Can you train for a marathon with a full-time job and a busy life? Let’s be honest — most marathon training plans assumes you have unlimited time, zero kids, possibility to work out every day without any other obligations and possibly a private chef.
But if you’re a real-life runner (like me), with a full-time job, laundry, dishes, school runs and maybe even a pet — fitting in long runs and strength workouts can feel like a second job. You read everywhere that you shouldnt plan a marathon without proper training plan, but all training plans seem like you have to switch from full-time job to full-time training.
Good news? You don’t need to train perfectly to finish strong.
You just need to train smart. Here’s how I (mom of two with high paced career) balance marathon prep without burning out — and how you can too.
💡 Can You Train for a Marathon With a Full-Time Job?
Absolutely. I am doing it while juggling 40-hour work weeks, parenting and all the usual chaos, it’s not always easy, I’m not always smiling and couch does look tempting option instead of heading out the door, but as they say – the hardest part of training is getting up and starting.
The main trick for me is to ditch the pressure and focus on consistency, not perfection.
🏃♀️ 5 Training Tips for Busy Runners
1️⃣ Pick a Realistic Plan
Look for a 12–16 week beginner or intermediate marathon plan with 3–4 running days per week.
Skip the 6-day/week “elite” plans — you don’t need them, you don’t have time for them and even if you manage it in the first weeks, it’s more likely that you will eventually just stop and think that marathon running isn’t for you.
📌 Great free plans:
- Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 (3–4 days/week)
- Nike Run Club App (includes guided runs)
2️⃣ Make the Long Run Non-Negotiable
If you can only do one run each week, let it be the long one. It builds endurance, teaches pacing, and boosts confidence. Of course it’s important to have some easy runs and tempo building runs, but I also have had weeks where the one weekend run is all that I manage and I’m not beating myself up about it – it is what it is and in this case the only run of the week will be the long run.
I usually schedule my long runs for Saturday mornings, when my brain isn’t full of emails and meetings. It also helps with setting the tone for the weekend – busy weekdays are over and after the long run weekend finally starts. It’s also better to run in the morning when the motivation is still high and I still have energy and I don’t have to worry about running all weekend then.
3️⃣ Split Short Runs
Can’t do a 45-minute run before work? Split it.
- 20 mins in the morning, 25 after dinner = still effective.
- Lunchtime jogs? Perfect. We have days where splitting is not an option, so even 20min run is better than nothing.
🏃♀️ I often do 30 minutes on Tuesday and 30 minutes Thursday and call it good week. It is what it is with busy schedules, we don’t need the extra stress about worrying not having time.
4️⃣ Use Recovery as a Tool, Not an Excuse
Busy runners tend to skip recovery, but it’s vital. Especially when you are 35+ years young, you need to make sure you recover and rest.
💤 Sleep is more important tempo run when your week has been chaos, you have to understand what is possible on some weeks.
🧘♀️ 15 mins of yoga or foam rolling, pure gold for your body and recovery.
5️⃣ Train in Blocks, Not Days
Think weekly goals, not daily tasks:
- 1 long run
- 2 short runs (ideally one of them is tempo/fartlek run)
- Optional cross-training or strength training (Youtube has amazing options of fast full body strength training).
If you have made that by Sunday night, you’re on track — even if the days shift around and it’s not as you planned in the beginning of the week.
📆 My Personal Marathon Training Schedule (Working Mom Version)
This is how I train for my marathon while working full-time and raising two kids:
| Day | Plan |
|---|---|
| Monday | Strength (20-45 min bodyweight at home, depends on the week) |
| Tuesday | 30 min run (easy) |
| Wednesday | Rest |
| Thursday | 30–40 min run (ideally tempo or fartlek if I have the energy) |
| Friday | Rest or easy yoga stretches |
| Saturday | Long run (builds weekly: 10K to 30K) |
| Sunday | Optional recovery walk + foam rolling |
✨ You Don’t Need to Be Superhuman to Train for a Marathon with a Full-Time Job. Just Be Consistent.
Train for a marathon with full-time job is tough — but also incredibly empowering. When you consistently show up for yourself, it gives such a self esteem boost and increaases your discipline in every area of your life.
Of course every week is different – You’ll have days where you feel like a superhero.
You’ll also have days where you eat toast for dinner, skip your tempo run and hide under the blanket.
Both are part of the journey, learn to enjoy them both and don’t beat yourself up when all you could do was one run that week – just don’t give up, consistensy wins every time.
So be kind with yourself, build smart routines, and trust that you can finish strong — even if everything won’t go according to the plan.
💬 Are you balancing marathon training with work (or parenting or both)?
I’d love to hear your schedule, hacks or favorite running podcast 🫶