Your plan in four answers
Porto Marathon is on November 8, 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
- Marathon, 10K
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- About 15,000 participants across the marathon, 10K and 6K
Course
The Porto Marathon course
The start and finish are at the Queimódromo beside Porto's Parque da Cidade, a few hundred metres from the Atlantic. The first 15 km loop north into Matosinhos, with a turnaround on the beach road beyond the port of Leixões and a short out-and-back along the harbour.
Read the full course notes
The course then runs south down the seafront through Foz do Douro and turns east along the Douro, under the Arrábida Bridge and past the Ribeira and its bridges, to a turnaround beyond km 30 toward Freixo. The return retraces the river and the coast back to the park, and the official profile stays between sea level and about 30 m, with nothing you would call a hill.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Marathon, 10K
- Field
- About 15,000 participants across the marathon, 10K and 6K
- Weather on race day
- Early November in Porto is usually 9–17 °C, cool and good for marathon pace, but it is one of the wettest months of the year, with rain on nearly half the days. Atlantic wind along the seafront and the river can be in your face for long stretches. Pack a rain shell or bin bag for the start and expect wet roads.
What to train for
With almost no elevation, this course rewards steady marathon-pace running and the ability to cope with wind and rain.
Put 3–4 long runs of 30–35 km into your build, with the last 10–15 km at goal pace, and do some of them in poor weather on purpose.
The long out-and-back along the river means meeting the same wind twice, so practise tucking in behind a group and running by effort, not pace, into a headwind. Practise taking a gel at the aid stations every 5 km from 20 km onward, matching the race's supply points.
Sample week
A sample Porto 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 Porto 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
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Build me a training plan for the EDP Maratona do Porto (Marathon) in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Porto Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Porto 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 Porto Marathon course hilly?
Flat. The start and finish are at the Queimódromo beside Porto's Parque da Cidade, a few hundred metres from the Atlantic.
What is the weather usually like at the Porto Marathon?
Early November in Porto is usually 9–17 °C, cool and good for marathon pace, but it is one of the wettest months of the year, with rain on nearly half the days. Atlantic wind along the seafront and the river can be in your face for long stretches. Pack a rain shell or bin bag for the start and expect wet roads.
When should I start tapering for the Porto 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 Porto 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.