Your plan in four answers
bg26.2 has not announced its next date, so we have estimated November. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon, 6K
- Terrain
- Rolling
Course
The bg26.2 course
The marathon and half start together at 7:00 a.m. on East 8th Avenue beside Bowling Green Ballpark and finish back at the ballpark. The course is one 13.1-mile loop through historic downtown Bowling Green, its older neighborhoods and the campus of Western Kentucky University: half marathoners run it once, marathoners twice.
Read the full course notes
Expect plenty of turns on city streets, then a climb onto WKU's hilltop campus on Normal Avenue, University Boulevard and the Avenue of Champions past the Big Red statue before the run back down to the finish. The bg6000 (6K) has its own downtown route from the same start and finish line. The course is USATF certified, the marathon is a Boston qualifier, and eight water stations serve water and Gatorade.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon, 6K
- Weather on race day
- Early November in Bowling Green usually starts around 35–45 °F at 7:00 a.m. and warms into the upper 50s or low 60s °F by midday. Fall rain and wind are possible, so wear layers you can shed after the first lap and keep drinking at the stations even when it feels cool.
What to train for
The two-lap format means you meet every hill twice, and the second trip up to WKU's campus late in lap two is where the race is decided.
Run some long runs as repeated loops with a solid climb, so you practice the same hill fresh and tired, and add weekly hill repeats of 60 to 90 seconds at 10K effort.
Frequent turns cost rhythm, so do tempo runs on twisting city streets and practice running the tangents. Pace the first lap conservatively: reach halfway feeling you could run it again at the same speed, and remember marathoners must pass mile 13.1 within 3 hours.
Sample week
A sample bg26.2 training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 mile at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6–7 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 10 mi with 6 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–18 mi, the last 4 mi at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the bg26.2
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the bg26.2 & Half Marathon and bg6000 in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
bg26.2 training questions
How long should I train for the bg26.2?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the bg26.2 course hilly?
Rolling. The marathon and half start together at 7:00 a.m. on East 8th Avenue beside Bowling Green Ballpark and finish back at the ballpark.
What is the weather usually like at the bg26.2?
Early November in Bowling Green usually starts around 35–45 °F at 7:00 a.m. and warms into the upper 50s or low 60s °F by midday. Fall rain and wind are possible, so wear layers you can shed after the first lap and keep drinking at the stations even when it feels cool.
When should I start tapering for the bg26.2?
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
Do I need an account to get a bg26.2 training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.