Injury-prone runners don’t want to have to give up their sport
This does not necessarily have to happen in every case, even if this seems to be the case at the beginning of painful, hard injuries!
This can be prevented in the relatively short term by significantly changing the training and competition philosophy of those affected and, for example, starting at 50% *. Alternative training bike * is integrated into the training routine and actively adopted.
Marathon runners face injuries disproportionately early …
… and not just these!
The main reason: many years of increasingly hard and demanding training and the burden of (seemingly important) competitions coupled with too little targeted regeneration!
Spontaneous injuries are usually treated by the athletes themselves, unfortunately often inadequately. As a result, more or less short breaks occur again and again, even at a young age, which can disrupt performance development and, in extreme cases, the seemingly unspectacular “aches and pains” can even become chronic.
Critical complications usually arise sooner or later in cases of two typical signs of wear and tear, i.e. painful orthopaedic problems that are due to unequal length ratios, for example, and were overlooked at a young age or never ruled out by a specialist. On the other hand, they are not per se the result of years of high physical strain!
These two subgroups must therefore be kept apart and treated differently medically, but this is not the subject of this paper.
Athletes give up their hobby, often as part of their livelihood 
The majority of those affected reach their limits in their knowledge of remedies and quickly lose all motivation in the face of declining willingness to train and thus dwindling performance.
If they knew about the, albeit limited, possibilities of alternatives, both medically (this is not discussed here) and in terms of training, they could possibly extend their running career by a lot (but unfortunately this is limited!).
Alternative bike training or other substitute training are relevant for endurance …
… if, in addition to cycling, it is also about swimming and athletic walking is involved. Fast games with frequent changes of direction should, of course, be avoided, even if (for healthy people) the so-called speed endurance is trained very well here!
In theory , the “only” thing left to do is to incorporate one or all of these alternatives into your training and competition schedule in such a way that they form a healthy whole with the running units that are still possible or justifiable.
In practice , it becomes more complicated, because such a plan requires experience and knowledge that the athletes do not yet have at the time!
In the following you will read about a) an 8-12 week direct preparation for a marathon and b) the application of the alternatives in the remaining time
Regarding a): 8-12-week marathon (also HM) preparation period
It is assumed that the athletes have been used to covering around 100-130 km per week (in individual cases even more) on 5-6 training days in recent years, have knowledge/practice of VO2max/lactate development and have regularly taken part in competitions on shorter/longer track distances as well as in road races up to the marathon.
However, runners who do not fulfill these “conditions” can modify the following plans relatively easily for their purposes.
The amount of time you have spent training so far has been around 8-10 hours/week of pure running.
The plans now include 55-70 km running (3 TE), 3-4 TE by bike, each approx. 30-50 km, 1 TE (R)ad 75-100-130 km/week.
The total amount of training time would increase by 3-4 hours/week during this period, within the remaining training block compared to before (see there).
For running: there are no more intervals, sprints or tempo runs, in individual cases this may still be possible to a lesser extent!
On 1 day the (R) will take place before the (L), on 1 day after the (L) , on the WE (weekend) a relatively long DL (endurance run) is planned (30-max. 34 km).
More details on implementation and “aftercare” in the plans below (in PDF form, can be enlarged, downloaded, free of charge)
Alternative marathon training[pdf-embedder url=“https://fit-stark-sisu.top/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Alternatives-Marathontraining.pdf“ title=“Alternative marathon training“]
Cycling training: The use of a good sports bike, preferably a racing bike and additionally/alternatively an MTB is necessary.
On 2-3 days you ride separately from running (25-35-50 km), on 2 days in combination with the L (see above), on 1 day the plan includes an endurance ride (75-100-130 km, in the G1 to G2 range) on the WE.
For more details, e.g. on pace design for combined training, see the plans (see above,“Alternative marathon training”).
Re b): Remaining training period
Training takes place in a 3-person rhythm: 2 weeks according to the weekly example (plan p. 2), the 3rd week should be used as a regeneration week (see plan on page 3)
Distribution of units:
1) 40-50 km (L) in 2 TE (e.g. 1x 18/1x 22 km to 1x 22/1x 28 km 2) (R) 55-75 km (3 TE/ 10 km after (L) and 20&25 km to 15 km after (L) and 25&35 km
3) Swimming: 1-2 sessions of 1 to 1.5 km each (crawl style preferred)
4) Light strength exercises (individually depending on the type of injury, mainly with your own weight, plus “stabilizer” exercises: best performed before the (R/L)
[pdf-embedder url=“https://fit-stark-sisu.top/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ausserh-Marathon-100.pdf“ title=“excepth Marathon 100%“]
Which chronic injuries … 
… that would still allow these alternatives?
1) LW syndrome (with spinal canal narrowing, facet syndrome (⇒ arthrosis of the facet joints!), ossification)
2) Knee injuries (lateral&patellar tendon) 3 ) Shin (inside, front/ can often be alleviated by cooling) 4) Toes (various, insoles may be necessary) 5 ) Achilles tendon (various) from irritation to chronic to rupture: standard treatment is with cold (possibly in combination with special ointments/gels/packs ). after surgery (rupture)/adhesion: rehabilitation treatment (e.g. ergometer, no running), time of resumption of training (incl. alternative bike training) varies greatly!
These 4 categories allow for different levels of exertion, depending on the individual. Athletes can therefore change the plans accordingly.
!!! Osteoarthritis in the hips/knees rarely allow running, but possibly still brisk (sporty) walking or cycling training in easy gears only!
Also worth mentioning
The main topic here is about runners with injuries who want to use alternative bike training as part of their preparation for a marathon. However, questions are discussed as to how the remaining time, i.e. a good 7-8 months (excluding the end-of-season regeneration period), could, and in some cases should, be spent alternatively:
Competitions Everyone would like to continue competing, but what is allowed and what is not?
Track runs: only if your hip joints are intact, i.e. not only conditionally (e.g. in the case of incipient COX arthrosis). In the case of damaged knee joints, the (sports) orthopaedist should decide on a case-by-case basis! The same applies to runners who have undergone BS surgery, especially in the LW area
Road races: with good, cushioning footwear in the case of limited restrictions (see above) “more likely”, the orthopaedist has the last word. Problems of any kind with the hip joints: this is also not recommended! You can delay COX through exercise, but running would never be recommended in my opinion, at least in terms of training for competitions!
Routes with large differences in altitude, long or steep downhill sections or poor asphalt should also be avoided.
The following should also be avoided →
Cross-country races or fun runs with a cross-country character. Cross-country runs whose difficulty is only characterized by “heavy ground” and are otherwise flat should generally be permitted by orthopaedists.
Duathlon as an additional sport? You have learned to integrate cycling into your training … and … it was fun. Then a duathlon would be another way to enrich your sporting palette. There are fun duathlons to try out. The above “rules” apply to running.
The following is also recommended to you: Please don’t neglect your (healthy) active days of exercising in and out (before and after a competition)! Stretching exercises, as far as permitted, as well as warm medicinal baths and self-massage afterwards are even more important than before.
These tips should at least be remembered after hard/strenuous training sessions !
A word about a regeneration period
Duration: In my opinion, 4 weeks is too short! I think 8 weeks is ideal. During this time, your problem joints will thank you if you avoid joint-straining activities for the first 6 weeks. The swimming (crawl style and/or back crawl should be preferred), 2-3 times a week, 1000 -1500 m, at different intensities, would be your sport of choice during this time! – Going for a walk (preferably at a somewhat faster pace) or moderate sporty “walking” also helps to build up new physical and mental strength.
Gradually, using my plans, you can start training again for the new season … after you have thought about things that you may have done wrong or missed out on in your training and also about suggestions that are worth taking up in the future.
With this in mind, I wish you many happy and above all pain-free hours during your training and competitions!
I hope that none of my readers, like me, have caught this disease. — If it has happened to you, the article below would be worth reading ⇒
Polyneuropathy PNP: 7 personal experiences with sport and exercise | udo’s sports essays
Picture credits: OFA.com, Saolar.com