A 16-week marathon plan for busy people

Most marathon plans assume you have twelve hours a week to give. This one assumes you have six, and that some weeks you will have four.

The structure is simple: one long run that grows by a mile or two a week, one session of faster running, and two easy runs that exist only to keep you moving. Everything else — cross-training, strength work, stretching — is optional.

The long run peaks at twenty miles three weeks before race day, followed by a taper that is as much psychological as physical. Trust it: the fitness is already banked.