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Heptathlon: 14 weeks, peaks at ~11 h.

Seven events over two days, where the speed events — hurdles, high jump, 200 m and long jump — explain most of the score. That's the intermediate plan; advanced runs 14 weeks.

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Intermediate

14 weeks on 5 training days for a heptathlete who has finished at least one and can do every event legally (about 4,200–5,200 points), weighted to the speed events, with a 7-day taper.Shortest runway 9 weeks · research minimum 10 · 6 sources

14 wk

6-11 h a week

Advanced

14 weeks on 6 training days for a heptathlete competing above about 5,200 points with event coaches — inside the 11–15 h a week reported for international heptathletes — with a 10-day taper.Shortest runway 9 weeks · research minimum 12 · 6 sources

14 wk

7-12.5 h a week

The checklist comes with it.

T-10Advanced: the 10-day taper starts — one full high-intensity session today, then easy, low-volume sessions at ~95% on days −8, −6, −4 and −2, with days −5 and −1 off. Only exercises that directly help the competition stay in.

T-7Intermediate: the 7-day taper starts (the same pattern, compressed).

T-7Check the timetable and the event order (day 1: 100 mH, HJ, SP, 200 m; day 2: LJ, JT, 800 m), and the implements — masters use the WMA age-graded implements and hurdles (Appendix A).

T-1Walk-through only (AT24): the event order and your warm-up timings. Pack food for 15–20 intakes over the two days (bars, bananas, sports drink, rice cakes), electrolytes, and kit for sitting out a long day in sun or rain.

race morningWake at least 3 h before the first event; 10-min walk; breakfast; full 40–45 min competition warm-up.

D+0Evening of day 1: cool down, recovery meal (carbohydrate + protein) within about an hour of the last event, treat niggles, protect sleep.

D+1Day 2: wake at least 3 h before the first event — the long jump, the highest-risk heptathlon event (54.1 injuries per 1,000 starts), so warm up fully.

afterTransition: days 1–3 walk, mobility (S28) and at most 20 min of easy jogging; days 4–10 technical-only sessions at low volume plus S37. Plan the next full combined event no sooner than 3–4 weeks later.

Every plan cites its homework.

The evidence is thin. A 2026 scoping review of 111 combined-events papers found none on how to train for them — no training modality, volume, weekly organisation or periodisation (Edouard 2026). Every week here is a design extrapolated from single-discipline sprint, jump, throw and plyometric science, expert-coach material (Marra, Blockburger, Hart & Huffins, UK coach education) and the combined-events injury and nutrition research. No study has tested a combined-events taper; the Francis 10-day taper was built for sprinters. The jump and javelin caps, the Intermediate / Advanced point bands and the minimum runways are the dossier's heuristics. Czech-school primary texts and the World Athletics / USATF / UKA combined-events curricula weren't accessible. The 30-min minimum between events (World Athletics TR 39) was recalled, not re-verified. The plans assume senior implements; WMA's women's decathlon and junior implements aren't covered. The heptathlon training-load figure (11.4–14.8 h a week in international heptathletes) rests on one source with a large SD. No Beginner plan, by design: there is no evidence base for putting a novice through a 14-week prep, combined events have the highest in-competition injury rate in athletics, and the pole-vault injury rate is highest in beginners. The dossier's introductory pathway (§5) instead: (1) start with a shorter format for a season — a pentathlon or the WMA outdoor pentathlon (men LJ, JT, 200 m, DT, 1500 m; women short hurdles, HJ, SP, LJ, 800 m), as the US path runs triathlon → pentathlon → decathlon; (2) train 3 days a week for the first 8–12 weeks — day A long jump + shot + running, day B high jump + hurdles + running, day C the weakest event + running, with 400 m-based running at reduced volume — using AT1, AT5, AT7, AT9, AT12, AT15, AT16, AT19 and strength S1 / S2, and no AT3, AT17, AT8 or AT10 until a full season is done; (3) pole vault only under the AT11 gate — a masters athlete without coached access should enter events without it; (4) masters: add S30 and S31 twice a week, use the age-graded implements and hurdles of WMA Appendix A, and bank points in the throws, which hold up best with age; (5) graduate to the Intermediate plan after one completed combined event and no time-loss injury in the previous 8 weeks.

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