Decision map
Three decisions between now and race day. Tap a box to try a different route. Every session in the plan follows the highlighted one.Swipe sideways on the map to see every branch.
Weekly volume
Key dates
Easy-run heart rate drift
How much your heart rate creeps up at the same easy pace from the first half of a run to the second. Lower means fitter.How your long runs finish
Your last 5 km against km 2–10 of every long run. It's the closest thing you have to a preview of km 35–42 on race day.Calendar
Subscribe once and every run shows up in your calendar as an all-day event. It updates itself when the plan changes.If a button doesn't work, add this address as a calendar from URL. In Google Calendar, that's Other calendars → + → From URL.
https://joshuamorley.github.io/running-plan/plan.ics
Pace zones · from your 17:44 5k and recent runs
Easy5:20–5:45per km · HR under 150
Marathon4:15per km · HR 165–172
Threshold3:50–4:05per km · hard but steady
Interval · 5k3:32–3:45per km · short reps only
Training
Fitness and freshness
Each run's training load from your heart rate, rolled into fitness (the last six weeks) and fatigue (the last week). The taper drops fatigue faster than fitness, so freshness should climb towards race day. Tap or hover over a day to see it.Monthly distance
Every run since 2025, added up by month, with the longest run of each month. Tap or hover over a month for the numbers.Easy heart rate
Your heart rate on easy runs, adjusted to the same 5:30/km pace so runs at different speeds compare. When it falls, your aerobic engine is getting stronger, and that's what carries you through km 30–42.Race fitness
Marathon predictor
Every km split from your steady runs, plotted as heart rate against pace. The trend line reads off the pace your heart supports at marathon effort, HR 165–172. Interval days are left out.Threshold finder
Heart rate climbs in a straight line with speed until around your lactate threshold, then bends away and flattens. Every steady km from runs of 5 km or more, plotted as HR against pace. The bend is where the two fitted lines meet.Does your HR settle?
At a pace you can hold, heart rate climbs for the first few minutes and then levels out. Go faster than that and it keeps climbing until you slow down. Every steady stretch from runs of 30 minutes or more, one line per pace.Heartbeats per km
Average heart rate × minutes per km. How many beats each km costs you. Lower is more efficient. Compare similar runs: easy with easy.Form
Stride or cadence?
How you run faster: longer strides, quicker steps, or both. Each dot is a watch lap: auto km laps, plus each rep on interval days.Stride length
Cadence
Cadence over time
Average steps a minute for every run since 2025, easy and fast runs kept apart because cadence rises with speed.Hills
Your hilliest runs against the marathon's climbing, and what hills cost you in heartbeats.Habits and records
Morning or evening
When you run, and whether your heart works harder at the same pace early in the day. The marathon starts early.Records
Your bests since 2025, from every run synced from Strava.All of it, added up
Every run since 2025 in more familiar units.Landmark distances are approximate.
5k races
Your Tuesday evening Good George runs and Saturday morning parkruns, from Strava. Hover over or tap a dot to see the run.Every 5k
Faster times are higher up. Filled dots are runs you pushed, hollow ones you jogged. The stepped lines show your best so far on each day.Best-ever times
| Date | Run | Time | Gain |
|---|
Same beats, more distance
Speed vs endurance
How much of your 5k speed you've carried over longer distances. Your best 5k predicts a pace for every distance; the dots show what you actually ran.How you pace a 5k
Temperature
Turning up
Every Tuesday and Saturday since your first raced Good George. Hover over or tap a square to see the run.Your courses
Runs grouped by where they started, named from your Strava run names. Best times count runs faster than 4:50/km.| Course | Runs | Best | Last run |
|---|
All 5ks
| Date | Run | Distance | 5k time | Pace | HR |
|---|
★ best so far on that day of the week. Times for courses under 5 km are scaled up to 5 km.
Decisions
Enter your numbers after each test and the checker suggests a branch. It's a guide. You make the call.What changes on each build
Everything else in the plan is the same on both builds.| Day | Sub-3 build | 3:10 build |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesdays, weeks 1–3 | Easy 5–6 km, every week | Rest or optional easy 30 min |
| Sun 4 Oct · 29 km | Last 5 km at 4:20/km if recovered | All easy |
| Tue 6 Oct · AM intervals | 3 × 3 km at 4:05/km | 3 × 2 km at 3:55/km |
| Sat 10 Oct · 33 km | Last 8 km at 4:15/km (Test 1) | Last 5–6 km at 4:35/km if good |
| Sun 18 Oct · half | 16 km at 4:15/km (if Test 1 held) | 14 km at 4:30/km |
| Weeks 1 and 2 total | 55.5 km and 56 km | 49.5 km and 49 km |
Course
From a plotaroute.com GPX of the route. Hover over or tap the profile to see where that point is on the map.Elevation and pace
Planned pace for each km at your target, run by effort: a little slower up the hills, a little faster down them. The pace line is higher where you run slower, so it follows the hills.
Elevation (left axis, m)
Planned pace (right axis, min/km)
Target average
Harbour Bridge allowance
Hover over or tap the chart to see a km.
Pace for each km
Orange: slower than your average. Blue: faster. The clock shows planned time at the end of each km.North is up. The orange section is the Harbour Bridge. The Tamaki Drive section is out and back, so it overlaps on the map.
Map tiles © Esri. Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Watch pace
GPS watches usually read long over a marathon. If you run your target pace on the watch, you'll finish slower than your target.| Target | Official pace | Pace to run on your watch | Finish if you run official pace on the watch |
|---|
The plotted route measures 43.06 km. A watch reading 42.6–43.0 km is common. Use the clock at the official km markers as your real check.
About this data
- Distances are scaled from the plotted 43.06 km to the official 42.2 km, so km markers line up with the plan.
- The Harbour Bridge shows as 0 m. The file took its heights from ground level, which is the water under the bridge. The real climb and descent are bigger.
- Climbing totals don't agree. The file adds up to about 382 m, while the race listing used for this plan says 217 m. Small bumps along the waterfront look like measurement noise, so trust the shape more than the totals.
- Check the official course map and profile at aucklandmarathon.co.nz.
Gel calculator
At marathon pace you burn through your stored carbs in about 90–120 minutes. Set your gel and your carb target, and the race schedule updates.| Race gel plan | Where | Clock |
|---|
How to take gels
- Take each gel with water, a few mouthfuls. Don't take a gel with sports drink as well, because the extra sugar can upset your stomach.
- Open it a minute before the aid station or your km mark and take it over 20–30 seconds. Don't slow down to take it.
- Build up in training: about 60 g per hour in the 29 km, then your race amount in the 33 km. Your gut adapts with practice.
- Caffeine gels: PeakFuel Berry, Cola and Espresso have 30 mg each, Lime has none (check the packet). Use non-caffeine gels early, then caffeine ones from about km 18, when it does the most good. Keep the total to about 3–6 mg per kg of body weight, counting your morning coffee. Use the same mix in the 33 km first.
- Carry your own. Check aucklandmarathon.co.nz for what is handed out on course, and don't rely on a brand you haven't tried.
- Stomach trouble in training? Space gels out more and use more water. Don't give up on them. This is exactly what the practice runs are for.
Carb load · Fri 30 & Sat 31 Oct
- Rice, pasta, bread, bagels, potatoes, pancakes, juice, lollies.
- Cut back on fibre, fat and big salads, so your stomach feels light.
- You'll put on 1–2 kg of water with the stored carbs. That's normal, and it's fuel.
Race breakfast
- Something you've tested, such as white toast or a bagel with honey or jam, a banana, and juice.
- About 500 ml of water or electrolyte drink with it, then sip until 30 min before the start.
- Eat exactly the same breakfast before the 33 km and the half.
Recipes
For the big-carb meals before the 33 km, the half and race day, sized for 80 kg. The calendar reminds you on the day. Carb counts are rough, so check labels.Carbs in common foods
Rough amounts. Check labels for your own brands.| Food | Carbs |
|---|---|
| 1 plain bagel | about 50 g |
| 1 cup cooked white rice | about 45 g |
| 1 cup cooked pasta | about 40 g |
| 500 ml fruit juice | about 50 g |
| 1 banana | about 25 g |
| 1 slice white bread | about 15 g |
| 1 tablespoon honey | about 17 g |
Fuel in training
| Session | What to take |
|---|
Race day
A slightly slower first half for the North Shore hills and the Harbour Bridge, then a slightly faster second half. Two checkpoints tell you whether to push on or ease off.| Checkpoint | Pace | Clock |
|---|
Checkpoint calculator
Enter your clock at a checkpoint to see where you stand and what pace you need from there.Race morning
Set your start time. Check the official time on your bib or at aucklandmarathon.co.nz.Race shoes
Wear them for the sessions that rehearse race day, and train in your everyday shoes the rest of the time. You'll find any rubbing early and still have fresh foam on 1 November.| When | Session | km |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 6 Oct | Morning intervals. First run at pace in them | 13 |
| Sat 10 Oct | 33 km. Checks fit, blisters and calves over a long distance | 33 |
| Sun 18 Oct | Half marathon test | 21 |
| Thu 22 Oct | Morning intervals, in full race kit | 10 |
| Thu 29 Oct | Pace check. Last run in them before the race | 6.5 |
| Sun 1 Nov | Auckland Marathon | 42.2 |
How to use them
- Everyday shoes for everything else: easy runs, the Tuesday 5ks, the 29 km and the shakeout. Those runs only wear the shoes down.
- About 80 km before race day is enough to bed them in. Most race shoes are made to last a few hundred km, so there's plenty left for the marathon.
- New pair? Run an easy 5–8 km in them before 6 Oct to check the fit, then follow the table.
- Use the 33 km to sort out your kit: socks, how you lace them, and where you need tape or anti-chafe. Then don't change anything.
- Sore calves or Achilles after the 33 km? Stiff, plated shoes load them harder. Wear everyday shoes for the next few days, then go back to the table.
- Nothing new on race day: same shoes, socks and laces as the half and the 22 Oct intervals.
Kerikeri Half Marathon
Saturday 21 November 2026, 20 days after Auckland. Point to point from Okaihau to the Kerikeri Domain: a climb for the first 7 km, then mostly downhill. The course here comes from your Strava GPS of last year's race.Your target
Decide after the readiness check on Thu 12 Nov and Tuesday's goal-pace 5k on 17 Nov. The splits below follow your pick. Garmin gets the 1:25 plan.Elevation and pace
Planned pace for each km, run by effort: slower up the climb out of Okaihau, faster down the long descent. The pace line is higher where you run slower.
Elevation (left axis, m)
Planned pace (right axis)
Your 2025 pace
Target average
| Km | Up / down | 2025 | Plan | Clock |
|---|
North is up. Okaihau is at the left, Kerikeri at the right. The orange stretch is the steep drop after the high point.
Map tiles © Esri. Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Should you race it?
- Thu 12 Nov: HR under 150 at 5:20–5:30/km and stairs feel normal. Both yes, race it. Either no, run it steady.
- Tue 17 Nov: 5 km at goal pace should feel controlled, with HR under about 175. If it's a fight, pick the next target down.
- Any sore spot that's still there on 17 Nov: run it steady or skip it. Three weeks after a marathon is when overuse injuries show up.
- The descent is hard on quads, and those take longest to recover from a marathon. If they still ache on stairs, don't race the downhill.
How the targets compare
- Last year: 1:37:54 at an average HR of 170, with km 1–4 at 4:55–5:30 and the last 6 km at about 4:20.
- Fresh, your 17:44 5k suggests about 1:21–1:22 on a flat course. The downhill could make it faster, the climb and the marathon slower.
- Three weeks after Auckland, 1:23–1:27 is realistic. It depends on how hard the marathon was and how you've recovered.
- These are estimates from your runs and common rules of thumb, not a prediction you can count on.
Race morning
Set your start time. One listing gives 7:00 am, but it's the only source, so check your bib or the official race page before you plan around it.Race information: Race Roster and Running Calendar.
Stay in one piece
Being fit won't help if you're injured on race day. These rules come before any session in the plan.Every week
- Easy days are easy. HR under 150, and you can talk in full sentences. Easy days run too fast are the usual cause of breakdowns.
- Three hard days at most: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. If you race on Tuesday, keep Thursday controlled.
- Monday is always rest. It follows your biggest day of the week.
- After long runs and hard sessions, have carbs and protein within an hour, such as chocolate milk or a sandwich. Aim for 8 hours of sleep.
- Weekly volume goes up by no more than 10%. That's a common limit for building mileage safely, and the sub-3 build stays just inside it.
When something feels off
- Pain rule. Soreness that eases as you warm up is normal. Pain that gets worse, changes your stride, or stays sharp means stop, take 2 days off, and only come back when you can jog without pain.
- Tired signs: resting HR 5 or more beats above normal, heavy legs for 2 days or more, or poor sleep. Swap your next hard session for an easy one.
- Missed a session? Skip it. Never double up to make one up.
- Sick? Symptoms above the neck only: an easy run is OK. Fever, chest symptoms or aches: rest until you're clear.
- A test that doesn't go well is still useful. Switching routes is the plan doing its job.
Taper feelings are normal
From 19 Oct, volume drops and you may feel flat, sluggish or restless, with phantom niggles. That's your body absorbing the training. Don't add extra runs to feel better. The freshness shows up on race day.