Your plan in four answers
Chattanooga Marathon has not announced its next date, so we have estimated March. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
Course
The Chattanooga Marathon course
Chattanooga's spring race weekend, held over the first weekend in March with the half and full on Sunday. Both start at the First Tennessee Pavilion downtown and work toward the riverfront, Riverfront Parkway, and the riverwalk north past Ross's Landing.
Read the full course notes
Runners climb and descend steadily on the way out to the river, and the marathon adds the quieter miles where that terrain starts to matter.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Weather on race day
- March in Chattanooga is usually cool and good for racing, though rain is common.
What to train for
Include rolling terrain in your long runs.
The river sections are flat and lull you into going out fast, and the hills arrive later.
Sample week
A sample Chattanooga Marathon 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 Chattanooga Marathon
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 Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon in March. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Chattanooga Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. Chattanooga's spring race weekend, held over the first weekend in March with the half and full on Sunday.
What is the weather usually like at the Chattanooga Marathon?
March in Chattanooga is usually cool and good for racing, though rain is common.
When should I start tapering for the Chattanooga Marathon?
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 Chattanooga 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.