Boston, MA · April
Boston Marathon Training Plan
A free marathon plan for the Boston Marathon, built around the course and your current fitness. Answer four questions and you will see every week of it. No account, no email, no card.
- Distances
- Marathon
- Course
- Hilly
- Usually held
- Each April
The Boston Marathon course
Point to point from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, run on Patriots' Day. Net downhill overall, which is exactly what makes it hard: the first miles drop fast enough to wreck your quads, and the Newton hills arrive at mile 16 when the damage is already done. Entry requires a qualifying time or a charity bib.
Weather on race day
Notoriously variable. The same date has produced 40 degrees and driving rain, and 80 degrees and sun. A noon-ish start for many waves means you race in the warmest part of the day.
What to train for
Downhill running is the specific preparation this course demands, and it is the one most people skip. Build quad durability with sustained descents in training, then treat the Newton hills as a pacing problem rather than a strength problem.
Registration and official details: Boston Marathon official site
Boston Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Boston Marathon?
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 Boston Marathon course hilly?
Hilly. Point to point from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, run on Patriots' Day. Net downhill overall, which is exactly what makes it hard: the first miles drop fast enough to wreck your quads, and the Newton hills arrive at mile 16 when the damage is already done. Entry requires a qualifying time or a charity bib.
What is the weather usually like at the Boston Marathon?
Notoriously variable. The same date has produced 40 degrees and driving rain, and 80 degrees and sun. A noon-ish start for many waves means you race in the warmest part of the day.
Do I need an account to get a Boston Marathon 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.
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