Your plan in four answers
Mexico City Marathon has not announced its next date, so we have estimated August. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- About 30,000 runners
Course
The Mexico City Marathon course
The 2026 race started on Avenida Insurgentes Sur at Ciudad Universitaria, home of the 1968 Olympic stadium, and finished in the Zócalo in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral. The first 15 km head north through the south and west of the city toward Chapultepec, the halfway point comes in and around the Bosque de Chapultepec, and km 21 to 30 loop through Polanco.
Read the full course notes
From about km 30 runners join Paseo de la Reforma toward the historic centre, entering its streets at about km 38 for the finish in the Zócalo. The course is broadly flat, but it is all run at roughly 2,240 m above sea level, which is the real challenge.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Marathon
- Field
- About 30,000 runners
- Weather on race day
- Late August is rainy season in Mexico City: the starts between 5:45 and 6:30 are usually around 12–15 °C with high humidity, and showers are common, especially later in the day. The cool start helps, but altitude dries you out quickly, so drink at the early stations even if you do not feel thirsty.
What to train for
Altitude is the defining factor: at about 2,240 m most sea-level runners lose several seconds per kilometre, so set your goal by effort and heart rate and run the first half conservatively.
Build long runs to 32–35 km with the final 10 km at goal effort, and add weekly marathon-pace sessions such as 3 x 5 km.
If you can, arrive a week or more early to adapt; otherwise practise drinking on the move, because thin air dehydrates you faster than you expect.
Sample week
A sample Mexico City 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 × 1.5 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 10–11 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 16 km with 10 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 26–29 km, the last 6 km at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Mexico City 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 Maratón de la Ciudad de México Telcel (Marathon) in August. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Mexico City Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Mexico City 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 Mexico City Marathon course hilly?
Flat. The 2026 race started on Avenida Insurgentes Sur at Ciudad Universitaria, home of the 1968 Olympic stadium, and finished in the Zócalo in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral.
What is the weather usually like at the Mexico City Marathon?
Late August is rainy season in Mexico City: the starts between 5:45 and 6:30 are usually around 12–15 °C with high humidity, and showers are common, especially later in the day. The cool start helps, but altitude dries you out quickly, so drink at the early stations even if you do not feel thirsty.
When should I start tapering for the Mexico City 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 Mexico City 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.