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Master the Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide for Women
“A must-have for any woman targeting the distance.” —Runner’s World
A no-nonsense, interactive guide that empowers all women at all levels to run their strongest, best marathon ever
As recently as 1966, women were forbidden to run in the marathon. Professionals—including doctors—believed it was physically impossible and dangerous for women to run more than a mile and a half. But as with many other barriers women have faced over time, we fought our way in. Today, women make up almost half of the marathoning population. Yet most marathon training manuals are written by men. And while these men are experts when it comes to how men can and should train, women need training programs tailored to our bodies—to our unique strengths and weaknesses—so that we can avoid injuries and run at our peak. The programming in this book was created by a woman, specifically for women.
Master the Marathon is a comprehensive guide to marathon training for women at all levels of running—beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The book takes you through everything you need to know to be prepared for the 26.2 miles of the marathon, including detailed training plans, strength training programs, building your mental awareness of your physical body, nutrition, guidance on finding the best marathon for you, identifying and avoiding potential injuries, inspirational advice, and other unexpected pieces of wisdom.
Both incredibly practical and deeply motivating, Master the Marathon will help you unlock the strength and determination inside you to embark on the spectacular journey that is the marathon.
A no-nonsense, interactive guide that empowers all women at all levels to run their strongest, best marathon ever
As recently as 1966, women were forbidden to run in the marathon. Professionals—including doctors—believed it was physically impossible and dangerous for women to run more than a mile and a half. But as with many other barriers women have faced over time, we fought our way in. Today, women make up almost half of the marathoning population. Yet most marathon training manuals are written by men. And while these men are experts when it comes to how men can and should train, women need training programs tailored to our bodies—to our unique strengths and weaknesses—so that we can avoid injuries and run at our peak. The programming in this book was created by a woman, specifically for women.
Master the Marathon is a comprehensive guide to marathon training for women at all levels of running—beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The book takes you through everything you need to know to be prepared for the 26.2 miles of the marathon, including detailed training plans, strength training programs, building your mental awareness of your physical body, nutrition, guidance on finding the best marathon for you, identifying and avoiding potential injuries, inspirational advice, and other unexpected pieces of wisdom.
Both incredibly practical and deeply motivating, Master the Marathon will help you unlock the strength and determination inside you to embark on the spectacular journey that is the marathon.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
118 people are currently reading
545 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
January 23, 2022
I have run 3 marathons, that’s enough. I proved so much to myself during the process and those races; I never have to do another… and then I read this book. It has been more than 5 years since my last marathon and now I am itching to do another. Ali has ignited my runner spirit and provided me with a plan. She fills in all of the gaps and does it in a way that is massively settling. Next up- web searching my next marathon. See you out on the road.
July 21, 2024
I only wish I bought this sooner.
April 17, 2024
my Bible when training for first marathon. gives detailed info for training / recovery/ fueling/ mentality etc. basically all i felt i needed to know was in this book
February 4, 2025
Great training manuals and honestly such nice information compared to some marathon handbooks I've read before.
October 27, 2022
Thanks to this book by Ali Nolan, I was able to smile my way to my first marathon finish line. 100% recommend for beginners! I loved the structure of the workouts. I didn't find that the book was completely linear (and that bothered me at times) but it could also be my own new-ness to the process that it wasn't laid out how I've previously trained for a race.
Overall, I felt strong and confident! I used all of her plans: pre-base training, base training, and in-season training to accomplish the race- about 11 months total.
The two subjects that you might want to find supplemental information on would be nutrition (Elyse Kopecky and Shalane Flanagan's books are great) and an after-plan. After finishing, I'm left with the marathon blues... what's next? (That's not the purpose of Ali's book, but I'm telling you, if this is your first marathon, you'll want to spend some time thinking about what you're going to focus on after the race.)
Overall, I felt strong and confident! I used all of her plans: pre-base training, base training, and in-season training to accomplish the race- about 11 months total.
The two subjects that you might want to find supplemental information on would be nutrition (Elyse Kopecky and Shalane Flanagan's books are great) and an after-plan. After finishing, I'm left with the marathon blues... what's next? (That's not the purpose of Ali's book, but I'm telling you, if this is your first marathon, you'll want to spend some time thinking about what you're going to focus on after the race.)
February 7, 2023
This is a book about running marathon for beginners. It isn’t really a book for women specifically. The only “female specific” advice given is to not starve yourself during training. Otherwise, it’s the same information you read from any beginners book about distance running.
March 27, 2022
Great tips for fueling, training, and race day! Can be read in parts- doesn’t need to be read cover to cover. Will definitely review some parts before running my marathon!
April 11, 2022
Fantastic book for runners of all levels. I’ll absolutely be re-reading this one and getting it for friends.
August 21, 2023
4.5/5: I’m ready to do the dang thing!!! Loved this. Perfect balance of humanity and info to help motivate you to master the marathon. Woo!
December 27, 2024
so. good.
i loved that this book was catered to women, and the training plans (including the base one) seem very manageable.
loved everything about this!!
i loved that this book was catered to women, and the training plans (including the base one) seem very manageable.
loved everything about this!!
February 6, 2025
Great insight for women who want to complete a marathon.
February 24, 2025
I’m not training for a marathon right now, but this book is such a handy resource for running in general I highly recommend it.
June 7, 2025
18 weeks till race day! Will definitely be rereading some aspects. Loved seeing Abby and Olivia’s annotations and excited to implement the training plan.
September 7, 2021
Breaking Through Barriers!
A dynamic, inspiring, motivating and important book . In addition to the needed practical running information, Ali goes way beyond running. Ali shares helpful tools if you have a tendency to overthink, ignore the positive, or beat yourself up. She gives practical advice on how to be kinder to yourself, reframing negative thoughts, and letting go of self doubt. She ties it all in to running and life seamlessly. The book is filled with empowering information shared in a personal, conversational, and light-hearted style.
A dynamic, inspiring, motivating and important book . In addition to the needed practical running information, Ali goes way beyond running. Ali shares helpful tools if you have a tendency to overthink, ignore the positive, or beat yourself up. She gives practical advice on how to be kinder to yourself, reframing negative thoughts, and letting go of self doubt. She ties it all in to running and life seamlessly. The book is filled with empowering information shared in a personal, conversational, and light-hearted style.
May 3, 2025
Such an easy read for an educational one! Clear & concise but also conversational and relatable!
Some parts I do not agree with when it comes to the acute pain (RICE is old), but most of the rest is great - I loved the sources and stories!
Some parts I do not agree with when it comes to the acute pain (RICE is old), but most of the rest is great - I loved the sources and stories!
October 28, 2021
I am not a runner (but I can walk on flat ground for hours on end, not to brag) and I really enjoyed Master the Marathon! Ali has always been an incredible writer (and all-around fantastic human being), and I'm so impressed with how masterfully she crafted this book.
Congratulations, Ali! You've really outdone yourself!
Congratulations, Ali! You've really outdone yourself!
Read
December 25, 2023Master the Marathon is a fine running book for beginners - it'll tell you to strength train, eat, rest, and generally take care of yourself while (slowly!) building up the mileage. And not to discount the mind part of the mind-body connection.
The speed workouts are probably the biggest takeaway for me. I appreciated the specific recommendations there. And I bet the pre-base training section is great for anyone just starting out/working back from injury or time off.
The strength-training recommendations seem good, though I do worry about people using bad form and accidentally hurting themselves given that there's just one picture for many moves. (Books that provide a link to videos or a series of photos seem to be more helpful.) I also would have liked just a sentence per move that tells you what muscles you're working/how it's beneficial. (There's a bit of this, but not nearly enough IMHO.)
But overall, as someone who recently ran their first marathon - and now would like to master it! - this book was somewhat disappointing.
Mostly I wish this book had contained more explanation. For example, there are three in-season training plans - great! But tell me how to adapt a standard plan to be appropriate for me, a woman. Tell me what about my training should be different than my male running partner's.
The hardest part of my first marathon build wasn't figuring out what to do, or doing it - it was trying sports bra after sports bra after sports bra, struggling to find one that fit and was supportive enough for more than 10k. There isn't good advice on this in any of the running books I've read, which wasn't a surprise (just a disappointment!) given that they're all by men. I honestly cannot believe that a book labeled as "the ultimate training guide for women" doesn't say a word about this - beyond, "nobody wants to be surprised by an unsupportive sports bra." ...tell people how to avoid that?
For the record, KV Switzer did NOT register for Boston "under a pseudonym, a man's name, to conceal her identity." She signed the entry form as she always signed her name - "Because my name Kathrine was miss-spelled on my birth certificate and around age 12 I got tired of it being miss-spelled all the time. (You see there is no ‘e’ in the middle of my name; normally it is spelled Katherine). I also wanted to be a writer and admired authors like J.D. Salinger and e.e. cummings, so I thought using my initials was a cool, writer-ly kind of thing to do." ...I understand that many have gotten this wrong, but it somehow feels worse in, again, a training guide for women. KV Switzer is an absolute legend; she's done so much for women in long-distance running. (The least we can do in return is not misrepresent her actions.)
I do think the fueling advice is a bit outdated, and that most sports nutrionists would recommend you take in carbs more frequently than every 45m during the race. (Unless you're taking monster gels, which isn't specified.) I personally didn't care for all the uses of the word "healthy" (e.g., "healthy carbohydrates"), or the recommendation for "Sprouted-grain bread." (That bread is great! But others are, too.) And almonds seemed like an odd recommendation for protein. (Almonds are great! But you have to eat a lot of them to get to just 10g of protein.) Oh, and a "low-sugar protein drink" for post-run recovery... why? Sugar is carbs, which'll help replenish glycogen stores. (Maybe Nolan has a great argument for this, but without specifying it just felt like subtle, unneeded demonization of sugar.)
To be sure, a marathon is a mammoth undertaking, and there's so so much that goes into training. I think the author gets a lot right, and again that this could be a really helpful book for beginners.
The speed workouts are probably the biggest takeaway for me. I appreciated the specific recommendations there. And I bet the pre-base training section is great for anyone just starting out/working back from injury or time off.
The strength-training recommendations seem good, though I do worry about people using bad form and accidentally hurting themselves given that there's just one picture for many moves. (Books that provide a link to videos or a series of photos seem to be more helpful.) I also would have liked just a sentence per move that tells you what muscles you're working/how it's beneficial. (There's a bit of this, but not nearly enough IMHO.)
But overall, as someone who recently ran their first marathon - and now would like to master it! - this book was somewhat disappointing.
Mostly I wish this book had contained more explanation. For example, there are three in-season training plans - great! But tell me how to adapt a standard plan to be appropriate for me, a woman. Tell me what about my training should be different than my male running partner's.
The hardest part of my first marathon build wasn't figuring out what to do, or doing it - it was trying sports bra after sports bra after sports bra, struggling to find one that fit and was supportive enough for more than 10k. There isn't good advice on this in any of the running books I've read, which wasn't a surprise (just a disappointment!) given that they're all by men. I honestly cannot believe that a book labeled as "the ultimate training guide for women" doesn't say a word about this - beyond, "nobody wants to be surprised by an unsupportive sports bra." ...tell people how to avoid that?
For the record, KV Switzer did NOT register for Boston "under a pseudonym, a man's name, to conceal her identity." She signed the entry form as she always signed her name - "Because my name Kathrine was miss-spelled on my birth certificate and around age 12 I got tired of it being miss-spelled all the time. (You see there is no ‘e’ in the middle of my name; normally it is spelled Katherine). I also wanted to be a writer and admired authors like J.D. Salinger and e.e. cummings, so I thought using my initials was a cool, writer-ly kind of thing to do." ...I understand that many have gotten this wrong, but it somehow feels worse in, again, a training guide for women. KV Switzer is an absolute legend; she's done so much for women in long-distance running. (The least we can do in return is not misrepresent her actions.)
I do think the fueling advice is a bit outdated, and that most sports nutrionists would recommend you take in carbs more frequently than every 45m during the race. (Unless you're taking monster gels, which isn't specified.) I personally didn't care for all the uses of the word "healthy" (e.g., "healthy carbohydrates"), or the recommendation for "Sprouted-grain bread." (That bread is great! But others are, too.) And almonds seemed like an odd recommendation for protein. (Almonds are great! But you have to eat a lot of them to get to just 10g of protein.) Oh, and a "low-sugar protein drink" for post-run recovery... why? Sugar is carbs, which'll help replenish glycogen stores. (Maybe Nolan has a great argument for this, but without specifying it just felt like subtle, unneeded demonization of sugar.)
To be sure, a marathon is a mammoth undertaking, and there's so so much that goes into training. I think the author gets a lot right, and again that this could be a really helpful book for beginners.
January 25, 2026
This is a generally helpful guide, especially for a first time marathon runner, and the PDF with detailed week by week training plans is certainly worth the cost of the book.
The thing that frustrated me though is how unrealistic it is about the amount of time the strength routines should take. For example, it says Strength Training Routine C should take about 10 minutes and you should do it alongside other routines.
Strength Training Routine C has 14 exercises, and you are supposed to repeat this circuit 3 times. To do this in 10 minutes, you would need to do each exercise (with as many as 20 repetitions) in about 14 seconds, with no rest in between. Unless you're doing these at comically high speed like an old timey slapstick movie, this is not possible.
In the section which covers the in-season training block, the book says your strength training should take about 20 minutes. Each strength training session consists of two routines, one of which is Strength C. Again, how on earth are you supposed to fit some 20+ exercises, repeated 3x, into 20 minutes? Have I missed something?
The strength routines themselves are fine but you are looking at 30 minutes to an hour at a time here, not 10-20 mins a day.
The thing that frustrated me though is how unrealistic it is about the amount of time the strength routines should take. For example, it says Strength Training Routine C should take about 10 minutes and you should do it alongside other routines.
Strength Training Routine C has 14 exercises, and you are supposed to repeat this circuit 3 times. To do this in 10 minutes, you would need to do each exercise (with as many as 20 repetitions) in about 14 seconds, with no rest in between. Unless you're doing these at comically high speed like an old timey slapstick movie, this is not possible.
In the section which covers the in-season training block, the book says your strength training should take about 20 minutes. Each strength training session consists of two routines, one of which is Strength C. Again, how on earth are you supposed to fit some 20+ exercises, repeated 3x, into 20 minutes? Have I missed something?
The strength routines themselves are fine but you are looking at 30 minutes to an hour at a time here, not 10-20 mins a day.
April 11, 2024
This is the perfect book for any woman planning on (or even just dreaming of) running a marathon! It includes all the training plans one could ever need including pre-base, base and in-season training for beginner, intermediate and advanced runners.
Even if marathon is not the goal, this book has some great workouts for runners including track workouts, strength workouts, ideas to make a long run or day after day of running less monotonous. I appreciated the author's emphasis on strength training and its importance inspiring me to make this more of a priority to be a stronger runner and prevent injury. The nutrition section is also not out in left field like these books usually are but it is brief and if training for a marathon, one will likely need supplemental information from a registered dietitian who specializes in sport/running.
I will definitely use this book to train for a marathon when I am ready for that leap!
Even if marathon is not the goal, this book has some great workouts for runners including track workouts, strength workouts, ideas to make a long run or day after day of running less monotonous. I appreciated the author's emphasis on strength training and its importance inspiring me to make this more of a priority to be a stronger runner and prevent injury. The nutrition section is also not out in left field like these books usually are but it is brief and if training for a marathon, one will likely need supplemental information from a registered dietitian who specializes in sport/running.
I will definitely use this book to train for a marathon when I am ready for that leap!
September 15, 2022
It may have been written with women in mind, but it’s an excellent training book for anyone approaching a marathon.
I might not get much from including kegels in my strength routine, right? But the chapters breaking out fueling, straightening out disordered relations with food and self-judgement, recovery, mental training and grit, race day, etc., are a really good overview. My experience was with the audiobook so I haven’t picked through the training plans in detail (and probably wouldn’t have much criticism there), but the author did do a solid job explaining the different workouts and their ‘why?’ within a program. Including multiple macrocycles and smaller blocks was a nice touch too.
I might not get much from including kegels in my strength routine, right? But the chapters breaking out fueling, straightening out disordered relations with food and self-judgement, recovery, mental training and grit, race day, etc., are a really good overview. My experience was with the audiobook so I haven’t picked through the training plans in detail (and probably wouldn’t have much criticism there), but the author did do a solid job explaining the different workouts and their ‘why?’ within a program. Including multiple macrocycles and smaller blocks was a nice touch too.
August 25, 2024
I personally liked this one a lot more than Higdon’s guide. I felt like it had enough information for beginners but also helpful tips for people who already run a lot. The tips were also much more practical and had steps so you can literally just follow it exactly. I also liked all the exercises it included which makes it so you don’t have to supplement any other kind of material. Of course you should look elsewhere but if you only went off of this book you would’ve been fine too. Also the mindfulness aspect is not just something for running but everyday life therefore this book is more applicable in general.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2022
Yes, so good. Before starting this, I was like why am I reading this, I don't ever want to run a marathon. But I thought I might get some useful information from it, so I gave it a go. I'm so glad I did!
It's really written for female runners, which almost half of marathoners are. The whole book is written in a friendly, funny, relaxed tone that I appreciate.
It's valuable. Even if I never run a marathon, there are all kinds of great insights in here. And if, in years to come, I do want to marathon, I'll probably read this one again.
It's really written for female runners, which almost half of marathoners are. The whole book is written in a friendly, funny, relaxed tone that I appreciate.
It's valuable. Even if I never run a marathon, there are all kinds of great insights in here. And if, in years to come, I do want to marathon, I'll probably read this one again.
June 10, 2022
I’ve taken this out twice now from the library, and now I’m just going to order it to keep as I’m planning on giving one of the training plans a go for my fall marathon.
For anyone out there who has read the training plans by Pfitzinger and the like and felt overwhelmed by it, this book is for you. I’d consider myself a veteran of the marathon, but that doesn’t mean I want/my body can handle an aggressive training plan. Even the advanced plan looks very doable. Looking forward to giving this a go.
For anyone out there who has read the training plans by Pfitzinger and the like and felt overwhelmed by it, this book is for you. I’d consider myself a veteran of the marathon, but that doesn’t mean I want/my body can handle an aggressive training plan. Even the advanced plan looks very doable. Looking forward to giving this a go.
September 25, 2022
I wish that I was able to fully read and apply this book cover to cover. The reality is that life gets in the way and I don’t know if I’ve trained properly for this London marathon next Sunday, but I think I’d happily say that I’ve done my best given all the life circumstances over the past year since I’ve known about my charity place to run my first ever full marathon. This is not even a book review, but rather a note to myself 🙃
May 29, 2023
Nolan's book will add some variety to my training. She provides some interesting running and strength workouts that I look forward to using going into training. There is also a lot of content devoted to the mental game of running which I skimmed. I read carefully her nutrition recommendations; they are female specific and very much focused on performance rather than weight loss. And the book includes three marathon training plans. Overall, a good read for those new to marathon running.
January 10, 2024
This is a great resource for women looking to run a marathon. It was a good listen and is chock-full of useful information. I would put a huge disclaimer on the nutrition chapter. There's some mixed messaging there and considering the fact that so many runners have history with disordered eating, some of the advice in that chapter made me cringe a bit (eat the damn ice cream if you want it!!!!). Otherwise, a worthy read!
April 13, 2024
Quick easy read! I wish I would’ve read this two years ago when I started running consistently and was thinking about running a marathon. So many good tips and recommendations through the whole training process from building a base to after the race. Was a super easy listen that, I feel like I could listen again and again before every train block. I love that this is especially tailored towards women
June 1, 2025
I’ll have a more accurate review of this book in 12-16 months when I finish the process outlined, but for now I feel great about what I’m going to attempt.
“Way too many of us think that ‘no pain, no gain’ is the driving philosophy of a fulfilling running life. But this is just not true. Being honest and kind to yourself is what will keep you in this running game.”
Watch this space in October 2026!
“Way too many of us think that ‘no pain, no gain’ is the driving philosophy of a fulfilling running life. But this is just not true. Being honest and kind to yourself is what will keep you in this running game.”
Watch this space in October 2026!
March 15, 2022
Even after 91 marathons under my belt, I still picked up some good bits of info from this book. I wish this book was out there when I started training for my first marathon back in 1995. So little good info for women runners was available then. This book will be a big help for a lot of women runners in years to come.
August 8, 2022
This was a solid guide for marathon training specifically geared towards women, as I gear up to undertake my first marathon distance race this fall. Lots of physical and mental tips for overcoming blocks, and workout tips as well. I wish there had been a little more info on running nutrition, and ideas for meals.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews