Your plan in four answers
Set for October 3, 2027, about 49 weeks out.
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- About 28,000 runners across the weekend's races, per the official site
- Taper starts
- September 15, 2027
Course
The Long Beach Marathon course
The marathon starts at 5:30 AM at Shoreline Drive and Shoreline Village Drive in downtown Long Beach and finishes at Shoreline Drive and Linden Avenue. The route takes in downtown, the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village, then runs the flat beach path along the Pacific before heading through Belmont Shore and around Marine Stadium.
Read the full course notes
A 5K loop around the Cal State Long Beach campus brings in the only real elevation changes before the return toward Ocean Boulevard. It is a fast, sea-level course on closed roads with a 7.5-hour limit (17:00 per mile pace), and both marathon and half are USATF certified Boston qualifiers.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Field
- About 28,000 runners across the weekend's races, per the official site
- Weather on race day
- October mornings in Long Beach usually start in the upper 50s to mid 60s °F, with afternoon highs in the upper 70s. Skies are often clear or lightly overcast and rain is rare, but sun on the beach path and the occasional warm offshore spell can heat things up quickly after sunrise. Start hydrating early and plan to run the second half by effort if the day turns warm.
What to train for
Long Beach is flat enough that the race is decided by pacing discipline and heat management rather than hills.
Build long runs with the final 6 to 10 miles at goal marathon pace, and run some of them in the warmest part of your day so you learn your sweat rate.
The early 5:30 AM start means you should practise eating breakfast three hours before a long run at least twice. Add short strides on a gentle incline once a week to stay sharp for the rises around the CSULB loop.
Sample week
A sample Long Beach 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 Long Beach 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. With the race on October 3, 2027, your taper starts around September 15, 2027.
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 Long Beach Marathon presented by 2XU on October 3, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Long Beach Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Long Beach 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 Long Beach Marathon course hilly?
Flat. The marathon starts at 5:30 AM at Shoreline Drive and Shoreline Village Drive in downtown Long Beach and finishes at Shoreline Drive and Linden Avenue.
What is the weather usually like at the Long Beach Marathon?
October mornings in Long Beach usually start in the upper 50s to mid 60s °F, with afternoon highs in the upper 70s. Skies are often clear or lightly overcast and rain is rare, but sun on the beach path and the occasional warm offshore spell can heat things up quickly after sunrise. Start hydrating early and plan to run the second half by effort if the day turns warm.
When should I start tapering for the Long Beach 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. With the race on October 3, 2027, your taper starts around September 15, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Long Beach 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.