) where should I concentrate my efforts? Distance? Pace? Consistency?

I am currently doing 3x a week, but my "long" run is only about 5 miles. I have been focusing on incrementally altering my r/w ratios to try and get near a :30/:30.

I have a history of trying to do too much and getting hurt-- I'd like to break that cycle!!!

We're about the same age, and I don't have a whole lot of running experience compared to many on this board, but I've done a couple of Dopeys. My feeling is you don't have to worry about your 2026 MW training now, the plan starting in July will ease you into it just fine. Until that starts, just continue (or find) the maintenance level of training you want/like/have time for.

 

[PrincessV]

My suggestion would be to work on your running base. A lot of injuries come from trying to build from a small base up to full marathon volume. The more miles your body is used to running consistently, the smaller the jump from base to marathon-ready will be, reducing the risk. The biggest benefit I saw in my running as far as injury prevention goes was increasing my running base from an ~25 miles/week level to a base of ~35 miles/week. The more consistent and higher your running volume prior to starting the marathon plan, the more success you're likely to have.

I could not agree with this ^ more.

Does it make sense to increase my long run mileage too early when the plan starts at a lower level? Or should I work on increasing long run mileage early then jumping into the plan at a later date?

The beginner plan calls for 30min, 30min, and a longer weekend run-- I'm currently doing 3miles, 3 miles and a 3-4-5 mile weekend run (depending on whether I've changed my ratio that week). When changing ratio's I adjust in 15sec intervals and hold at the new ratio for 3 weeks to give myself time to adjust.

Should I factor additional time into the plan to account for time off due to injury, life, etc???

Disclosure: I am not a coach or any kind of expert - only an older, slower runner who’s completed 7 WDW Marathons. Speaking only from my personal experience…

I did my first marathon after years of multiple halfs each year. And because I was doing multiple halfs each year, my base longest long runs were 10 miles for long periods of time. That base mileage gave me a LOT to work with going into a first marathon: experience with how my body felt with various distances/weather/fuel; a solid base of endurance and strength, which meant that big mileage build in marathon training took less of a toll; a good understanding of time commitments and how life outside of running would need to be managed.

Assuming your longest long runs have never been more than 5 miles yet, I’d strongly recommend starting a mileage build now. You can use a Galloway half plan, but the basic is: 2-3 short runs per week, and once you get to 8 or 9 miles, adding a mile to your long run every other week, and a cut-back to half that distance on the opposite week. So your weekly long runs might look like this:
Week 1 - 5 miles
Week 2 - 6 miles
Week 3 - 7 miles
Week 4 - 8 miles
Week 5 - 4miles
Week 6 - 9 miles
Week 7 - 4.5 miles
Week 8 - 10 miles
Week 9 - 5 miles

And then you can play with that a bit, keeping your longest runs in the 8-10 range by repeating the long-cut back-long of weeks 4-9 until you get to that point of the marathon plan. Or go all the way up to 13.1 and schedule a race to get experience with that in the process.

As I and a lot of others will attest, you do not need to hit 26.2 in training to have a good marathon race. So IMO a great thing about Galloway’s plans going so high in mileage is that it leaves room for life to happen. Can’t do that 18 miler in its scheduled week because of weather? No problem: reschedule it for what would have been 20 and go from there. I created my own plans, but I plan for one more really long run than I actually need, just to create some wiggle room.

One other thing I’ll comment on is pace. I am MUCH faster at shorter distances than I ever was at 26.2. I think the majority of us are. Don’t try to hang on to your short distance pace as you go up in mileage - it’s normal and expected that long distances will require a slower pace. You may like slowing down by simply running slower, or you may prefer shortening your run intervals and walking longer: this is the kind of thing you can experiment with while building that base.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: As practically everyone else has said, yes, let's continue to have SAFD! I think it's great to keep the conversation going, especially in the summer when there aren't any rD races.

So, the question is: Between now and the start of the plan (around July1) where should I concentrate my efforts? Distance? Pace? Consistency?

Good question. Consistency is absolutely the biggest of these. Running even a little every week will for sure prepare you better than upping your mileage or pace, getting injured and having to take a break.

I know the Galloway plan is 3 days/week, but I would say your best bet is actually to aim for 4-5 days per week of running if you can. If some of those are only 15-20 minutes, that's okay - it's still better, and safer, than more miles spread out over only three days. Once you're comfortable with more days of running, you could maybe start to add more volume to the days if you wanted.

Pace shouldn't be something you decide to increase. Most of your running should be at a pace that feels easy (i.e., where you could comfortably have a conversation, using complete sentences, without gasping for breath). Galloway has a way to calculate this based on your magic mile. Don't do all of your runs at race pace!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Adding in to the discussion on bridging the gap to MW via Galloway as a first marathon.....I'm like 99% sure that it's suggested that you do cross-training things a few days per week in addition to the structured 3 days/week. Going for walks, riding your bike, etc.

I agree with others that while Galloway is a long-run-focused plan, that leading up, to it, just being really consistent and getting your body used to running regularly is a great way to build a base and prevent injury. We like to get hung up on the long run, but it's those maintenance runs that do a lot of the heavy lifting for us physically.

 

[Ronski]

to everyone who has responded so far-- THANK YOU!

Some additional fill-in info:
I have never been athletic, but always reasonably active. That said, I didn't start running until I was over 50 and my health was declining.
I have done all of the disney race weekends but only up to the half marathon distances and those beat me up pretty badly.
I did the SS challenge last year and loved it.

I thought that was it for me-- training in the summer here in SE Fla is truely terrible and (I thought) I had enough. Hell, it was 77 last evening when I did my run after dark!!! I hate the treadmill more than the heat tho!!!

Things change!