Miles with ME: Marathon Base Building
Build Your Aerobic Foundation.
Eight weeks of easy, consistent work designed to increase time on your feet, strengthen your weekly rhythm, and help you arrive at Official Training ready to train.
Welcome to Base Building
Start Now focused on building healthy habits. Base Building takes the next step by developing your aerobic foundation and gradually increasing comfortable time on your feet. If you did not complete Start Now, you can still begin here. Choose the track that reflects what you can comfortably do today, not what you used to do or what you think you should be doing.
Du’a for the Journey
Bismillah. May Allah place barakah in our efforts, give us patience with the process, protect our bodies, and help us build strength and consistency with gratitude. May this work benefit our health, our lives, and our ability to serve others. Ameen.
ME Guiding Principles in Practice
The same ME Guiding Principles that guide the work of Muslimahs Endure continue to shape how we train. During Base Building, Consistency, Self-Care, Self-Discipline, and Determination become especially important as your workload grows.
What Base Building Is
Base Building is not about proving how far or how fast you can run. It is about teaching your body to handle consistent aerobic work, recover from it, and gradually tolerate more time on your feet before race-specific marathon training begins.
Build the Habits
FoundationConsistency with movement, strength, mobility, recovery, and fueling.
Base Building
Aerobic DevelopmentIncrease easy aerobic work and time on your feet while reinforcing the habits that support training.
Official Training
Coached · Final SurgeRace-specific marathon training begins November 16, 2026. Final Surge access and coach information will be sent closer to the start date.
Consistency in practice: Small efforts repeated over time build the foundation for success. Base Building rewards steady work, not heroic workouts.
Understanding RPE
Rate of Perceived Exertion, or RPE, measures how hard you feel your body is working based on breathing, heart rate, muscle fatigue, and overall effort. We use a 1 to 10 scale. Most Base Building runs should feel easy and controlled at RPE 3 to 4.
Very light. Recovery movement, mobility, or easy walking.
Easy and conversational. This is where most Base Building running happens.
Moderate to moderately hard. You may reach this briefly, but it is not the goal of easy runs.
Hard to maximal. Reserved for later quality training, not this Base Building phase.
Easy means easy
If you have to keep pushing into RPE 5 or 6 just to hold a certain pace, slow down or use run/walk intervals. Your pace is not the assignment. The prescribed time and effort are the assignment.
Track It, Don’t Chase It
We still want you to track your numbers. The difference is that you are observing them, not trying to force them. Record your time, distance, average pace, RPE, and how you felt after each run.
How long you trained
How far you naturally covered
Information, not a target
How hard the session felt
Energy, recovery, soreness, and overall response
Consistency in practice: Track your progress, but don’t chase the numbers. As your aerobic fitness develops, you may naturally cover more distance at the same easy effort. Let that progress happen. Consistency is the goal. Fitness is the result.
Choose Your Base Building Track
Choose based on what you can comfortably do now. Your track is not based on marathon experience, past accomplishments, or the pace you hope to run on race day. If you are between tracks, choose the one you can complete consistently while recovering well.
You are new to running/run-walking, returning after time away, or currently comfortable with about 15 to 30 minutes of easy movement. If you cannot yet comfortably complete 15 minutes, start with what you can do and build gradually.
You can comfortably complete about 30 to 45 minutes at RPE 3 to 4 and have a current longer session around 45 to 60 minutes. The effort should feel controlled, not like a hard workout.
You have an established running routine, can comfortably complete 45 to 60+ minutes at RPE 3 to 4, and can handle a longer session around 60 to 75+ minutes while recovering well.
Start where your body is today
- Run/walk intervals are appropriate in every track if they help you stay at the correct effort.
- Do not choose a harder track simply because you have completed marathons or longer races in the past.
- If a listed duration feels too difficult at RPE 3 to 4, reduce the time or repeat the previous week.
Your 8-Week Running Progression
Tuesday and Thursday build your weekday aerobic base. Sunday is your long run and gradually becomes the longest running session of the week. All runs are RPE 3 to 4 unless your coach tells you otherwise.
Self-Discipline in practice: Easy days need to stay easy. Running faster than prescribed is not automatically better training.
Foundation
| Week | Tuesday | Thursday | Sunday Long Run | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 min | 25 min | 35 min | Settle into the rhythm |
| 2 | 25 min | 30 min | 40 min | Build |
| 3 | 30 min | 35 min | 45 min | Build |
| 4 | 20 min | 25 min | 35 min | Recovery week |
| 5 | 30 min | 35 min | 50 min | Build again |
| 6 | 30 min | 40 min | 55 min | Build |
| 7 | 35 min | 40 min | 65 min | Peak Base Building week |
| 8 | 25 min | 30 min | 45 min | Transition |
Building
| Week | Tuesday | Thursday | Sunday Long Run | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 min | 35 min | 50 min | Settle into the rhythm |
| 2 | 35 min | 40 min | 55 min | Build |
| 3 | 35 min | 45 min | 60 min | Build |
| 4 | 30 min | 35 min | 50 min | Recovery week |
| 5 | 40 min | 45 min | 65 min | Build again |
| 6 | 40 min | 50 min | 75 min | Build |
| 7 | 45 min | 50 min | 85 min | Peak Base Building week |
| 8 | 35 min | 40 min | 65 min | Transition |
Strengthening
| Week | Tuesday | Thursday | Sunday Long Run | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 min | 45 min | 65 min | Settle into the rhythm |
| 2 | 40 min | 45 min | 70 min | Build |
| 3 | 45 min | 50 min | 75 min | Build |
| 4 | 40 min | 45 min | 65 min | Recovery week |
| 5 | 45 min | 50 min | 80 min | Build again |
| 6 | 45 min | 55 min | 85 min | Build |
| 7 | 50 min | 55 min | 95 min | Peak Base Building week |
| 8 | 40 min | 45 min | 75 min | Transition |
Weekly Training Rhythm
The days stay familiar from Start Now. The running duration increases according to your track, while strength, mobility, stretching, fueling, and recovery continue to support the work.
20 to 45 minutes. No running. Use the Core & Mobility Rotation to restore movement after Sunday and prepare for the week.
Follow → this week’s Core & Mobility Rotation
Complete the time listed for your track. Run/walk is appropriate whenever it helps keep the effort easy.
Then → Resistance Band Workout Part 1
Stretch → Post-Run Static Stretch
30 to 45 minutes full-body. Strength should support your running, not leave you unable to run. Reduce resistance, sets, reps, or duration as needed when running volume rises.
Follow → the 45-minute strength video
Complete the time listed for your track. Thursday may be slightly longer than Tuesday, but it is still easy aerobic work, not speedwork.
Then → Resistance Band Workout Part 2
Stretch → Post-Run Static Stretch
Full rest is encouraged. Optional restorative choices include an easy walk, stretching, mobility, yoga, guided breathing, sauna, or a cold shower. Keep it restorative, not another workout.
Self-Care in practice: Recovery is part of training, too.
30 to 45 minutes at RPE 2 to 4. Bike, swim, elliptical, hiking, or another low-impact activity. Add 15 to 20 minutes of supplemental strength if recovering well. If fatigue is building, shorten the session or rest.
Pick one → any 20-minute strength video
Complete the long-run time listed for your track. This is the primary endurance-building session of the week. Keep it controlled and conversational.
Then → Resistance Band Workout Part 3
Stretch → Long-Run Recovery Stretch
Stretching is part of the workout
If time is limited, shorten the run rather than routinely skipping your post-run stretch. Recovery and mobility support long-term consistency.
Fueling the Longer Work
Start Now focused on everyday fueling habits. Base Building is where you begin practicing how to fuel around longer training sessions. The goal is to learn what works for your body before the marathon-specific workload becomes much larger.
As sessions get longer, practice familiar, easy-to-digest foods such as a banana, toast, oatmeal, dates, applesauce, or another carbohydrate-rich food that works for you. Learn what you can eat, how much, and how long before running.
Hydrate throughout the day. As long runs move beyond about 60 minutes, begin practicing with a portable carbohydrate source such as a sports drink, gel, chew, dates, or another option that agrees with you.
Rehydrate and include carbohydrates plus protein in your next meal or snack. Carbohydrates replenish energy stores, while protein supports muscle repair and recovery.
Self-Care in practice: Fueling is not a reward for completing the workout. It is part of supporting the work you are asking your body to do.
When Not to Progress
The schedule shows the progression. Your body determines when you are ready to progress. Repeating a week or reducing the workload can be the right training decision.
Repeat or reduce the week when needed
If you are unusually fatigued, repeatedly unable to recover before the next workout, or consistently have to push above the prescribed RPE to finish, repeat the week or reduce the duration rather than automatically progressing.
Pain is different from normal training discomfort
Pain that changes your normal movement, worsens, or does not improve with appropriate rest is not something to simply push through. Modify training and seek appropriate professional guidance when needed.
Determination in practice: Progress is not measured by never adjusting the plan. Sometimes moving forward means repeating a week, reducing the workload, recovering, and continuing.
Recovery and Transition Weeks
Week 4: Recovery
Training provides the stimulus, but your body needs recovery to adapt. Week 4 intentionally reduces running volume. Do not add extra time because the week feels easy. Let the recovery week do its job.
Week 8: Absorb and Transition
Week 7 is your highest Base Building workload. Week 8 reduces volume so your body can absorb the work before Official Training begins. You do not need to prove your fitness this week.
Ready to train: The goal is to arrive at Official Training ready to train, not already exhausted from getting there.
Workout Resources
Monday’s Core & Mobility Rotation
Continue the same six-video rotation from Start Now. Work through Day 1 to Day 6, then repeat.
Choose Your Strength Video
Wednesday uses the 45-minute session. Saturday, choose one of the shorter 20-minute options if you are recovering well.
| Length | Use | Video |
|---|---|---|
| 20 min | Saturday option | Option 1 |
| 20 min | Saturday option | Option 2 |
| 20 min | Saturday option | Option 3 |
| 45 min | Wednesday | Full Strength |
What’s Next
Base Building ends on November 15. Official Marathon Training begins the next day, with active coaching and your distance-specific plan delivered through Final Surge.
November 16, 2026
Official TrainingYour 24-week marathon training cycle begins. Final Surge invitations and assigned coach information will be sent closer to the start date.
February 8, 2027
Ramadan-Adjusted TrainingTraining adjusts for fasting, hydration, sleep, and recovery, with time to rebuild afterward.
May 2, 2027
The Avenue of the GiantsRace day, insha’Allah.