BREAKING NEWS

2025 Race Direction: Down Run Qualifying Period: 10 June 2024 - 5 May 2025 Comrades 2025 Date: 8 June Entries are Open!

COMRADES TRAINING PLANS 2024 - 2025

Finishers Programme Aug - Dec 2024

Comrades 2025 Finishers Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

This year we will be doing things just a little bit differently, the plans will take us into October  and the rest of the plans will be uploaded towards the end of Oct.

Our goals for 2024 are 3-fold: 1) to build you up, injury free and healthy 2) Make you confident  that you too can be a runner 3) to finish a half marathon or 2 in 2024.

For the 2025 Comrades, I have also considered the stats, kindly provided to me by Mark Dowdeswell and Comrades to plan the programme. The main changes will be seen in Jan to June 2025, and to plan the pacing charts.

The following are some stats, the intention is not to scare or discourage you, but it is critical that you do understand that this is a tough race, and it will consume much of you from March next year until 17:30 pm on 8 June 2025. 45% of H Batch starters (sub 4hr50 Marathon) finish under the official 12hr finish time, while 71% of G Batch (Sub 4:40 Marathon) starters receive a Finishers Medal. The degree of difficulty increases because G Batchers take on average 6min48sec to cross the start line and

H batchers take 7min21sec. From these stats, a sub 5 qualifier does not guarantee a finish. Meticulous preparation and pacing on race day are key. What is of great importance is that 45% do finish and so it IS POSSIBLE.

You are at greater risk of not finishing if qualifying was:

  • Achieved at Sea Level (4:46)
  • 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 (4:40)
  • 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 2024 will be based around developing consistency as this will be the most crucial factor in determining your 2025 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 ensure this through following the appropriately designed programmes 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 2025 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.

Training Paces:

  • Easy (E): 7:00-7:36/km
  • Long (L): 7:10-7:55/km
  • Recovery (rec): 7:36-8:13/km

These paces are a guide for someone who is training for a 4hr50 Marathon, aim to run at or around these paces taking note of how easily you recover.

Contact me:

Lindsey@coachparry.com

@LindseyParryZA, @AskCoachParry

www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

August 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Aug		 Walk 5min easy; Jog 5min walk 1min x 5 REST Walk 5min easy; Jog 5min walk 1min x 6 Walk 5min easy; Jog 9min walk 1min x 3
5 Aug
REST
Walk5min E; Jog 5min, walk 1min x 6
REST
Walk5min E; Jog 5min, walk 2min x 6
REST
Walk5min E; Jog 5min, walk 1min x 7
Walk5min E; Jog 9min, walk 1min x 4

12 Aug
REST
Walk 5min E;
30min E,
walk as
needed
REST		 10min rec;
5km TT, walk
as needed,
5min cool
down
REST
Walk5min E; Jog 5min, walk 1min x 8
Walk5min E; Jog 9min, walk 1min x 5

19 Aug
REST
Walk 5min E;
35min E,
walk as
needed
REST
Walk 5min E;
35min E,
walk as
needed
REST
Walk5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 9
Walk5min E; Jog 9min, walk 1min x 6

26 Aug
REST
Walk 5min E;
40min E,
walk as
needed
REST
Walk 5min E;
40min E,
walk as
needed
REST
Walk 5min E;
50min E,
walk as
needed
 

September 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Sep
1hr10 E,
walk as
needed

2 Sep
REST		 Walk 5min E;
45min E,
walk as
needed
REST		 Walk 5min E;
45min E,
walk as
needed
REST		 Walk 5min;
1hr E, walk
as needed		 1hr10 E,
walk as
needed

9 Sep
REST		 Walk 5min E;
35min E,
walk as
needed
REST		 10min rec;
5km TT,
5min cool
down
REST		 1hr10 E,
walk as
needed		 1hr30 E,
walk as
needed

16 Sep
REST		 Walk 5min E;
50min E,
walk as
needed
REST		 Walk 5min E;
50min E,
walk as
needed
Walk 5min
E; 15min E		 *10km race

23 Sep
REST		 Walk 5min E;
55min E,
walk as
needed
REST		 Walk 5min E;
55min E,
walk as
needed
REST
1hr20 E,
walk as
needed		 1hr45 L,
walk 1min every 3km
30 Sep
REST


 

October 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Oct

Walk 5min
E; 1hr E,
walk as
needed
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E,
walk as
needed
REST

1hr30 L,
walk as
needed
2hr L, walk
1min every
3km
7 oct
REST
Walk 5min
E; 45min E,
walk as
needed
REST
10min rec;
5km TT, walk
as needed,
5min cool
down
REST

1hr15 E,
walk as
needed

1hr30 L
walk 1min
every 3km

14 Oct
REST		 Walk 5min
E; 1hr E,
walk as
needed
REST		 Walk 5min E;
1hr10 E walk
as needed
REST		 1hr30 L,
walk as
needed		 2hr15 L,
walk 1min
every 3km


21 Oct
REST		 Walk 5min
E; 1hr E,
walk as
needed
REST		 Walk 5min E;
1hr E, walk as
needed
REST		 1hr30 L,
walk as
needed		 2hr30 L,
walk 1min
every 3km

28 Oct
REST
Walk 5min
E; 30min E,
walk as
needed
REST
Walk 5min
E; 30min E,
walk as
needed

November 2024


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Nov

REST		 Walk 5min E; 15min E
*Half Marathon
4 Nov
REST		 Walk 5min E; 30min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; 35min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 7 Walk 5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 4

11 Nov
REST		 Walk 5min E; 35min E, walk as needed
REST		 10min rec; 5km TT, walk as needed, 5min cool down
REST		 Walk 5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 8 Walk 5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 5


18 Nov
REST		 Walk 5min E; 40min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; 40min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; Jog 5min walk 1min x 9 Walk 5min E; Jog 9min walk 1min x 6

25 Nov
REST		 Walk 5min E; 45min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; 45min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min; 50min E, walk as needed

December 2024


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Dec
1hr10 E, walk as needed
2 Dec
REST		 Walk 5min E; 35min E, walk as needed
REST		 10min rec; 5km TT, 5min cool down
REST		 Walk 5min; 1hr E, walk as needed 1hr20 E, walk as needed

9 Dec
REST		 Walk 5min E; 50min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; 50min E, walk as needed
REST		 1hr10 E, walk as needed 1hr30 E, walk as needed


16 Dec
REST		 Walk 5min E; 55min E, walk as needed
REST		 Walk 5min E; 55min E, walk as needed
REST		 1hr20 E, walk as needed 1hr30 E, walk as needed

23 Dec
REST		 Walk 5min E; 1hr E, walk as needed
CHRISTMAS DAY
BOXING DAY
REST		 Walk 5min; 50min E, walk as needed 1hr10 E, walk as needed

30 Dec
REST		 Old Years Eve 10km if there is one
NEW YEAR'S DAY 		Walk 5min E; 1hr E, walk as needed
REST		 1hr20 E, walk as needed 1hr40 E, walk as needed
 
Bronze Medal Programme Aug - Dec 2024

Comrades 2025 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 plans will take us into October and the rest of the plans will be uploaded towards the end of Oct. Our goals for 2024 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

Moving the qualifier forward slightly means we can get into a better training groove early in 2025, opening the door to either improving your speed a bit more or doing another qualifier if necessary. Particularly with Comrades falling on the 8th of June in 2025. For the 2025 Comrades, I have also considered the stats, kindly provided to me by Mark Dowdeswell and Comrades to plan the programme. The main changes will be seen in Jan to June 2025, and to plan the pacing charts. 69% of D (sub 4hrs) Batch Starters finish the race under 11:00 hours, while 36.46% of F (sub 4:20) Batch starters receive a Bronze Medal. The degree of difficulty increases because D Batchers take on average 3min18sec to cross the start line and F batchers take 5min35sec. 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 (4:12)
  • Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (4:16)
  • You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (4:15)
  • It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (4:07)
  • (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 10hrs30
  • 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 appropriately.

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 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. 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 September and October.

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 8 June 2025.

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

Contact me:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach

Enjoy the training!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

August 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Aug		 Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST		 1hr10 E walk
as needed
on hills		 1hr30 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

5 Aug
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST
1hr20 E walk
as needed
on hills		 1hr45 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

12 Aug
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST
1hr30 L walk
as needed
on hills		 2hr L with
1min walk
every 3-
5km

19 Aug
REST
Walk 5min
E; 45min rec
REST
Walk 5min
E; 45min rec
REST
5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E
*10km race

26 Aug
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST
Walk 5min
E; 1hr E
REST		 1hr30 L walk
as needed
on hills

September 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Sep
2hr20 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

2 Sep
REST		 1hr E
REST		 1 hr E
REST		 1hr30 L walk
as needed
on hills		 2hr40 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

9 Sep
REST		 1 hr E
REST		 1 hr E
REST		 1hr30 L walk
as needed
on hills		 3hr L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km
 
16 Sep
REST
45minrec
REST
45min rec
REST		 1hr15 E walk
as needed
on hills		 1hr30 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

23 Sep
REST		 10min E;
4x2min hills;
10min E
REST
1hr05 E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E		 *10/15km race
30 Sep REST


October 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Oct

10min E;
5x2min hills;
10min E
REST
1hr10 E
REST		 1hr30 L walk
as needed
on hills		 3hr30 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

7 Oct
REST		 10min E;
6x2min hills;
10min E
REST
1hr15 E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E		 *21.1km at Planned Marathon Pace

14 Oct
REST
45min rec
REST		 40min E; 5km
TT – Flat out;
10min E
REST		 1hr15 E walk
as needed
on hills		 2hr30 L
with 1min
walk every
3-5km

21 Oct
REST		 10min E;
8x400m,
1min rest;
10min E
REST
1hr E
REST
1hr E
1hr E

28 Oct
REST		 10min E;
10x1min RP,
1min E;
5min E
REST
30min E

November 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Nov

REST		 5min E; 5x30sec RP, 30sec E; 5min E 32km or 42km Race
4 Nov REST REST REST REST REST REST REST

11 Nov
REST
Walk 5min E; 30min E
REST		 Walk 5min E; 45min E
REST		 1hr E with 1min walk every 3-5km 45min E, walk as needed on hills

18 Nov
REST		 Walk 5min E; 50min E
REST		 Walk 5min E; 55min E
REST		 90min L with 1min walk every 3-5km 1hr E walk as needed on hills

25 Nov
REST		 Walk 5min E; 40min rec
REST		 Walk 5min E; 40min rec
REST		 10min E; Parkrun or TT; 5min E

December 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Dec
45min rec

2 Dec
REST		 10min E; 4x2min hills; 10min E
REST
1hr E
REST		 2hr L with 1min walk every 3-5km 1hr30 L walk as needed on hills

9 Dec
REST		 10min E; 5x2min hills; 10min E
REST		 1hr E
REST		 2hr20 L with 1min walk every 3-5km 1hr30 L walk as needed on hills

16 Dec
REST		 10min E; 6x2min hills; 10min E
REST
1hr E
REST		 2hr40 L with 1min walk every 3-5km 1hr30 L walk as needed on hills

23 Dec
REST		 45min rec
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
REST		 90min L with 1min walk every 3-5km 1hr15 E walk as needed on hills

30 Dec
REST		 Old Years Eve 10km if there is one
New Year's Day
1hr E
REST		 2hr L with 1min walk every 3-5km 1hr30 L walk as needed on hills
Robert Mtshali Medal Programme Aug - Dec 2024

Comrades 2025 Robert Mtshali Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association:

This year we will be doing things just a little bit differently, the plans will take us into October and the rest of the plans will be uploaded towards the end of Oct. Our goals for 2024 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 4:00 Marathon.

On the way to achieving the sub 4hr Marathon we will look to break the following times:

  • 5km: 24:40
  • 8km: 40:35
  • 10km: 51:00
  • 15km: 1:19:15
  • 21.1km: 1:54:00
  • 20 Miles/32km: 2:59:30

Moving the qualifier forward slightly means we can get into a better training groove early in 2025, opening the door to either improving your speed a bit more or doing another qualifier if necessary. Particularly with Comrades falling on 8 June in 2025. For the 2025 Comrades, I have also considered the stats, kindly provided to me by Mark Dowdeswell and Comrades to plan the programme. The main changes will be seen in Jan to June 2025, and to plan the pacing charts.

Training for a Robert Mtshali and getting a Sub 4:00 Marathon are no Guarantee for achieving a sub 10hr 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 Robert Mtshali is at risk if your Sub 4hr was:

  • Achieved at Sea Level (3:50)
  • Achieved on a downhill course (3:50)
  • Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (3:50)
  • You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (3:50)
  • It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (3:44)
  • (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 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 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 appropriately.

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 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.

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 September and October.

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 8 June 2025.

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: 3:37-3:48 (4:30-4:45/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.

Contact me:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.coachparry.com
Enjoy the training!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

August 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Aug 45min E REST 1hr10 E run 1hr30 L,
walk 1min
every 6km
5 Aug
REST		 10min E;
5x2min hills;
10min E
REST
1hr E
REST
1hr20 E run		 1hr45 L,
walk 1min
every 6km
12 Aug
REST		 10min E;
6x2min hills;
10min E
REST
1hr10 E
REST
1hr30 L run		 2hr L, walk
1min every
6km
19 Aug
REST
40min E run
REST
45min E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E
*1okm race
26 Aug
REST		 10min E;
10x1min
hills; 10min
E
REST
1hr 20 E
REST
1hr30 L run

September 2024:



Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Sep
2hr20 L,
walk 1min
every 6km

2 Sep
REST		 10min E;
10x1min
hills; 10min
E
REST
1hr20 E
REST
1hr30L		 2hr40,
walk 1min
every 6km

9 Sep
REST
10min E;
10x1min
hills; 10min
E
REST
1hr20E
REST
1hr30 L
3hr L, walk
1min every
6km

16 Sep
REST
45min rec
REST
45min rec
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E		 *10/15km race

23 Sep
REST		 10min E;
6x3min
intervals,
3min rec;
10min E
REST
1hr05 E
REST
1hr30 L		 3hr L, walk
1min every
6km
30 Sep REST


October 2024:



Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Oct
10min E;
6x3min
intervals,
3min rec;
10min E
REST
1hr20 E
REST
1hr30 L		 3hr30 L,
walk 1min
every 6km

7 Oct
REST		 10min E;
6x3min
intervals,
3min rec;
10min E
REST
1hr20E 
REST
1hr30 L
*21.1km at Planned Marathon Pace

14 Oct
REST		 45min rec
REST		 40min E; 5km
TT – Flat out;
10min E
REST
1hr15 E		 2hr30 L,
walk 1min
every 6km

21 Oct
REST
10min E;
10x400m,
1min rest;
10min E
REST
1hr E
REST
1hr E
1hr E

28 Oct		 REST 10min E;
10x1min RP,
1min E;
5min E
REST
30min E

November 2024:



Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Nov

REST		 5min E; 5x30sec RP, 30sec E; 5min E Qualifier

4 Nov
REST
30min E
REST
45min E 
REST
1hr15 E
45min E

11 Nov
REST
1hr E
REST

1hr15 E
REST

2hr L		 1hr15 E

18 Nov
REST
1hr E
REST

1hr15 E
REST

2hr L

1hr15 E

25 Nov
REST		 1hr E run
REST		 15min E run; 8km TT; 10min E run
REST		 90min L

December 2024:



Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Dec

2 Dec
REST		 15min E; 6x2min hill repeats; 10min E
REST
1hr30 L 
REST
2hr L run
1hr15 E run

9 Dec
REST		 15min E; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E
REST
1hr30 L
REST
2hr L run		 1hr15 E run

16 Dec
REST		 15min E; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E
REST
1hr30 L
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E run

23 Dec
REST
40min E
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E run

30 Dec		 REST 1hr E (old years 10km if there is one)
New Year's Day
1hr E
REST
90min L
45min E
Bill Rowan Medal Programme Aug - Dec 2024

Comrades 2025 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 plans will take us into October and the rest of the plans will be uploaded towards the end of Oct.

Our goals for 2024 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

Moving the qualifier forward slightly means we can get into a better training groove early in 2025, opening the door to either improving your speed a bit more or doing another qualifier if necessary. Particularly with Comrades falling on 8 June 2025. For the 2025 Comrades, I have also considered the stats, kindly provided to me by Mark Dowdeswell and Comrades to plan the programme. The main changes will be seen in Jan to June 2025, and to plan the pacing charts. 58.12% of B Batch Starters finish the race under 9:00 with 4% of these achieving Silver.

20.64% of C Batch starters receive a Bill Rowan Medal

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 (3:20)
  • Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (3:20)
  • You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (3:20)
  • It is compounded by combing 2 or more of these factors (3:16)
  • (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 appropriately. 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. If you did not run Comrades and have been training consistently for a few weeks already, you can adapt this programme to focus on races in September and October.

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 8 June 2025.

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:
www.coachparry.com
Lindsey@coacghparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
Enjoy the training!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

August 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Aug 1hr E REST 1hr20 L 1hr30 L
5 Aug REST 1hr E 1hr10 E 1hr E REST 1hr30 L 1hr45 E

12 Aug
REST
45minE
1hr E
45minE
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E
*10km race

19 Aug
REST		 15min E;
5x2min hill
repeats;
10min E
1hr30 L
1hrE
REST
1hr50 L
2hr20 L

26 Aug
REST		 15min E;
6x2min hill
repeats;
10min E
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST
2hr L

September 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Sep
2hr40 L

2 Sep
REST		 15min E;
6x2min hill
repeats;
10min E
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST
2hr L
3hr L

9 Sep
REST		 15min E;
10x1min
RP, 1min E;
10min E
1hr E
45min E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E		 *10/15km race

16 Sep
REST
1hr E
1hr30 L		 15min E;
10x1min hill
repeats;
10min E
REST
2hr L
3hr L

23 Sep
REST		 15min E;
10x1min hill
repeats;
10min E
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E		 *Race a Half Marathon
30 Sep REST


October 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Oct
15min E;
10x1min hill
repeats;
10min E		 1hr30 L 1hr E
REST		 2hr L 3hr20L

7 Oct
REST		 15min E;
10x1min
RP, 1min E;
10min E
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec RP,
30sec E;
5min E		 *Run a
Half
Marathon
at
Marathon
Race Pace

14 Oct
REST
45min rec
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST
1hr30 E
2hrs L

21 Oct
REST		 15min E;
10x400m,
1min rec;
10min E
1hr E
1hr E
REST
1hr E
1hr E 

28 Oct
REST		 15min E;
10x400m,
1min rec;
10min E
30min rec
20min E

November 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Nov

REST		 5min E; 5x30sec RP, 30sec E; 5min E *Race a Marathon
4 Nov REST REST REST REST REST REST REST

11 Nov
REST		 30min E run
REST
45min E run
REST
1hr E run
45min E

18 Nov
REST		 15min E; 4x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr E
1hr E
REST
1hr30 L run
45min E 

25 Nov
REST		 15min E; 5x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr15 E
1hr E
REST
1hr45 L

December 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Dec
1hr E

2 Dec
REST
45min E
1hrE
15min E run; 8km TT; 10min E run
REST
90min L run

45min E

9 Dec
REST		 15min E; 6x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST
2hr L run
1hr15 E run

16 Dec
REST		 15min E; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr30 L
1hr E
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E run

23 Dec
REST		 15min E; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E run

30 Dec
REST		 1hr E (old years 10km if there is one)
New Year's Day
40min E
REST
1hr15 E
45min E
Silver Medal Programme Aug - Dec 2024

Comrades 2025 Silver 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 plans will take us into October and the rest of the plans will be uploaded towards the end of Oct. Our goals for 2019 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

Moving the qualifier forward slightly means we can get into a better training groove early in 2025, opening the door to either improving your speed a bit more or doing another qualifier if necessary. Particularly with Comrades falling on the 8th of June in 2025. For the 2025 Comrades, I have also considered the stats, kindly provided to me by Mark Dowdeswell and Comrades to plan the programme. The main changes will be seen in Jan to June 2025, and to plan the pacing charts.

Only 37.87% of A Batch Starters finish the race under 7:30, this number includes Golds and Wally Hayward medals, while 4.76% of B batch starters finish under 7:30. Training for a Silver and getting an A seed are by no means a Guarantee for achieving a Silver 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 (2:52)
  • Achieved in temperatures lower than 19 degrees Celsius (2:52)
  • You do not follow a very strict, conservative race plan (2:50)
  • 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 appropriately. 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.

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.

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 8 June 2025.

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:
Lindsey@coachparry.com
@LindseyParryZA
@AskCoachParry
www.facebook/ComradesCoach
Enjoy the training!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

August 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Aug 15min E;
5km TT;
10min E		 REST 1hr20 E 1hr45 L

5 Aug
45min rec		 15min E;
6x2min
hills;
10min E
1hr05 E
1hr E
REST
1hr30 E
2hr L

12 Aug
45min rec		 15min E;
7x2min
hills;
10min E
1hr10 E
1hr E
REST
1hr30E
2hr L

19 Aug
45min rec		 15min E;
4x2min
hills;
10min E
1hr E
45min E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec
RP, 30sec
E; 5min E
*10km Race or Time Trial

26 Aug
45min rec		 15min E;
12x2min
hills;
10min E
1hr15 E
1hr05 E
REST
1hr30 L

September 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Sep
2hr15 L

2 Sep
45min rec		 15min E;
12x1min
hills rest;
10min E
1hr20 E
1hr10 E
REST
1hr45 L
2hr30E

9 Sep
45min rec		 15min E;
12x1min
hills rest;
10min E
1hr30 L
1hr15 E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec
RP, 30sec
E; 5min E
*10/15km Race

16 Sep
45min rec		 1hr E 1hr E 15min E;
8km TT;
10min E
REST
1hr15 E 		1hr30 L

23 Sep		 45min rec 20min E;
6x1000m
with 3min
rest; 10min
E		 1hr45 L 1hr15 E REST
5min E;
5x30sec
RP, 30sec
E; 5min E		 *Race a half Marathon
30 Sep 30min rec


 

October 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Oct

45min E run
1hr30 L		 20min E;
6x1000m
with 3min
rest; 10min
E
REST
1hr45 L
2hr45L

7 Oct
45min rec 		20min E;
6x1000m with
3min rest;
10min E
1hr45 L		 40min E;
5km TT –
Firm; 10min
E
REST
1hr45 L
3hr L

14 Oct
45min rec 		15min E;
10x1min
Race pace,
1min E;
10min E
1hr E
45min E
REST		 5min E;
5x30sec
RP, 30sec
E; 5min E		 *Half Marathon at Marathon race pace

21 Oct
45min rec 		20min E;
12x400m with
200m rec;
10min E
1hr20 E		 25min E;
5km TT –
Firm; 10min
E
REST
1hr E
1hr E

28 Oct

30min rec		 15min E;
10x1min
Race pace,
1min E;
10min E
45min rec
30min rec

November 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

1 Nov

REST		 5min E; 5x30sec RP; 30sec E; 5min E
*Race a Marathon
4 Nov REST REST REST REST REST REST REST

11 Nov
30min rec
REST
45min rec		 15min E; 6x2min hill repeats; 10min E
REST
90min E run
45min rec

18 Nov
45min rec 		15min E; 7x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr25 E
1hr10 E
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E

25 Nov
REST		  1hr E run
45min E rec 		15min E run; 8km TT; 10min E run
REST
1hr45 L

December 2024:


Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1 Dec
1hr E

2 Dec
45min rec 		15min E; 8x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr30 L
1hr15 E
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E

9 Dec
45min rec 		15min E; 9x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr30 L
1hr15 E
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E

16 Dec
45min rec 		15min E; 10x2min hill repeats; 10min E
1hr30 L
1hr15 E
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E

23 Dec
45min rec
40min E
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
REST
90min L
45min E

30 Dec
45min rec		 1hr E (old years 10km if there is one)
New Year's Day
40min E
REST
2hr L
1hr15 E