Training Plans & Race Calendars

If you have a goal race, you need a structured plan. You don't need a paid app for this — Hal Higdon's free plans are still the most-used 5K-to-marathon templates in the world. Paid platforms (TrainingPeaks, Final Surge) shine when you have a coach delivering structured workouts.

Sister sections: Running & Cycling, Garmin, Stryd & Power, Indoor Cycling, Strength Programming Sources, HRV & Heart Rate, AI Coaching.

Plan delivery platforms

• ★ ★ TrainingPeaks — paid (~$20/mo Premium) + free; the endurance coach default; structured workouts; PMC charts; planned vs. actual; pairs with Garmin / Wahoo / Apple Watch via auto-sync.
  • https://www.trainingpeaks.com/
• ★ Final Surge — paid (~$10/mo) + free; TrainingPeaks competitor; cleaner UI; less coach-mind-share.
• Stryd Power Center — paid + free; running power-zone plans; pairs with Stryd. See Stryd & Power.
• Garmin Connect — free; Garmin Coach plans push to your watch directly.
• Wahoo SYSTM / Wahoo X — paid; cycling structured workouts.
• TrainerRoad — paid; structured indoor + outdoor; AI plan builder. See Indoor Cycling.

Free plan sources (★)

• ★ ★ Hal Higdon — completely free plans for 5K, 10K, half, full marathon at multiple levels (novice / intermediate / advanced); the most-used free running plans on earth; print PDFs.
  • https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/
• ★ Pfitzinger — paid book ($20-30) + free plan summaries online; the serious-marathoner's curriculum; 18/55, 18/70, 18/85+ mileage tiers.
• ★ Jack Daniels VDOT — paid book + paid VDOT calculator + free general plan structure; the most-cited running-physiology framework.
• 80/20 Endurance (Matt Fitzgerald) — paid; polarized-training plans across run / bike / tri.
• Hanson's Marathon Method — paid book; the "cumulative fatigue" approach.
• Daniels' Running Formula (the book) — paid; required reading.
• Joe Friel's Training Bible (cycling / triathlon) — paid; canonical.

Structured-workout interchange

• ★ .zwo (Zwift / Wahoo) / .fit workout / TrainingPeaks structured workout — these standards let you share plans across platforms.
• Stryd Workouts — exports as Garmin or Apple Watch workouts.
• Garmin Connect → Stryd → workout step shown on Stryd Power Center — bidirectional in 2024-26.

Race calendars / event finders

• ★ MarathonGuide — free; US marathons + reviews.
• AIMS World Running — free; international.
• AthLinx / Active.com — free; race-finder + registration.
• British Triathlon / Triathlon.org — federation-level race calendars.
• UTMB / WS100 / Hardrock / Cocodona — flagship ultra calendars.
• GranFondoGuide — free; cycling.
• BikeReg — free; cycling event registration.
• UltraSignup — free; ultras.

Race-week / taper tools

• Stryd's RaceCalc — paid + free; race-day power target.
• VDOT Calculator — paid + free; pace zones.
• RunCalc.app — free; pace-time-distance.
• Garmin Race Predictor — free with Garmin watch.
• Strava Best Efforts — free; segment-PR-based predictor.

Coach-finder

• Pro Triathlete Coaches list — free.
• ★ TrainingPeaks Coach Finder — free; filter by location / discipline / certifications.
• USA Triathlon Coach Locator — free; US-cert.
• British Triathlon Coach — UK-cert.
• RRCA-certified running coach finder — US.

On-watch plan execution

• ★ Garmin Coach — free; plans push to watch; structured workouts.
• ★ Apple Watch Workout (custom workouts) — free; can build interval / pace / HR zone workouts on-watch since watchOS 9.
• TrainingPeaks → Wahoo / Garmin head unit / watch — paid TP sub.
• Stryd Workouts → Garmin / Apple Watch / Coros / Polar — free if you own Stryd.

Free strength plan sources

• See Strength Programming Sources. Stronger by Science, 5/3/1, Starting Strength, GZCLP — all printable.

Self-host pattern

For full data ownership of plan + execution + analysis:

1. Plan source: free PDF (Higdon / Pfitzinger).
2. Watch: Garmin or Apple Watch.
3. Execution data: GarminDB / Apple Health Auto Export → SQLite. See Garmin and Apple Watch.
4. Analysis: Runalyze (FOSS) or GoldenCheetah (cycling). See Running & Cycling.
5. Trends: Grafana on top. See Quantified Self DIY.

Cost / license honesty

• TrainingPeaks — Premium ~$20/mo or ~$120/yr; Basic free.
• Final Surge — paid ~$10/mo; free tier.
• Stryd — hardware ~$220; Power Center free + paid Premium.
• Garmin Coach / Apple Watch custom workouts — free with hardware.
• Hal Higdon plans — completely free.
• Pfitzinger / Daniels / Hanson's — books $20-30 each; free summaries online.

Pick this if…

• First marathon, no coach: Hal Higdon novice plan + Garmin / Apple Watch + Strava.
• Have a coach delivering plans: TrainingPeaks (the coach standard) or Final Surge.
• Self-coached cyclist, indoor + outdoor: TrainerRoad.
• Want power-based running plans: Stryd + Stryd Power Center.
• Pure free, on-watch: Garmin Coach or Apple Watch custom workouts.
• Self-host everything: Higdon PDFs + Garmin → Runalyze + Grafana.