Your plan in four answers
Maratona Monumental is on November 22, 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, Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- More than 12,000 runners across the four distances in 2025
Course
The Maratona Monumental course
Every distance starts and finishes on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, beside the National Congress and the Metropolitan Cathedral; the 5 km and 10 km run on Saturday at 17:00, and on Sunday the marathon starts at 05:00 and the half at 06:00. The marathon drops from the Esplanada past Vila Planalto and crosses the JK Bridge between about km 7 and 11, with Lake Paranoá at sunrise, then heads back past the Setor de Clubes Sul.
Read the full course notes
From about km 14 to 35 it follows L4 Sul, the Avenida das Nações lined with embassies, out to a turn near the Zoo at km 25 and back again. The official profile shows 295 m of total climbing with a maximum grade of 6.1%, mostly in gentle waves, but the course starts high and the last few kilometres climb back up to the Esplanada, so save something for the finish. Water comes every 2.5 km, the time limit is 6 hours 30 minutes for the marathon and 3 hours 15 minutes for the half, and runners who race both days earn the Monumental Challenge medal.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Field
- More than 12,000 runners across the four distances in 2025
- Weather on race day
- November is the rainy season in Brasília, and the city sits at about 1,170 m, so a 05:00 start is usually around 18–21 °C, with highs near 27 °C later and humidity around 75%. Rain falls on more than half the days, so the early start is your friend: drink at the 2.5 km stations from the beginning and ease your goal pace if the sun is out before the final climb.
What to train for
The key moment is the climb back to the Esplanada in the last few kilometres, so finish your long runs with 3–4 km of steady uphill or rolling road at marathon effort.
Build to 32–35 km long runs with the middle section at goal pace on wide, open roads to mimic the long out-and-back on Avenida das Nações.
Add 6–8 × 90 seconds uphill once a week and practise running in the dark before dawn, since the marathon starts at 05:00.
Sample week
A sample Maratona Monumental 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 Maratona Monumental
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.
Also in Claude
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Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Maratona Monumental de Brasília (Marathon) in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Maratona Monumental training questions
How long should I train for the Maratona Monumental?
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 Maratona Monumental course hilly?
Rolling. Every distance starts and finishes on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, beside the National Congress and the Metropolitan Cathedral; the 5 km and 10 km run on Saturday at 17:00, and on Sunday the marathon starts at 05:00 and the half at 06:00.
What is the weather usually like at the Maratona Monumental?
November is the rainy season in Brasília, and the city sits at about 1,170 m, so a 05:00 start is usually around 18–21 °C, with highs near 27 °C later and humidity around 75%. Rain falls on more than half the days, so the early start is your friend: drink at the 2.5 km stations from the beginning and ease your goal pace if the sun is out before the final climb.
When should I start tapering for the Maratona Monumental?
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.
Do I need an account to get a Maratona Monumental 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.