Your plan in four answers
Set for December 13, 2026, about 7 weeks out.
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- November 25, 2026
Course
The CS Marathon course
The race starts and finishes at Wolf Pen Creek Park in College Station, with the start on the north side by the Post Oak Mall lot and the finish at the amphitheater entrance on the south side. The route tours College Station, Bryan and Texas A&M University: the most recent published marathon map heads north to the edge of downtown Bryan around mile 6, comes back past Bryan's Municipal Park, swings west through the Traditions area near mile 11, then winds through the Texas A&M campus from about mile 14 to mile 23 before heading east to the finish.
Read the full course notes
Elevation stays between roughly 255 and 365 feet, so expect steady rollers rather than big hills. The low point comes near mile 11.5 and is followed by the longest climb, about 100 feet over the next mile or so, and the second half runs on slightly higher, rolling ground. Everyone starts at 7:00 a.m., aid stations come about every 1.5 miles, and the course closes on a rolling 15-minute-per-mile schedule.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon
- Weather on race day
- Mid-December in College Station usually runs from the low 40s to the low 60s °F, so the 7:00 a.m. start is typically cool and comfortable. Central Texas can swing from a cold, windy front to a warm, humid morning within the same week, so watch the forecast, bring a throwaway layer and ease off your goal pace if it turns warm and muggy.
What to train for
This course is a steady diet of gentle rollers within a 110-foot band, so do your long runs on rolling routes and hold even effort over each rise.
The key moment is the climb after mile 11.5: practice long runs with a 1-mile climb at goal effort around the midpoint, then settle straight back into pace.
Add weekly hill repeats of 6 to 8 x 90 seconds at 10K effort. Build to 18 to 20 mile long runs with the last 5 at goal pace, and rehearse fueling at the aid stations every 1.5 miles.
Sample week
A sample CS 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
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the CS 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. With the race on December 13, 2026, your taper starts around November 25, 2026.
Also in Claude
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Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the CS Marathon on December 13, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
CS Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the CS 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 CS Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. The race starts and finishes at Wolf Pen Creek Park in College Station, with the start on the north side by the Post Oak Mall lot and the finish at the amphitheater entrance on the south side.
What is the weather usually like at the CS Marathon?
Mid-December in College Station usually runs from the low 40s to the low 60s °F, so the 7:00 a.m. start is typically cool and comfortable. Central Texas can swing from a cold, windy front to a warm, humid morning within the same week, so watch the forecast, bring a throwaway layer and ease off your goal pace if it turns warm and muggy.
When should I start tapering for the CS 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. With the race on December 13, 2026, your taper starts around November 25, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a CS 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.