Detroit, MI · October
Detroit Marathon Training Plan
A free 5k, half marathon, and marathon plan for the Detroit Free Press 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
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Course
- Flat
- Usually held
- Each October
The Detroit Marathon course
The only US marathon with an international component: the course crosses the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Ontario, runs several miles in Canada, and returns through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, the only official underwater international mile in the sport. Bring a passport, and know that the tunnel mile is warm, loud, and has no GPS signal at all. Away from the crossings the course is flat.
Weather on race day
Mid-October in Detroit is cold at the 7am start, often in the 30s or 40s, warming into the 50s. The bridge is exposed and windy in a way the rest of the course is not.
What to train for
Even-effort running without pace feedback. Losing GPS in the tunnel around mile 8 throws people who race by watch, so practise running goal pace by feel and know your target splits from the mile markers. Otherwise it is a conventional flat-marathon build.
Registration and official details: Detroit Marathon official site
Detroit Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Detroit 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 Detroit Marathon course hilly?
Flat. The only US marathon with an international component: the course crosses the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Ontario, runs several miles in Canada, and returns through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, the only official underwater international mile in the sport. Bring a passport, and know that the tunnel mile is warm, loud, and has no GPS signal at all. Away from the crossings the course is flat.
What is the weather usually like at the Detroit Marathon?
Mid-October in Detroit is cold at the 7am start, often in the 30s or 40s, warming into the 50s. The bridge is exposed and windy in a way the rest of the course is not.
Do I need an account to get a Detroit 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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