If you are reading this blog, I am going to assume that like me, you are planning to run the 2025 TCS London Marathon. And perhaps also like me, now that we are in December you may have had that slight panic that marathon training is officially going to kick off very soon.

Now some of you may have already started your training, and if this is your first marathon or you just personally prefer a longer training block, then that may be the best thing for you. But for a lot of us, we will be officially starting our 16 week plan at the start of January.

So what does that mean for the next few weeks? Well, I want you to think of December as your Warm Up.

To sum up, everything you do over the next month will be geared towards getting you ready to start training properly in January. And the good news is, I am going to be on this journey with you. And I will be sharing how I am going to be getting myself ready; physically, mentally and practically, for the start of my plan.

BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION

How Coopah Can Help: With our ‘Just Run’ plans you can set up a plan from today that doesn’t need an end goal. You can determine how long you would like to the plan to be + how many days a week you want to run, and the workouts will be tailored to your current fitness level. The perfect companion to take you from now until the start of marathon training.

ADDRESS YOUR WEAKNESSES

Been ignoring that niggle in your calf? Know you need to start strength training? Or just not sure that you’re wearing the right trainers? Now is the perfect time to address these concerns. The last thing you want to do is start a training block with these worries in the back of your head, so if there is something that isn’t quite right, it’s time to get it sorted. Whether that means booking an appointment with a physio, start including strength workouts in your training or popping into your local running store for a gait analysis.

Also, if you know that you have particular weaknesses, now is the time to work on these and stop ignoring them.

For me personally, this month I am going to aim to make Yoga a regular part of my training. Flexibility is a massive weakness of mine, and I know that once the miles start creeping up it can cause my hip flexors and glutes to feel very tight and uncomfortable, but I know that if I can make this a priority in December, it will then be a lot easier to continue this as we head into January.

How Coopah Can Help: All of our plans include regular strength and conditioning and Yoga workouts, so if this is an area you know you need to work on, we’ve got your back and can help to make this a regular part of your training from now.

GET ORGANISED

How Coopah Can Help: Our plans are built with flexibility in mind, you can easily move your workouts during the week, and easily adjust the number of training days if you know you are going to struggle to fit everything in. We also have our coaches on hand 24/7 to give you support and advice on how to manage your training through the chat to coach function in the app.