BREAKING NEWS

Comrades Training Plans

Finishers Programme Oct - Dec 2022

Comrades 2023 Finishers Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

The finishers programme is a unique programme and offering for runners who have literally taken up running so that they can finish the Comrades in 2023. For that reason, the programme starts at a very basic level and builds up to a later qualifier than the other plans in 2023.

Our goals for 2023 are 3-fold: 1) to build you up, injury free and health work 2) Make you confident that you too can be a runner 3) to finish a half marathon or 2 in 2022.

In building this plan I have considered the finisher stats kindly provided to me by The Comrades Marathon Association to plan the programmes as follows:

66.9% of H Batch starters (sub 4hr50 Marathon) finish under the official 12hr finish time, while 84.4% of G Batch (Sub 4:40 Marathon) starters receive a Finishers Medal. The degree of difficulty increases because G Batchers take on average 5:15 to cross the start line and H batchers take 5:35 – these are to date the highest finisher % from these 2 groups.

From these stats, a sub 4:50 qualifier does not guarantee a finish. Meticulous preparation and pacing on race day are key. What is of great importance is that the majority did finish and so it IS POSSIBLE.

You are at greater risk of not finishing if qualifying was:
• Achieved at Sea Level (4:45)
• Achieved on a downhill course (4:45)
• Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (4:45)
• You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (4:45)
• It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (4:40)
(In brackets, I have put down what I believe to be more appropriate times in these conditions)

The programme for the rest of 2022 will be based around developing consistency as this will be the most crucial factor in determining your 2023 Comrades race day success. Secondly, it is very important to take note of how hard the down run is on your legs. The eccentric load (pounding) on your legs is extremely high, to help prepare for this, strength training is highly recommended for the down run.

The earlier you start with your strength programme, the sooner you will be used to the added work and the lower the impact will be on your programme. My suggestion is to do your strength training on 2 of your 3 rest days in the week, leaving at least 1 full day between each gym session.

Who should follow this programme?

• Anyone who wants to start running

If you are an experienced runner, but your Half Marathon time is slower than 2:15 or you have completed Comrades, you can follow the Bronze programme. It is however important to follow the pacing guidelines in this programme. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured. Place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery so you can get the most out of every days training.

The aim is to be capable of running a sub 4:50 marathon before Comrades. However, we will not look to finish a Marathon this year and attempt to qualify in early 2023 once you have a little more training in the bag.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 6:56-7:25/km
Long (L): 7:00-7:41/km
Recovery (rec): 7:30-8:05/km

These paces area guide for someone who is training for a 4hr30 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Contact me:
Coach.parry@gmail.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

 

October 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

26 Sep

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 1min, walk 4min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 1min, walk 4min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 1min, walk 4min x 4

Walk5min E; Jog 2min, walk 3min x 5

3

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 2min, walk 3min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 2min, walk 3min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 2min, walk 3min x 4

Walk5min E; Jog 3min, walk 2min x 5

10

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 3min, walk 2min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 3min, walk 2min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 3min, walk 2min x 4

Walk5min E; Jog 4min, walk 1min x 5

17

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 4

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 4

Walk5min E; Jog 5min, walk 1min x 5

24

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 5

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 5

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 5

Walk5min E; Jog 5min, walk 1min x 6

31

REST






 

November 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1


Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 6

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 6

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 6

Walk5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 3

7

REST

Walk5min E; 30min E, walk as needed

REST

10minrec; 5km TT, walk as needed, 5min cool down

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 7

Walk5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 4

14

REST

Walk5min E; 35min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; 35min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 8

Walk5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 5

21

REST

Walk5min E; 40min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; 40min E, walk as needed


Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 9

Walk5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 6

28

REST

Walk5min E; 45min E, walk as needed

REST




 

December 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1




Walk5min E; 45min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min; 50min E, walk as needed

1hr10E, walk as needed

5

REST

Walk5min E; 35min E, walk as needed

REST

10minrec; 5km TT, 5min cool down

REST

Walk5min; 1hr E, walk as needed

1hr20E, walk as needed

12

REST

Walk5min E; 50min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; 50min E, walk as needed

REST

1hr10E, walk as needed

1hr30E, walk as needed

19

REST

Walk5min E; 55min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; 55min E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; 15min E

Christmas Day

26

Boxing Day

Walk5min E; 1hr E, walk as needed

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E, walk as needed

REST

1hr20E, walk as needed

New Year’s Day
Bronze Medal Programme Oct - Dec 2022

Comrades 2023 Bronze Medal Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

This year we will be doing things just a little bit differently, the changes in the programme are due to us having 8 months to prep for 2023. The major change will be doing our Qualifier in late Feb/early March to allow for full recovery from 2022 and preparing well for 2023.

Our goals for 2022 are 3-fold: 1) to continue to improve your consistency and capacity to do work 2) Make you a stronger and faster runner 3) to qualify with a sub 4:25 Marathon.

On the way to achieving the sub 4:25 Marathon we will look to break the following times:
5km: 27:00
8km: 44:45
10km: 56:15
15km: 1:27:15
21.1km: 2:05:30
20 Miles/32km: 3:17:30

In putting this plan together, I have also considered the 2022 stats, kindly provided to me by The Comrades Marathon Association as follows:

24% of E (Green Number) Batch Starters finish the race under 11:00 hours, while 42.2% of F (sub 4:20) Batch starters receive a Bill Rowan Medal. The degree of difficulty increases because E Batchers take on average 3:35 to cross the start line and F batchers take 4:20.

Training for a Bronze and getting a Sub 4:25 Marathon are therefore no Guarantee for achieving a bronze finish. Based on my experience and discussions with runners who were not successful, this year and in past years, I have come up with a few possible reasons for this.

Your Bronze is at risk if your Sub 4:25 was:
• Achieved at Sea Level (4:17)
• Achieved on a downhill course (4:17)
• Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (4:20)
• You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (4:20)
• It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (4:12)
(In brackets, I have put down what I believe to be more appropriate times in these conditions)

Who should follow this programme?

• Comrades finishers who have run sub 11hrs
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 2hr10
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 4hrs30 for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories, then read through the introduction to the other programme options to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programmes also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery so you can get the most out of training.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

If you did not run Comrades and have been training consistently for several weeks already, you can adapt this programme to focus on races in October and November.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

In closing, the down run offers a unique challenge in terms of the eccentric load (Pounding). It is therefore highly recommended that you start following a strength programme now to ensure your legs are very strong come June 2023.

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 6:20-6:45/km
Long (L): 6:25-7:00/km
Recovery (rec): 6:50-7:20/km
Hills: 5:25-5:30/km
800m:
RP: 6:23/km

These paces area guide for someone who is training for a 4hr25 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Contact me:
Coach.parry@gmail.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan


October 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

26 Sep

REST

Walk5min E; 30min E

REST

Walk5min E; 40min E

REST

Walk5min E; 50min E

Walk5min E; 40min E

3

REST

Walk5min E; 35min E

REST

Walk5min E; 45min E

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E

Walk5min E; 45min E

10

REST

Walk5min E; 45min E

REST

Walk5min E; 40min E

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr10 E

Walk5min E; 50min E

17

REST

Walk5min E; 50min E

REST

Walk5min E; 50min E

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr20 E

Walk5min E; 1hr E

24

REST

Walk5min E; 50min E

REST

Walk5min E; 55min E

REST

1hr30L with 1min walk every 3-5km

1hrE walk as needed on hills

31

REST






 

November 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1


Walk5min E; 45min rec

REST

Walk5min E; 45min rec

REST

1hr15E with 1min walk every 3-5km

Walk5min E; 1hr E

7

REST

Walk5min E; 55min E

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E

REST

1hr40L with 1min walk every 3-5km

1hr20E walk as needed on hills

14

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E

REST

2hrL with 1min walk every 3-5km

1hr30L walk as needed on hills

21

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E

REST

Walk5min E; 1hr E

REST

2hr20L with 1min walk every 3-5km

1hr30L walk as needed on hills

28

REST

Walk5min E; 40min rec

REST




 

December 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1




Walk5min E; 40min rec

REST

10minE; Parkrun or TT; 5min E

45minrec

5

REST

10minE; 4x2min hills; 10min E

REST

1hrE

REST

2hr40L with 1min walk every 3-5km

1hr30L walk as needed on hills

12

REST

10minE; 5x2min hills; 10min E

REST

1hrE

REST

3hrL with 1min walk every 3-5km

1hr30L walk as needed on hills

19

REST

10minE; 6x2min hills; 10min E

REST

1hrE run

REST

2hr20L with 1min walk every 3-5km

Christmas Day

26

Boxing Day

45minrec

REST

45minrec

REST

1hr15E walk as needed on hills

New Year’s Day
Robert Mtshali Medal Programme Oct - Dec 2022

Comrades 2023 Robert Mtshali Program by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

This year we will be doing things just a little bit differently, the changes in the programme are due to us having 8 months to prep for 2023. The major change will be doing our Qualifier in late Feb/early March to allow for full recovery from 2022 and preparing well for 2023.

Our goals for 2023 are 3-fold: 1) to continue to improve your consistency and capacity to do work 2) Make you a stronger and faster runner 3) to qualify with a sub 3:30 Marathon.

On the way to achieving the sub 4:00 Marathon we will look to break the following times:
5km: 25:15
8km: 41:20
10km: 52:25
15km: 1:20:45
21.1km: 1:56:00

In putting this plan together, I have also considered the 2022 stats, kindly provided to me by The Comrades Marathon Association as follows:

32.5% of D (sub 4hrs) Batch Starters finish the race under 10:00 hours. The degree of difficulty increases because D Batchers take on average 2:26.

Therefor training for a Robert Mtshali and getting a Sub 4:00 Marathon are by no means a Guarantee for achieving a RM finish. Based on my experience and discussions with runners who were not successful, this year and in past years, I have produced a few possible reasons for this.

Your Bill Rowan is at risk if your Sub 4:00 is borderline and:
• Achieved at Sea Level (3:53)
• Achieved on a downhill course (3:55)
• Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (3:57)
• You do not follow a strict, conservative race plan (3:53)
• It is compounded by combing two or more of these factors (3:50)
(In brackets, I have put down what I believe to be more appropriate times in these conditions)

Who should follow this programme?

• Comrades finishers who have run sub 10hr30
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 2hr
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 4hr10 for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories, then read the introduction to the other programme options to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery so you can get the most out of training.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

If you did not run Comrades and have been training consistently for several weeks already, you can adapt this programme to focus on races in October and November.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

In closing, the down run offers a unique challenge in terms of the eccentric load (Pounding). It is therefore highly recommended that you start following a strength programme now to ensure your legs are strong come June 20123.

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 5:40-6:15/km
Long (L): 5:45-6:30/km
Recovery (rec): 6:20-6:45/km
Hills: 5:06-5:13/km
800m: 4:30-4:45/km
400m: 4:15-4:30/km
RP: 5:41/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 3hr30 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Contact me:
Coach.parry@gmail.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

 

October 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

26 Sep

REST

30minE

REST

40minE

REST

45minE

30minE

3

REST

45minE

REST

40minE

REST

1hrE

45minE

10

REST

50minE

REST

40minE

REST

1hr15E

50minE

17

REST

1hrE

REST

50minE

REST

1hr30L

1hrE

24

REST

45minE

REST

30minE

REST

1hrE

45minE

31

REST






 

November 2022:



Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1


45minE

REST

1hrE

REST

1hr30L

1hrE

7

REST

1hrE run

REST

1hr15E

REST

1hr45L

1hr15E

14

REST

15minE; 4x2min hill repeats; 10min E

REST

1hr15E

REST

2hr L

1hr15 E

21

REST

15minE; 5x2min hill repeats; 10min E

REST

1hr15E

REST

2hr L

1hr15E

28

REST

1hrE run

REST




 

December 2022:



Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1




15minE run; 8km TT; 10min E run

REST

90minL run

45mine run

5

REST

15minE; 6x2min hill repeats; 10min E

REST

1hr30L

REST

2hrL run

1hr15E run

12

REST

15minE; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E

REST

1hr30L

REST

2hrL run

1hr15E run

19

REST

15minE; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E

REST

1hr30L

REST

2hrL

Christmas Day

26

Boxing Day

40min E

REST

1hr E

REST

1hr E (old years 10km if there is one)

New Year’s Day
Bill Rowan Medal Programme Oct - Dec 2022

Comrades 2023 Bill Rowan Program by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

This year we will be doing things just a little bit differently, the changes in the programme are due to us having 8 months to prep for 2023. The major change will be doing our Qualifier in late Feb/early March to allow for full recovery from 2022 and preparing well for 2023.

Our goals for 2023 are 3-fold: 1) to continue to improve your consistency and capacity to do work 2) Make you a stronger and faster runner 3) to qualify with a sub 3:30 Marathon.

On the way to achieving the sub 3:30 Marathon we will look to break the following times:
5km: 21:30
8km: 35:35
10km: 44:30
15km: 1:09:00
21.1km: 1:39:00
20 Miles/32km: 2:36:30

In putting this plan together, I have also considered the 2022 stats, kindly provided to me by The Comrades Marathon Association as follows:

64.3% of B Batch Starters finish the race under 9:00 with 5.5% of these achieving Silver. 26.9% of C Batch starters receive a Bill Rowan Medal.

Therefor training for a Bill Rowan and getting a Sub 3:30 Marathon are by no means a Guarantee for achieving a BR finish. Based on my experience and discussions with runners who were not successful, this year and in past years, I have come up with a few possible reasons for this.

Your Bill Rowan is at risk if your Sub 3:30 is borderline and:
• Achieved at Sea Level (3:23)
• Achieved on a downhill course (3:23)
• Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (3:25)
• You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (3:25)
• It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (3:20)
(In brackets, I have put down what I believe to be more appropriate times in these conditions)

Who should follow this programme?

• Comrades finishers who have run sub 9hrs30
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 1hr45
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 3hrs40 for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories, then read through the introduction to the other programme options to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery so you can get the most out of training.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

If you did not run Comrades and have been training consistently for several weeks already, you can adapt this programme to focus on races in October and November.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

In closing, the down run offers a unique challenge in terms of the eccentric load (Pounding). It is therefore highly recommended that you start following a strength programme now to ensure your legs are very strong come 10 June 20123.

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 5:00-5:30/km
Long (L): 5:05-5:50/km
Recovery (rec): 5:40-6:05/km
2min Hills: 4:25-4:30/km
1min Hills: 4:09-4:15/km
400m: 1:32-1:36/km
RP: 5:55/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 3hr30 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Contact me:
Coach.parry@gmail.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

 

October 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

26 Sep

REST

30minE

40minE

45minE

REST

45minE

30minE

3

REST

45minE

40minE

50minE

REST

1hrE

45minE

10

REST

50minE

40minE

1hrE

REST

1hr15E

50minE

17

REST

1hrE

50minE

1hrE

REST

1hr30L

1hrE

24

REST

45minE

30minE

45minE

REST

1hrE

45minE

31

REST






 

November 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1


45minE

1hrE

45minE

REST

1hr30L

1hrE

7

REST

1hrE run

1hr15E

1hrE

REST

1hr45L

1hr15E

14

REST

15minE; 4x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr15E

1hrE

REST

2hr L

1hr15 E

21

REST

15minE; 5x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr15E

1hrE

REST

2hr L

1hr15E

28

REST

1hrE run

45minE run




 

December 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1




15minE run; 8km TT; 10min E run

REST

90minL run

45mine run

5

REST

15minE; 6x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr30L

1hrE

REST

2hrL run

1hr15E run

12

REST

15minE; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr30L

1hrE

REST

2hrL run

1hr15E run

19

REST

15minE; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr30L

1hrE

REST

2hrL

Christmas Day

26

Boxing Day

40min E

1hr E

40min E

REST

1hr E (old years 10km if there is one)

New Year’s Day
Silver Medal Programme Oct - Dec 2022

Comrades 2023 Silver and Isaval Roche-Kelly Medal Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

This year we will be doing things just a little bit differently, the changes in the programme are due to us having 8 months to prep for 2023. The major change will be doing our Qualifier in late Feb/early March to allow for full recovery from 2022 and preparing well for 2023.

Our goals for 2022 are 3-fold: 1) to continue to improve your consistency and capacity to do work 2) Make you a stronger and faster runner 3) to qualify with a sub-3-hour Marathon.

On the way to achieving the sub 3 hour we will look to break the following times:
5km: 18:25
8km: 30:15
10km: 38:00
15km: 59:00
21.1km: 1:25:00
20 Miles/32km: 2:14:00

In putting this plan together, I have also considered the 2022 stats, kindly provided to me by The Comrades Marathon Association as follows:

40.7% of A Batch Starters finish the race under 7:30, while 5.5% of B batch starters finish under 7:30.

Training for a sub 7:30 and getting an A seed are by no means a Guarantee for achieving a sub 7:30 finish. Based on my experience and discussions with runners who were not successful, this year and in past years, I have come up with a few possible reasons for this.

Your Silver is at risk if your Sub 3 is borderline and:
• Achieved at Sea Level (2:54)
• Achieved on a downhill course (2:54)
• Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (2:57)
• You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (2:55)
• It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (2:50)
(In brackets, I have put down what I believe to be more appropriate times in these conditions)

Who should follow the silver programme?

• Comrades finishers who have run sub 8hrs
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 90min
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 3hrs for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories, then read through the introduction to the other programme options to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery so you can get the most out of every day’s training.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.
For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

In closing, the down run offers a unique challenge in terms of the eccentric load (Pounding). It is therefore highly recommended that you start following a strength programme now to ensure your legs are very strong come 10 June 2023.

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 4:25-5:00/km
Long (L): 4:30-5:10/km
Recovery (rec): 5:00-5:25/km
Hills: 3:48-3:56/km
1minhills/1km: 3:33-3:41/km
400m: 80-82sec
RP: 4:15/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 3hr Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Contact me:
Coach.parry@gmail.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

 

October 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

26 Sep

REST

30minE

40minE

50minE

REST

1hrE

45minE

3

45minrec

45minE

50minE

45minE

REST

1hr10E

45minE

10

45minrec

50minE

1hrE

50minE

REST

1hr20E

50minE

17

45minrec

1hrE

1hrE

1hrE

REST

1hr30L

1hrE

24

REST

45minE

50minE

45minE

REST

1hrE

45minE

31

45minrec






 

November 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1


1hrE

1hrE

1hrE

REST

1hr30L

1hrE

7

45minrec

1hrE run

1hr15E

1hrE

REST

1hr45L

1hr15E

14

45minrec

15minE; 6x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr20E

1hr05E

REST

2hr L

1hr15 E

21

45minrec

15minE; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr25E

1hr10E

REST

2hr L

1hr15E

28

REST

1hrE run

45minE run




 

December 2022:


Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1




15minE run; 8km TT; 10min E run

REST

90minL

45minE

5

45min rec

15minE; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr30L

1hr15E

REST

2hrL

1hr15E

12

45min rec

15minE; 9x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr30L

1hr15E

REST

2hrL

1hr15E

19

45min rec

15minE; 10x2min hill repeats; 10min E

1hr30L

1hr15E

REST

2hrL

Christmas Day

26

Boxing Day

40min E

1hr E

40min E

REST

1hr E (old years 10km if there is one)

New Year’s Day
Finishers Programme Jan - Jun 2023

Comrades 2023 Finishers Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

Part 2 of your Comrades Journey starts now. Some of you may have been ready to run a marathon between October and December 2022, while many of you are still needing to qualify. The principles of this programme remain the same, to finish Comrades you must build up slowly, become consistent and remain healthy/injury free.

The eccentric load (pounding) on your legs is extremely high, to help prepare for this, strength training is highly recommended for the down run. Strength training is important for both directions, but I feel non-negotiable for the down run.

The earlier you start with your strength programme, the sooner you will be used to the added work and the lower the impact will be on your programme. My suggestion is to do your strength training on 2 of your 3 rest days in the week, leaving at least 1 full day between each gym session. If you have not yet started strength training and have 30min 1-2 times per week then start NOW

Who should follow this programme?
• Comrades finishers
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in close to 2hrs30
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 5hrs for a Marathon

DO NOT follow other programmes for faster medals thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured. Place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery, so you can get the most out of every days training.

The aim is to run a sub 4:50 marathon before Comrades. We will aim to qualify in February/March, however you will have until April to do so, so do not panic if it does not work out at the first attempt.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

The programme is written for a late February to early March marathon. If this does not fit into the available marathons in your area and you cannot travel to a marathon, you can shift the marathon a week or 2 earlier or later as required.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

Contact me:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.coachparry.com

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 7:00-7:30/km
Long (L): 7:10-7:40/km
Recovery (rec): 7:30-8:00/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 4:50 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

January 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
2 Jan REST 40minE REST 50minE REST 55minE 1hr10E
9 Jan REST 45min E REST 55min E REST 1hr E 1hr20 E
16 Jan REST 50min E REST 55min E REST 1hr10 E 1hr30 E
23 Jan REST 55min E REST 1hr E REST 1hr20 E 1hr40 E
30 Jan REST 1hr E

Continue to walk when necessary

February 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Feb REST 1hr05 E REST 1hr30 E 2hrs L
6 Feb REST 50min E REST 5km Time Trial REST 1hr E 2hrs20 L
13 Feb REST 1hr10 E REST 1hr10 E REST 1hr30 E 2hrs40 L
20 Feb REST 1hr15 E REST 1hr15 E REST 1hr30 E 3hrs L
27 Feb REST 1hr E

Continue to walk when necessary

March 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 March REST 45min E REST 20min E QualifyingMarathon if necessary or Training Marathon
6 March REST REST REST 30min E REST 45min E 1hr E
13 March REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr25 E REST 1hr45 E 3hrs L
20 March REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr30 E REST 2hrs E 3hrs30 L
27 March REST 1hr20 E REST 5km Time Trial REST

Continue to walk when necessary

April 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 April 1hr E 2hrs L
3 April REST 1hr E REST 1hr30 E REST 2hrs E 3hrs L
10 April REST REST REST 20min E REST Marathon or Ultra as training REST
17 April REST REST REST 45min E REST 1hr30 E 3hrs L
24 April REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr30 E REST 2hrs L 4hrs30 L

Continue to walk when necessary

May 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 May REST 1hr E REST 45min E REST 30minE REST or 50-55km Long Run
8 May REST REST REST 45min E REST 1hr E 2hrs L
15 May REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr30 E REST 2hrs L 3hrs L
22 May REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr30 E REST 2hrs L 3hrs L
29 May REST 1hr30 E 2hrs L

Continue to walk when necessary

June 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 June 45min E REST 1hr E 1hr E
5 June REST 30min E REST 20min E REST 10min E COMRADES
12 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
19 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
26 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST

Continue to walk when necessary

Bronze Medal Programme Jan - Jun 2023

Comrades 2023 Bronze Medal Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

Part 2 of your Comrades Journey starts now. Most of you would have been ready to run a Marathon between October and December 2022, while some of you are still needing to qualify. The principles of this programme remain the same, to finish Comrades under 11 hours you must build up slowly, become consistent and remain healthy/injury free. You will be expected to do a bit more work than the finishers programme but you should not be broken/exhausted all the time

The eccentric load (pounding) on your legs is extremely high, to help prepare for this, strength training is highly recommended for the down run. In fact strength training is important for both directions, but I feel non-negotiable for the down run.

The earlier you start with your strength programme, the sooner you will get used to the added work and the lower the impact will be on your programme. Do your strength training on 2 of your 3 rest days in the week, leaving 1 full day between each gym session. If you have not yet started strength training and have 30min 1-2 times per week then start NOW

Who should follow this programme?
• Comrades finishers who have run sub 11hrs20
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 2hr05
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 4hrs30 for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories then read through the introduction to the Finishers programme to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery so you can get the most out of every days training.

The aim is to be capable of running a sub 4:30 marathon before Comrades.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

You will be required to run 2 Marathons and an Ultra Marathon AS TRAINING RUNS, note that a minimum of 3 weeks should pass between marathons or between marathons and ultras.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

Contact me:
lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.coachparry.com

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 6:20-6:50/km
Long (L): 6:30-7:00/km
Recovery (rec): 6:50-7:20/km
Hills: 5:25-5:30/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 4hr30 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

January 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
2 Jan REST 10minE; 6x2min hills; 10min E REST 1hrE REST 1hrE 3hrL
9 Jan REST 10minE; 6x2min hills; 10min E REST 1hr05 E REST 1hr10 E 3hrs15 L
16 Jan REST 10minE; 6x2min hills; 10min E REST 1hr10 E REST 1hr20 E 3hrs30 L
23 Jan REST 10min E; 5km TT; 10min E REST 1hr E REST 1hr E 2hrs L
30 Jan REST 15min E; 8x400m with 1min rest; 15min E

Walk when needed on long runs

February 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Feb REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr20 E 3hrs L
6 Feb REST 15min E; 8x400m with 1min rest; 15min E REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr30 L 2hrs30 L
13 Feb REST 15min E; 8x400m with 1min rest; 15min E REST 1hr E REST 1hr E 45min E
20 Feb REST 45min E run REST 30minE REST 20min E Last hard Marathon IF NECCESSARY
27 Feb REST REST

Walk when needed on long runs

March 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 March REST 45min E REST 1hr E 1hr30 L
6 March REST 15min E;7x2min hill repeats with slow jogrecovery;15min E REST 1hr20 E REST 1hr50 L 3hrs L
13 March REST 15min E;8x2min hill repeats with slow jog recovery;15minE REST 1hr20 E REST Om Die Dam or Similar REST
20 March REST REST 30minE 45min E REST 1hr E 2hrs E
27 March REST 10min E; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr40 L REST

Walk when needed on long runs

April 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 April 2hrs L 2hrs L
3 April REST 15min E; 8x2min hill repeats with slow jog recovery;15minE REST 1hr E REST 2hrs L 3hrs L
10 April REST 45min E REST 1hr E REST Two Oceans/Marathon as a training run REST
17 April REST REST REST 1hr E run REST 2hrs L 2hrs L
24 April REST 10min E; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr E REST 2hrs L 3hrs30 L

Walk when needed on long runs

May 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 May REST 10min E; 8km TT; 10min E REST 2hrs L REST 2hrs L 4hrs L
8 May REST 10min E; 8km TT; 10min E REST 45min E REST 15min E 50-55kmLong Run
15 May REST 30min E REST 1hr E run REST 2hrs L 4hrs L
22 May REST 10min E; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr30 L REST 1hr30 L 2hrs L
29 May REST 10min E; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr E

Walk when needed on long runs

June 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 June REST 1hr E 1hr E
5 June REST 30min E REST 20min E REST 10min E COMRADES
12 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
19 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
26 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
Robert Mtshali Medal Programme Jan - Jun 2023

Comrades 2023 Robert Mtshali by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

Part 2 of your Comrades Journey starts now. Some of you would have been ready to run a Marathon between October and December 2022, while some of you are still needing to qualify. The principles of this programme remain the same, to finish Comrades in under 10hrs you must be consistent and remain healthy/injury free. You will be expected to do a lot more work than the bronze programme but you should not be broken/exhausted all the time

The eccentric load (pounding) on your legs is extremely high, to help prepare for this, strength training is highly recommended for the down run. Strength training is important for both directions, but I feel non-negotiable for the down run.

The earlier you start with your strength programme, the better your adaptation and lower the impact on how tired you feel when running. My suggestion is to do your strength training on 1 of your 2 rest days in the week, and on a shorter day, leaving at least 1 full day between each gym session. If you have not yet started strength training and have 30min 1-2 times per week, then start NOW

Who should follow this programme?

• Comrades finishers who have run sub 10hrs30
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 1hr55
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 4hrs for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories, then read through the introduction to the Bronze programme to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured and/or sick, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery, so you can get the most out of every days training.

The aim is to be capable of running a sub 4:00 marathon before Comrades.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

You will be required to run 2 Marathons and an Ultra Marathon AS TRAINING RUNS, note that a minimum of 3 weeks should pass between marathons or between marathons and ultras.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

Contact me:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.coachparry.com


Training Paces:

Easy (E): 5:40-6:15/km
Long (L): 5:45-6:30/km
Recovery (rec): 6:20-6:45/km
Hills: 5:06-5:13/km
800m: 4:30-4:45/km
400m: 4:15-4:30/km
RP: 5:41/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 4hr Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the training plan

January 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Jan REST 15minE; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E 45min E 1hr E REST 1hr15 E 2hrs20L
6 Jan REST 15minE; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E 1hr E 45min rec REST 1hr30 L 2hrs40L
13 Jan REST 15minE; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E 1hrE 45minrec REST 1hr30L 3hrsL
20 Jan REST 1hrE 45minrec 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hrE 2hrL
27 Jan REST E15min; 10x400m with 1min rest; E 10min

February 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Feb 1hr20E 45minrec REST 2hrL 3hrs30L
6 Feb REST E15min; 10x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 45minrec 45minrec REST 1hr30L 2hrsL
13 Feb REST E15min; 10x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 1hr20E 45minrec REST 1hrE 45minE
20 Feb REST 45minrec REST 45minrec REST 20minrec Last Hard Marathon
27 Feb REST REST

March 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 March 45minrec E15min; 4x2min hill repeats; E 10min REST 1hr45L 2hrs L
6 March REST 1hrE 45minrec 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr30L 2hrs L
13 March REST E15min; 6x800m, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr30L 45minrec REST Om die Dam or Similar REST
20 March REST REST 30minE 45minrec REST 1hrE 1hr30E
27 March REST E15min; 6x800m, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr30L 45minrec REST

April 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 April 2hrsL 2hrs30 L
3 April REST E15min; 6x800m, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 3hrs L
10 April REST E15min; 6x800m, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST Two Oceans or Similar REST
17 April REST REST 30minE 45minrec REST 1hrE 1hr30E
24 April REST E15min; 6x800m, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 3hrs30L

May 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 May REST E20min; 6x2min hill repeats; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 2hrs30 L
8 May REST E20min; 6x2min hill repeats; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 15minE 55-60kmLong Run
15 May REST 30minE 45minrec 1hrE REST 2hrsL 3hrs E
22 May REST E20min; 6x2min hill repeats; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 2hr30 E
29 May REST E15min; 8x400m, 1min REST; E 10min 1hrE

June 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 June 45minrec REST 45minE 1hr E
5 June REST 40min E 30minE 20min E REST 15min E COMRADES
12 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
19 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
26 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
Bill Rowan Medal Programme Jan - Jun 2023

Comrades 2023 Bill Rowan Program by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

Part 2 of your Comrades Journey starts now. Some of you would have been ready to run a Marathon Between October and December 2022, while some of you are still needing to qualify. The principles of this programme remain the same, to finish Comrades in under 9hrs you must be consistent and remain healthy/injury free. You will be expected to do a lot more work than the bronze programme but you should not be broken/exhausted all the time

The eccentric load (pounding) on your legs is extremely high, to help prepare for this, strength training is highly recommended for the down run. Strength training is important for both directions, but I feel non-negotiable for the down run.

The earlier you start with your strength programme, the better your adaptation and lower the impact on how tired you feel when running. My suggestion is to do your strength training on 1 of your 2 rest days in the week, and on a shorter day, leaving at least 1 full day between each gym session. If you have not yet started strength training and have 30min 1-2 times per week, then start NOW

Who should follow this programme?
• Comrades finishers who have run sub 9hr30
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 1hr45
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 3hrs40 for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories, then read through the introduction to the Robert Mitshali programme to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured and/or sick, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on the easy days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, easy days are there to ensure full recovery, so you can get the most out of every days training.

The aim is to be capable of running a sub 3:30 marathon before Comrades.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

You will be required to run 2 Marathons and an Ultra Marathon AS TRAINING RUNS, note that a minimum of 3 weeks should pass between marathons or between marathons and ultras.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

Contact me:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.coachparry.com

Training Paces:

Easy (E): 5:10-5:40/km
Long (L): 5:20-5:50/km
Recovery (rec): 5:50-6:10/km
Firm: 4:40-4:50/km
Hills: 4:40-4:45/km
1km: 4:10-4:15/km
400m: 3:55-4:00/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 3hr30 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the plan

January 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
2 Jan REST E15min; 8x2min hill repeats; E 10min 1hr E 1hr E REST 1hr15 E 2hr15 L
9 Jan REST E15min; 8x2min hill repeats; E 10min 1hr10 E 45min rec REST 1hr30L 2hr30 L
16 Jan REST E15min; 8x2min hill repeats; E 10min 1hr20E 45minrec REST 1hr45L 2hrs45L
23 Jan REST 1hrE 45minE 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hrE 45minE
30 Jan REST E15min; 10x400m with 1min rest; E 10min

February 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Feb 1hr20E 45minrec REST 2hrL 3hrsL
6 Feb REST E15min; 10x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 1hr20E 45minrec REST 1hr30L 2hrsL
13 Feb REST E15min; 10x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 1hr20E 45minrec REST 1hrE 45minE
20 Feb REST E15min; 5x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 45minrec REST 30minrec REST Last chance for hardMarathon
27 Feb REST REST

March 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 March 45minrec E15min; 4x2min hill repeats; E 10min REST 1hr45L 2hrs L
6 March REST 1hrE 45minrec 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr30L 2hrs L
13 March REST E15min; 6x1km, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr30L 45minrec REST Om die Dam or Similar REST
20 March REST REST 30minE 45minrec REST 1hrE 1hr30E
27 March REST E15min; 7x1km, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr30L 45minrec REST

April 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 April 2hrsL 2hrs30 L
3 April REST E15min; 8x1km, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 3hrs L
10 April REST E15min; 8x1km, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST Two Oceans or Similar REST
17 April REST REST 30minE 45minrec REST 1hrE 1hr30E
24 April REST E15min; 8x1km, 1min rec; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 3hrs30L

May 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 May REST E20min; 8x2min hill repeats; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 2hrs30 L
8 May REST E20min; 8x2min hill repeats; E 15min 1hr40L 45minrec REST 15minE 55-60kmLong Run
15 May REST 30minE 45minrec 1hrE REST 2hrsL 3hrs E
22 May REST E20min; 8x2min hill repeats; E 15min 1hr20L 45minrec REST 2hrsL 2hr30 E
29 May REST E15min; 10x400m, 1min REST; E 10min 1hrE

June 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 June 45minrec REST 45minE 1hr E
5 June REST 40min E 30minE 20min E REST 15min E COMRADES
12 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
19 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
26 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
Silver Medal Programme Jan - Jun 2023

Comrades 2023 Silver Medal Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

Part 2 of your Comrades Journey starts now. Most of you SHOULD have been ready to run a Marathon in November or December 2022, while some of you are still needing to qualify. The principles of this programme remain the same, to finish Comrades in under 7hrs30 you must be consistent and remain healthy/injury free. You will be expected to do a lot more work than the Bill Rowan programme, but you should not be broken/exhausted all the time

The eccentric load (pounding) on your legs is extremely high, to help prepare for this, strength training is highly recommended for the down run. Strength training is important for both directions, but I feel non-negotiable for the down run.

The earlier you start with your strength programme, the sooner you will be used to the added work and the lower the impact will be on your programme. My suggestion is to do your strength training on 2 of your easier running days, leaving at least 1 full day between each gym session. If you have not yet started strength training and have 30min 1-2 times per week then start NOW

Who should follow this programme?
• Comrades finishers who have run sub 8hrs
• Comrades Novices who can run a half Marathon in sub 85min
• Comrades Novices who have come close to/or have broken 3hrs for a Marathon

If you do not fall into these categories then read through the introduction to the other programme options to select the appropriate programme. DO NOT follow this programme thinking that the extra mileage will guarantee a finish. The biggest single threat to you finishing Comrades is getting injured, place a premium on recovery and ensuring this through following the appropriately designed programme for you.

This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run E on the E days. I must again emphasise here that being injury free and consistent in your training is the key to a successful race, E days are there to ensure full recovery, so you can get the most out of every days training.

The aim is to be capable of running a sub 3:00 marathon before Comrades.

There are recovery weeks built into the programme every 4 weeks, do not be tempted to do more as this will only compromise you later in the programme, leading to injury, illness and under performance in goal races.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club has Time Trials (TT) on a Tuesday or Wednesday you can swap Thursday with one of these days.

You will be required to run 2 Marathons and 2 Ultra Marathons AS TRAINING RUNS, note that a minimum of 3 weeks should pass between marathons or between marathons and ultras.

For the dates of races in your area you can go to www.runnersguide.co.za for a full fixture list.

Contact me:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.coachparry.com

Training Paces:

E (E): 4:35-5:10/km
Long (L): 4:45-5:15/km
Recovery (rec): 5:00-5:30/km
Firm: 4:10-4:20/km
Hills: 4:05-4:13/km
1km: 3:34-3:43/km
400m: 80-83sec

These paces area guide for someone who is training for a 3hr Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Enjoy the training!

Click HERE to download the plan

January 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
2 Jan 45min rec E15min; 10x2min hill repeats; E 10min 1hr30 L 1hr E REST 2hr15 L 1hr E
9 Jan 45min rec E15min; 10x2min hill repeats; E 10min 1hr30 L 1hr E REST 2hr30 L 1hr15 E
16 Jan 45min rec E15min; 10x2min hill repeats; E 10min 1hr30 L 1hrE REST 2hr45L 1hr30L
23 Jan 45min rec 1hrE 1hrE 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr30L 2hrsL
30 Jan 45min rec E15min; 15x400m with 1min rest; E 10min

February 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Feb 1hr30L 1hr20E REST 2hrsL 2hrs40L
6 Feb 45min rec E15min; 15x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 1hr30L 1hr20E REST 2hr30 L 1hr15 E
13 Feb 45min rec E15min; 15x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 1hrE 1hrE REST 1hrE 45minE
20 Feb 45minrec E15min; 6x400m with 1min rest; E 10min 45minrec 45minrec REST 30minrec Last chance for sub 3
27 Feb REST REST

March 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 March REST 45minE REST 1hrE 1hr30L
6 March 45min rec 1hrE 1hrE 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST 1hr30L 3hrsL
13 March 45minrec E15min; 6x1k with 1min rest repeats; E 10min 1hr40L 1hr20E REST Marathonas Training run or 50km REST
20 March 45minrec E15min; 7x1k with 1min rest repeats; E 10min 1hr50L 1hr30L REST 1hr15E; 30min Firm 3hrs L
27 March 45minrec 1hrE 1hrE 15minE; 8km TT; 10min E REST

April 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 April 2hrsL 2hrs L
3 April 45minrec E15min; 8x1k with 1min rest repeats; E 10min 2hrsL 1hr30L REST 1hr30L; 30min Firm 4hrsE
10 April 45minrecovery E15min; 9x1k with 1min rest repeats; E 10min 2hrsL 1hr30L REST TwoOceans or 50km as training REST
17 April REST 45minrec 1hrE run 2hrsL REST 1hr30L; 30min Firm 4hrsE
24 April 45minrec 1hrE 1hrE 20minE; 8km TT; 20min E REST 1hr30L 2hrsL

May 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 May REST E15min; 10x1k with 1min rest repeats; E 10min 2hrsL 1hr30L REST 1hr30L; 30min Firm 3hrsE
8 May 1hr15rec E15min; 10x2min hill repeats; E 10min 2hrsL 1hr30L REST 2hrsL 3hrs E
15 May REST E15min; 10x2min hill repeats; E 10min 2hrsL 1hr30L REST RESTor 60km Long Run RESTor 60km Long Run
22 May 45minrec 1hrE 1hr30E 1hr15E REST 2hrsL 3hrs E
29 May 1hrrec E15min; 10x400m, 1min REST; E 10min 1hrE

June 2023:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 June 1hrE REST 1hrE 1hr E
5 June 40minE 40min E 30minE 20min E REST 15min E COMRADES
12 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
19 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST
26 June REST REST REST REST REST REST REST