Your plan in four answers
Set for May 30, 2027, about 31 weeks out.
- Distances
- 5K, 10K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- About 70,000 entrants across all distances (2026)
- Taper starts
- May 12, 2027
Course
The Rio Marathon course
The 25th-anniversary edition is a four-day festival from 27 to 30 May 2027, with the 5K on Thursday, the 10K on Friday, the half on Saturday from Leblon and the marathon on Sunday. The marathon is point to point, starting on the beachfront at Recreio and finishing on the Aterro do Flamengo, so almost the entire race runs beside the ocean.
Read the full course notes
After the long, flat Barra da Tijuca seafront, the route climbs over the Joá elevated road to São Conrado and then rolls along Avenida Niemeyer, the cliffside road with the toughest gradients of the day, before dropping into Leblon. From there it is a flat run through Ipanema, Copacabana and Botafogo to the finish, with Sugarloaf ahead and crowds building in the last 15 km. The half marathon follows the second part of that route from Leblon to the Aterro.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 5K, 10K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Field
- About 70,000 entrants across all distances (2026)
- Weather on race day
- Late May in Rio is usually mild and humid, with about 19–24 °C in the early morning and sunshine that warms the exposed beachfront quickly as the morning goes on. The sea breeze can help or hinder on the long straights, so start conservatively, drink early and plan to be through the Niemeyer section before the heat builds.
What to train for
Most of this marathon is flat, but the Joá and Niemeyer section between roughly the middle of the race and km 30 decides how the end feels.
Include a weekly hill session and put 3 to 5 km of rolling hills into the second half of your long runs of 28 to 34 km.
Practise running goal pace on tired legs after a climb, and train in the warmest part of the day a few times so humidity does not surprise you.
Sample week
A sample Rio 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
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Rio 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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on May 30, 2027, your taper starts around May 12, 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 Maratona do Rio (Marathon) on May 30, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Rio Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Rio 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 Rio Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. The 25th-anniversary edition is a four-day festival from 27 to 30 May 2027, with the 5K on Thursday, the 10K on Friday, the half on Saturday from Leblon and the marathon on Sunday.
What is the weather usually like at the Rio Marathon?
Late May in Rio is usually mild and humid, with about 19–24 °C in the early morning and sunshine that warms the exposed beachfront quickly as the morning goes on. The sea breeze can help or hinder on the long straights, so start conservatively, drink early and plan to be through the Niemeyer section before the heat builds.
When should I start tapering for the Rio 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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on May 30, 2027, your taper starts around May 12, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Rio 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.