How your plan is built

Last updated 18 October 2026

Moonstride's plans and pace guide draw on published research on distance running, alongside common coaching practice. This page lists what each part of the plan does and the studies, reviews and guidelines behind it, so you can read them for yourself.

These sources describe runners in general. They haven't tested Moonstride itself, so they don't promise any result for you. Every runner is different: listen to your body, and check with a doctor or physio if something doesn't feel right. The authors and organisations listed aren't connected with Moonstride and haven't reviewed or endorsed it.

How your running builds

Your plan starts from what you've actually been running, adds distance gradually, and keeps an eye on single runs as much as weekly totals.

  • Each week adds about a tenth, with a lighter week every fourth week.
  • No planned run is more than about a tenth longer than your longest run in the last 30 days.
  • One big week isn't chased: the plan keeps building steadily from where you are.
  • Long runs grow to around 32 km for a marathon, with weekly distance built to match.
  • Marathon plans taper over three weeks, a little less each week, with no rebound before race day.

Sources

  1. Frandsen JSB, Hulme A, Parner ET, et al. How much running is too much? Identifying high-risk running sessions in a 5200-person cohort study. Br J Sports Med 2025;59(17):1203–10. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12421110/
  2. Buist I, Bredeweg SW, van Mechelen W, et al. No effect of a graded training program on the number of running-related injuries in novice runners: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med 2008;36(1):33–9. doi.org/10.1177/0363546507307505
  3. Nielsen RO, Parner ET, Nohr EA, et al. Excessive progression in weekly running distance and risk of running-related injuries. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2014;44(10):739–47. doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2014.5164
  4. Damsted C, Parner ET, Sørensen H, et al. The association between changes in weekly running distance and running-related injury: preparing for a half marathon. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2019;49(4):230–8. doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2019.8541
  5. Fokkema T, van Damme AADN, Fornerod MWJ, et al. Training for a (half-)marathon: training volume and longest endurance run related to performance and running injuries. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2020;30(9):1692–1704. doi.org/10.1111/sms.13725
  6. Rasmussen CH, Nielsen RO, Juul MS, Rasmussen S. Weekly running volume and risk of running-related injuries among marathon runners. Int J Sports Phys Ther 2013;8(2):111–20. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3625790/
  7. Bosquet L, Montpetit J, Arvisais D, Mujika I. Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39(8):1358–65. doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31806010e0
  8. Smyth B, Lawlor A. Longer disciplined tapers improve marathon performance for recreational runners. Front Sports Act Living 2021;3:735220. doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.735220
  9. Wang Z, Wang YT, Gao W, Zhong Y. Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 2023;18(5):e0282838. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282838

Paces, effort and heart rate

Most of your running is easy, with one or two harder sessions a week. Paces come from your recent 5 km ability, and targets allow for hills and heat.

  • Easy runs are a range of paces, not a single number, and most of the week is easy.
  • Marathon predictions lean a little slower than a straight calculation from your 5 km time.
  • Targets ease up hills and quicken down them, so the effort stays even.
  • Hot days are allowed for when scoring a run, more so on longer, slower runs.
  • Each kind of session has an effort it should feel like. The plan only eases off when runs feel clearly harder than that.
  • Heart rate zones use your heart rate reserve, with your maximum taken from your runs or estimated from your age.

Sources

  1. Muniz-Pumares D, Hunter B, Meyler S, Maunder E, Smyth B. The training intensity distribution of marathon runners across performance levels. Sports Med 2025;55(4):1023–35. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02137-7
  2. Silva Oliveira P, Boppre G, Fonseca H. Comparison of polarized versus other types of endurance training intensity distribution on athletes' endurance performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Med 2024;54(8):2071–95. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02034-z
  3. Casado A, González-Mohíno F, González-Ravé JM, Foster C. Training periodization, methods, intensity distribution, and volume in highly trained and elite distance runners: a systematic review. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2022;17(6):820–33. doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2021-0435
  4. Vickers AJ, Vertosick EA. An empirical study of race times in recreational endurance runners. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 2016;8:26. doi.org/10.1186/s13102-016-0052-y
  5. Smyth B, Muniz-Pumares D. Calculation of critical speed from raw training data in recreational marathon runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2020;52(12):2637–45. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002412
  6. Ely MR, Cheuvront SN, Roberts WO, Montain SJ. Impact of weather on marathon-running performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39(3):487–93. doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31802d3aba
  7. Mantzios K, Ioannou LG, Panagiotaki Z, et al. Effects of weather parameters on endurance running performance: discipline-specific analysis of 1258 races. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2022;54(1):153–61. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002769
  8. Roberts WO, Armstrong LE, Sawka MN, et al. ACSM expert consensus statement on exertional heat illness: recognition, management, and return to activity. Curr Sports Med Rep 2023;22(4):134–49. doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000001058
  9. Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol 2001;37(1):153–6. doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8
  10. Nikolaidis PT, Rosemann T, Knechtle B. Age-predicted maximal heart rate in recreational marathon runners: a cross-sectional study on Fox's and Tanaka's equations. Front Physiol 2018;9:226. doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00226

Looking after your body

Alongside the running, the plan suggests strength work, asks a few questions before you start, and checks in on pain after a run.

  • Two short strength sessions a week, including exercises for your feet.
  • Stretching after a run is there if it feels good.
  • A recent injury, a past stress fracture, being new to running, pregnancy or a new baby make the plan start more gently, with advice to check with a professional.
  • After a run you can note any pain. Pain in one spot on a bone means stopping and getting it checked.
  • Shoes are tracked by distance, as a nudge rather than a rule. Choose the pair that feels comfortable.

Sources

  1. Taddei UT, Matias AB, Duarte M, Sacco ICN. Foot core training to prevent running-related injuries: a survival analysis of a single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med 2020;48(14):3610–9. doi.org/10.1177/0363546520969205
  2. Toresdahl BG, McElheny K, Metzl J, et al. A randomized study of a strength training program to prevent injuries in runners of the New York City Marathon. Sports Health 2020;12(1):74–9. doi.org/10.1177/1941738119877180
  3. Yeung SS, Yeung EW, Gillespie LD. Interventions for preventing lower limb soft-tissue running injuries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011;(7):CD001256. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001256.pub2
  4. Saragiotto BT, Yamato TP, Hespanhol Junior LC, et al. What are the main risk factors for running-related injuries? Sports Med 2014;44(8):1153–63. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0194-6
  5. Videbæk S, Bueno AM, Nielsen RO, Rasmussen S. Incidence of running-related injuries per 1000 h of running in different types of runners. Sports Med 2015;45(7):1017–26. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0333-8
  6. van Gent RN, Siem D, van Middelkoop M, et al. Incidence and determinants of lower extremity running injuries in long distance runners: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med 2007;41(8):469–80. doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2006.033548
  7. Warden SJ, Edwards WB, Willy RW. Optimal load for managing low-risk tibial and metatarsal bone stress injuries in runners. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2021;51(7):322–30. doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2021.9982
  8. Nigg BM, Baltich J, Hoerzer S, Enders H. Running shoes and running injuries: mythbusting and a proposal for two new paradigms. Br J Sports Med 2015;49(20):1290–4. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095054
  9. Malisoux L, Delattre N, Urhausen A, Theisen D. Shoe cushioning influences the running injury risk according to body mass: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med 2020;48(2):473–80. doi.org/10.1177/0363546519892578
  10. Mountjoy M, Ackerman KE, Bailey DM, et al. 2023 International Olympic Committee's consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). Br J Sports Med 2023;57(17):1073–98. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106994
  11. ACOG Committee on Obstetric Practice. Physical activity and exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period: Committee Opinion No. 804. Obstet Gynecol 2020;135(4):e178–88. doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003772
  12. Mottola MF, Davenport MH, Ruchat S-M, et al. 2019 Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy. Br J Sports Med 2018;52(21):1339–46. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-100056
  13. Riebe D, Franklin BA, Thompson PD, et al. Updating ACSM's recommendations for exercise preparticipation health screening. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2015;47(11):2473–9. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000664
  14. Kim JH, Malhotra R, Chiampas G, et al. Cardiac arrest during long-distance running races. N Engl J Med 2012;366(2):130–40. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1106468

Drinking and fuelling

On long runs the guide checks in on your thirst rather than telling you to drink on a schedule, and spaces gels by how much carbohydrate they give you.

  • A thirst check every 20 minutes on runs of an hour or more: drink when you're thirsty.
  • On days of four hours or more, a reminder that drinking too much is as risky as too little.
  • Gels from 30 minutes into runs of 75 minutes or more, spaced for about 45 g of carbohydrate an hour, or 60 g past two and a half hours. You set how much is in yours.
  • Before a half or full marathon, a reminder to eat more carbohydrate in the last day or two.

Sources

  1. Hew-Butler T, Rosner MH, Fowkes-Godek S, et al. Statement of the Third International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference, Carlsbad, California, 2015. Clin J Sport Med 2015;25(4):303–20. doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000000221
  2. Almond CSD, Shin AY, Fortescue EB, et al. Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon. N Engl J Med 2005;352(15):1550–6. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa043901
  3. Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39(2):377–90. doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31802ca597
  4. Goulet EDB. Effect of exercise-induced dehydration on time-trial exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med 2011;45(14):1149–56. doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2010.077966
  5. Jeukendrup A. A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Med 2014;44(Suppl 1):S25–33. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0148-z
  6. Stellingwerff T, Cox GR. Systematic review: carbohydrate supplementation on exercise performance or capacity of varying durations. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2014;39(9):998–1011. doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2014-0027
  7. Bussau VA, Fairchild TJ, Rao A, Steele P, Fournier PA. Carbohydrate loading in human muscle: an improved 1 day protocol. Eur J Appl Physiol 2002;87(3):290–5. doi.org/10.1007/s00421-002-0621-5
  8. Hoffman MD, Stuempfle KJ. Sodium supplementation and exercise-associated hyponatremia during prolonged exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2015;47(9):1781–7. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000599
  9. Racinais S, Alonso JM, Coutts AJ, et al. Consensus recommendations on training and competing in the heat. Sports Med 2015;45:925–38. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0343-6

Coaching practice

Some parts of the plan follow common coaching practice rather than a specific study: a lighter week every fourth week, the long run making up about a third of the week, and the exact effort each kind of session should feel like. They're widely used, and we say so here rather than present them as research.

Questions

Spotted something out of date, or a study we should read? Email our support team.