RUNNING GUIDES

Useful guidance.
Honest trade-offs.

Training science, product comparisons, and the decisions runners actually face. We show our sources, say where the evidence is uncertain, and disclose when we have skin in the game.

MARATHON42.2KMWHEN THE WEEK BREAKSORIGINAL PLANREBUILT PLAN6 APPS · ONE RACE · DIFFERENT COACHING LOOPS
MARATHON · 12 MIN

The best marathon training apps in 2026

Choose by what happens after missed training, poor recovery or pain—not by how polished the first calendar looks.

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ROUTE 01 · BEGIN HEREFIRST 5KVERY SLOW · REPEATABLE1K2K3K5KEASY ENOUGH TO TALKROUTE 02 · BUILD SPEEDFASTER 5K28:0026:00TRAINING LOADRecovery keeps upREADYBUILD WHAT YOU CAN RECOVER FROM
5K TRAINING · 15 MIN

5K training plans compared: which type fits you?

Free plans, apps, watch coaches, chatbots and adaptive systems compared with a transparent method, a worked week and four disruption tests.

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PACE FIRST4:48/KMHEART RATE138 → 171CONTROL EFFORTEFFORT FIRSTZ2132–146 BPMSTEADY · REPEATABLEEASY TODAY → STRONGER LATER
TRAINING INTENSITY · 13 MIN

Zone 2 running: find your easy effort

Why easy running builds aerobic fitness, how calculation methods compare, what the research supports and when walking is the right call.

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AI COACHING · 16 MIN

The best AI running coach apps in 2026

Runna, TrainAsONE, Garmin, Athletica, ChatGPT and Rayvik compared by what actually changes after a hard run, missed session or bad night.

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PLANPLAN26 KMREALITY
AI COACHING · 8 MIN

ChatGPT as a running coach: where it works, where it breaks

A great running encyclopedia, a risky ongoing coach. The peer-reviewed evidence, the failure modes, and how to use it well anyway.

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FREEWATCHAI COACH+4
APP COMPARISONS · 8 MIN

Runna alternatives, compared honestly

What Runna does well, why runners look elsewhere, and seven options, free ones included. One of them is ours; we flag it clearly.

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HRVSLEEPRHR
RECOVERY · 7 MIN

The Whoop alternative on your wrist already

Your Apple Watch measures the same signals Whoop's scores are built from. What the band actually adds, and the apps that close the gap.

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47VO₂VS
GEAR · 8 MIN

Apple Watch vs Garmin for running

Decide by software, not specs: where Garmin hardware genuinely wins, and when the features tempting you are an app problem, not a watch problem.

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More on the way: training-science guides land here under /guides, and free calculators under /tools. HYROX guides live in the HYROX hub.