COMRADES TRAINING PLANS 2025 - 2026

Comrades 2026 Finishers Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

To Ask Questions sign up to: www.coachparry.com

It is only 11 months until the 2026 UP Comrades Marathon. The UP RUN is known for The Big Five Hills: Kowies Hill, Fields Hill, Bothas Hill, Inchanga and Polly Shortts. The 1st 3 are all run in the 1st 40km with Inchanga taking you to 50km and Polly Shortts with a little over 10km to go. There are also many other climbs like 45th cutting, Little Polly’s and Umlaas Road, however it’s the unnamed hills that get you down and creep into your mind. In summary: The UP Run is an enormous challenge.

It is important to prepare physically for the challenge, and equally important to prepare mentally for the challenge of running 87 odd kilometers from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

The focus this year is to run consistently and regularly. Some running must be done in the winter to lay a platform for spring and summer. If you completed the 2025 down run or are a regular runner with a 21km PB of 2:20 or faster, this programme will be too easy for you, so add a bit more than what is on the programme but do not get too carried away, in the coming months less is more, and the focus is on improving your half marathon time in November, your Marathon time in January and we focus on Comrades from March/April.

If you are a true beginner to running, then this is where you start, with a very slow but consistent build up to race day in June 2026.

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 run that route. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on easy days. The aim is to be able to run a sub 5:00 marathon before Comrades.

Because you will employ a run walk strategy for your Qualifier, Long run and Comrades we will use this strategy in training. Very important to note about using a run walk strategy is that the walk is not a Sunday stroll but fast walking with purpose. It is a change in focus on the muscles not a “rest”. DO NOT add extra running, it will however be massively beneficial if you add cross training or strength training to your schedule.

Note that training days are interchangeable, if your club does hill training on a different day or club long runs on a different day then you can change days around.

Training Paces for a 2:20 half marathon:

• Recovery: 7:51-8:28/km (12:38-13:38/mile)
• Easy: 7:13-7:51/km (11:37-12:38/mile)
• Long Runs: 7:24-8:10/km (11:55-13:08/mile)
• Time Trials:
• 4km 23:45
• 5km 30:15
• 8km 50:00

Start at the slower end of the training paces and move towards the faster end as you progress through the coming months of training.

Please note that if you cannot run the Time Trial times this does not mean you are not capable of a 2hr20 half Marathon. These are guidelines so there is some room either side.

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July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

Comrades 2026 Bronze Program by Coach Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

To Ask Questions sign up to: www.coachparry.com

It is only 11 months until the 2026 UP Comrades Marathon. The UP RUN is known for The Big Five Hills: Kowies Hill, Fields Hill, Bothas Hill, Inchanga and Polly Shortts. The 1st 3 are all run in the 1st 40km with Inchanga taking you to 50km and Polly Shortts with a little over 10km to go. There are also many other climbs like Little Polly’s and Umlaas Road, however it’s the unnamed hills that get you down and creep into your mind. In summary: The UP Run is an enormous challenge.

It is important to prepare physically for the challenge, and equally important to prepare mentally for the challenge of running 87 odd kilometers from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

If this is your first attempt at Comrades but you are a regular runner and can do a Half Marathon in 2hrs15 then this is the place for you to start. If you are not a regular runner and have not run a half marathon before or are slower than 2hrs15 then you need to follow the FINISHERS programme, if you find your Time Trial times are closer to this programme, use the finishers programme with the BRONZE pacing plan.

Essentially start out a little easier and build up a little slower to ensure you build up injury free.

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 run that route. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on easy days. The aim is to be able to run a sub 4:30 marathon before Comrades.

Because you will employ a run walk strategy for your Qualifier, Long run and Comrades we will use this strategy in training. Very important to note about using a run walk strategy is that the walk is not a Sunday stroll but fast walking with purpose. It is a change in focus on the muscles not a “rest”. DO NOT add extra running, it will however be massively beneficial if you add cross training, and in particular, strength training to your schedule.

Training days are interchangeable, if your club does Time Trials on a different day or club long runs on a different day then you can change days around.

Training Paces for a 4:30 Marathon:

• Recovery: 7:03-7:37/km (11:21-12:16/mile)
• Easy (E): 6:29-7:03/km (10:27-1:21/mile)
• Long Runs (LSD): 6:40-7:20/km (10:43-11:49/mile)
• 2min Hill Repeats: 5:31-5:38/km (8:51-9:02/mile)
• Time Trials:
• 4km 22:05
• 5km 27:00
• 8km 45:15

Start at the slower end of the training paces and move towards the faster end as you progress through the coming months of training.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

December 2025

Comrades 2026 Robert Mtshali Program by Coach Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

To Ask Questions sign up to: www.coachparry.com

It is only 11 months until the 2026 UP Comrades Marathon. The UP RUN is known for The Big Five Hills: Kowies Hill, Fields Hill, Bothas Hill, Inchanga and Polly Shortts. The 1st 3 are all run in the 1st 40km with Inchanga taking you to 50km and Polly Shortts with a little over 10km to go. There are also many other climbs like 45th Cutting, Little Polly’s and Umlaas Road, however it’s the unnamed hills that get you down and creep into your mind. In summary: The UP Run is an enormous challenge.

It is important to prepare physically, and equally important to prepare mentally for the challenge of running 87 odd kilometers from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

It is important to do some running in winter to lay a platform for spring and summer. For those of you who completed the 2025 down run you may find that the programme starts out a little slowly for you, you can do a bit more than what is on the programme but do not get too carried away, in the coming months less is more and the focus is on a improving your half marathon and marathon time. We focus on Comrades from March 2026.

If this is your first attempt at Comrades but you are a regular runner and can do a Half Marathon in close to 1hr55 then this is the place for you to start. If you are not a regular runner and have not run a half marathon before or are slower than 2hrs then you need to follow the BRONZE programme, If you find your Time Trial times are closer to this programme, then you need to follow the Bronze programme with the Robert Mtshali pacing plan.

The important message is to start out a little easier and build up a little slower to ensure you build up injury free.

This programme is time-based so people with 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 run that particular route. It is therefore easier to maintain discipline and run easy on easy days. The aim is to run a sub 4hr marathon before Comrades.

You need to monitor your recovery: If you are in good shape, feel rested and ready for each workout then do not add additional running, 1st make sure you are doing strength training and then consider adding cross training like cycling. however, if you are always feeling tired and struggling through workouts you need to look at an additional rest day. This is crucial; it is during recovery that we improve and get stronger, in the absence of recovery we get sick and injured.

Also note that 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.

Training Paces for 4hr marathon:

• Recovery (Rec): 6:16-6:46/km (10:05-10:54/mile)
• Easy (E): 5:46-6:16/km (9:19-10:05/mile)
• Long Runs (LSD): 5:55-6:31/km (9:31-10:30/mile)
• 2min Hill Repeats: 4:57-5:03/km (7:56-8:05/mile)
• 1min Hill Repeats: 4:37-4:43/km (7:26-7:35/mile)
• 3min: 4:34-4:40/km (7:21-7:30/mile)
• 90sec: 4:20-4:25/km (7:00-7:08/mile)

 Time Trials:

• 5km 24:40
• 8km 40:00

Start at the slower end of the training paces and move towards the faster end as you progress through the coming months of training.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

Comrades 2026 Bill Rowan Program by Coach Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

To Ask Questions sign up to: www.coachparry.com

It is only 11 months until the 2026 UP Comrades Marathon. The UP RUN is known for The Big Five Hills: Kowies Hill, Fields Hill, Bothas Hill, Inchanga and Polly Shortts. The 1st 3 are all run in the 1st 40km with Inchanga taking you to 50km and Polly Shortts with a little over 10km to go. There are also many other climbs like 45th Cutting, Little Polly’s and Umlaas Road, however it’s the unnamed hills that get you down and creep into your mind. In summary: The UP Run is an enormous challenge.

It is important to prepare physically, and equally important to prepare mentally for the challenge of running 87 odd kilometers from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

It is important to do some running in winter to lay a platform for spring and summer. For those of you who completed the 2025 down run you may find that the programme starts out a little slowly for you, you can do a bit more than what is on the programme but do not get too carried away, in the coming months less is more and the focus is on a improving your half marathon and marathon time. We focus on Comrades from March 2026.

If this is your first attempt at Comrades but you are a regular runner and can do a Half Marathon in close to 1hr45 then this is the place for you to start. If you are not a regular runner and have not run a half marathon before or are slower than 1hr45 then you need to follow the BRONZE programme, If you find your Time Trial times are closer to this programme, then you need to follow the Bronze programme with the Bill Rowan pacing plan.

The important message is to start out a little easier and build up a little slower to ensure you build up injury free.

This programme is time-based so people with 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 run that particular route. It is therefore easier to maintain discipline and run easy on easy days. The aim is to run a sub 3:30 marathon before Comrades.

Later in the program there is a run on Wednesday. You need to monitor your recovery: If you are in good shape, feel rested and ready for each workout then do the additional set. If however, you are always feeling tired and struggling through workouts you need to keep that as a rest day. This is crucial; it is during recovery that we improve and get stronger, in the absence of recovery we get sick and injured.

Also note that 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.

Training Paces for 3:30 marathon:

• Recovery (Rec): 4:50-5:04/km (7:47-8:08/mile)
• Easy (E): 4:24-5:43/km (7:05-9:12/mile)
• Long Runs (LSD): 4:37-4:50/km (7:26-7:47/mile)
• 2min Hill Repeats: 4:23-4:28/km (7:01-7:09/mile)
• 1min Hill Repeats: 4:03-4:08/km (6:31-6:39/mile)
• 3min: 4:04-4:06/km (6:27-6:35/mile)
• 90sec: 3:50-3:55 (6:10-6:18/mile)

Time Trials:

• 5km 21:30
• 8km 35:15

Start at the slower end of the training paces and move towards the faster end as you progress through the coming months of training.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

December 2025

Comrades 2026 Silver Medal Programme by Coach Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

To Ask Questions sign up to: www.coachparry.com

It is only 11 months until the 2026 UP Comrades Marathon. The UP RUN is known for The Big Five Hills: Kowies Hill, Fields Hill, Bothas Hill, Inchanga and Polly Shortts. The 1st 3 are all run in the 1st 40km with Inchanga taking you to 50km and Polly Shortts with a little over 10km to go. There are also many other climbs like 45th Cutting, Little Polly’s and Umlaas Road, however it’s the unnamed hills that get you down and creep into your mind. In summary: The UP Run is an enormous challenge.

It is important to prepare physically, and equally important to prepare mentally for the challenge of running 87 odd kilometers from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

The short-term focus will be on laying a solid foundation so that we can work on your speed and marathon time in the last quarter of the year. This will also get you ready for the large training volumes that are needed to run a great Comrades in 2026.

If this is your first attempt at Comrades but you are a regular runner and can do a Half Marathon in 1hr25min then this is the place for you to start. If you are not a regular runner and have not run a half marathon before or are slower than 90min then you will be better served by the Bill Rowan or Robert Mtshali programme which will start out gentler and allow you to build up without injury.

This programme is time-based so people with 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 run that particular route. It is easier to maintain discipline and run EASY (E) on EASY days. The aim is to be able to run close to a sub 3:00 marathon before Comrades.

You can choose to rest on a Monday or a Friday and as the programme progresses you may be tempted to skip the rest day. You need to monitor your recovery: If you are in good shape, feel rested and ready for each workout then you can do cross training on your “rest” day. If however, you are always feeling tired and struggling through workouts you need to keep that as a rest day. This is crucial; it is during recovery that we improve and get stronger, in the absence of recovery we get sick and injured.

Also note that 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. Or if you prefer long runs on a Sunday, you can swap Saturday and Sunday.

Training Paces for 3:00 marathon:

• Recovery (Rec): 4:43-5:05/km (7:35-8:11/mile)
• E (E): 4:20-4:43/km (6:58-7:35/mile)
• Long Runs (LSD): 4:27-4:54/km (7:09-7:53/mile)
• Tempo: 3:37-4:09/km (6:22-6:40/mile)
• 2min Hill Repeats: 3:48-3:52/km (6:05-6:12/mile)
• 1min Hill Repeats: 3:28-3:32/km (5:35-5:42/mile)
• 400’s: 79-80sec
• 1000’s: 3:48-3:52
• 8km Time Trial (TT): 30:00

Start at the slower end of the training paces and move towards the faster end as you progress through the coming months of training.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

December 2025