I’m Training for a Marathon With Peloton Programs

Training for a big race is no easy feat. Beyond the fitness of it all, you’ll need discipline, a flexible schedule, and mental endurance. But if you’ve got the commitment, we’ve got your back. Whatever distance you’re training for, there’s a Peloton Program to guide and support you every step of the way, including Go the Distance: 5K, You Can Run Outdoors, and the three-part Road to Your 26.2—plus all of our many strength-building programs.

We asked three of our Members to share how following a Peloton Program helped them crush their goals. Read on to feel inspired.

Discovering Her Strength

Member Shayna L., from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, wasn’t an accomplished runner. She occasionally ran on a treadmill and did a neighborhood 5K—but in the summer of 2020, when she was looking for a goal-oriented program, she decided to tackle the first part of Road to Your 26.2 without even considering doing a race.

After completing the first section, her husband, an Ironman competitor, said, “Look, you just ran 10 miles like nothing!” and signed her up for a half marathon.

One year later, she started the first half of the program again, with a targeted finishing time for the Detroit Half Marathon. Her century run was extra special: “Ironically, I was completing my 100th Peloton run and listening to the program when I ran past Peloton studios and Matt Wilpers was coming out of class,” she says.

The Road to Your 26.2 program carried Shayna into the race. “I actually listened to the instructors while doing the half marathon,” she says.

In fact, she found the program so effective that she’s following it a third time, completing the whole program with the goal of running the Detroit Marathon in October. She’s confident she can handle it now. “The race feels relatively easy if you put the work in ahead of time,” Shayna says.

A Change in Plans

Member Elisabeth C., from Eugene, Oregon, had all every intention of running the Eugene Marathon in 2020. She was 16 weeks into the Road to Your 26.2 Program when the marathon was canceled.

Instead of giving up on her progress, she decided to create her own marathon of sorts. “I set up a calendar of scenic routes to complete on the Peloton Tread,” she says.

Getting up early one day, she stacked these scenic runs:

“I got it down in four hours and 24 minutes,” she says.

Thankfully, Elisabeth was able to defer her Eugene Marathon to 2022, restarting the program in preparation. It’s proven essential when it comes to improving her running skills: “The instructors do a great job of providing details in the audio in what you should be focusing on,” she says. “I learned technique on form, keeping my core tight, and what to do if you are feeling tired.”

Not a Runner…Yet

Something changed for Member Philip C. when he joined Peloton in 2021. He went from rarely working out to finding he was capable of so much more than he knew. After putting in hours on the Peloton Bike, he decided he would try to run two miles a day outside.

After getting to two miles, he remembered someone had once told him that if you can run six miles, you can run a half marathon. So he decided to load up the first part of the Road to Your 26.2, with the goal of eventually getting to six miles.

It was hard. But something Robin Arzón said in the program really spoke to him: “She said to put the word ‘yet’ after what you want to accomplish,” he says. “So I changed my mindset to ‘You haven’t run six miles…yet.’”

He worked up to 13.1 miles in the program, and in January, ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon in California. “I followed their program to a T and the advice was spot on,” he says.

Feeling prepared, he decided to sign up for the San Diego Marathon this June too.

“I don’t doubt myself—the words they choose are so inspirational,” he says. “I feel like I can run a full marathon. I hope other Members realize that, if they believe, they can do it too.”

Ready to start training for a race? Try a program on the Peloton App today!