Nashville, TN · November

Flying Monkey Marathon Training Plan

A free marathon plan for the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey 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 November

The Flying Monkey Marathon course

Run entirely on the closed roads of Percy Warner Park, and widely regarded as one of the hilliest road marathons in the country: 26.2 miles with more than 3,600 feet of climbing. Entry is by lottery, the field is small, and the atmosphere is deliberately unserious. The course is not: there is almost no flat ground anywhere on it.

Weather on race day

November in Middle Tennessee usually means a cold start in the 30s or 40s warming into the 50s. Wet leaves on the park roads are a real factor.

What to train for

Time on your feet over vertical, and downhill running specifically. Quads take more damage here than lungs do. Train the descents deliberately, and go in with a time goal you are willing to abandon in the first hour.

Registration and official details: Flying Monkey Marathon official site

Flying Monkey Marathon training questions

How long should I train for the Flying Monkey 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 Flying Monkey Marathon course hilly?

Hilly. Run entirely on the closed roads of Percy Warner Park, and widely regarded as one of the hilliest road marathons in the country: 26.2 miles with more than 3,600 feet of climbing. Entry is by lottery, the field is small, and the atmosphere is deliberately unserious. The course is not: there is almost no flat ground anywhere on it.

What is the weather usually like at the Flying Monkey Marathon?

November in Middle Tennessee usually means a cold start in the 30s or 40s warming into the 50s. Wet leaves on the park roads are a real factor.

Do I need an account to get a Flying Monkey 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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