Your plan in four answers
Monumental Marathon is on November 7, 2026, under four weeks away, so we have set next year's race in November. Change the date below if you are running this one.
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
Course
The Monumental Marathon course
Genuinely flat, well organised, and held in early November, which is why it produces an enormous number of Boston qualifiers each year. The course runs out of downtown Indianapolis through the north side neighbourhoods and back to a finish beneath the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
Read the full course notes
Its whole appeal is that nothing about it gets in the way.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Weather on race day
- Early November in Indianapolis is usually cold and still: starts around freezing, finishes in the 40s. These are excellent marathon conditions and a large part of why the race has the reputation it does.
What to train for
Pure marathon-specific fitness.
There is no terrain, weather, or altitude to prepare for, which means the race is an honest read on your training.
Prioritise long runs with large goal-pace blocks, get the fuelling plan exact, and pace the first 10K to feel too easy.
Sample week
A sample Monumental 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 Monumental 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 is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race 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 CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Monumental Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Monumental 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 Monumental Marathon course hilly?
Flat. Genuinely flat, well organised, and held in early November, which is why it produces an enormous number of Boston qualifiers each year.
What is the weather usually like at the Monumental Marathon?
Early November in Indianapolis is usually cold and still: starts around freezing, finishes in the 40s. These are excellent marathon conditions and a large part of why the race has the reputation it does.
When should I start tapering for the Monumental 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 is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Do I need an account to get a Monumental 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.