Your plan in four answers
Set for September 19, 2027, about 47 weeks out.
- Distances
- Marathon
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Taper starts
- September 1, 2027
Course
The Pikes Peak Marathon course
Up Barr Trail to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak and back down, roughly 7,800 feet of climbing and the same descending, on trail throughout. Times bear no relationship to road marathon times: the winners take well over three hours and most finishers are out far longer.
Read the full course notes
The Ascent, run the day before, covers only the climb.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Distances
- Marathon
- Weather on race day
- Mid-September at the summit can be 40 degrees with wind and hail while Manitou Springs is in the 70s. Afternoon storms above treeline are a genuine hazard, which is why the race enforces cutoffs at the top.
What to train for
Vertical, altitude, and descending, in that order.
Long sustained climbs at hiking effort are the core session, and the descent needs its own training or your quads will not survive it.
If you live low, treat acclimation as part of the plan rather than an afterthought.
Sample week
A sample Pikes Peak 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
- Hill repeats: 10 × 90 s up a steady grade, jog back down
- 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 on hilly ground, steady effort on the climbs
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Pikes Peak 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 hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on September 19, 2027, your taper starts around September 1, 2027.
Also in Claude
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Build me a training plan for the Pikes Peak Marathon on September 19, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Pikes Peak Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Pikes Peak 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 Pikes Peak Marathon course hilly?
Hilly. Up Barr Trail to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak and back down, roughly 7,800 feet of climbing and the same descending, on trail throughout.
What is the weather usually like at the Pikes Peak Marathon?
Mid-September at the summit can be 40 degrees with wind and hail while Manitou Springs is in the 70s. Afternoon storms above treeline are a genuine hazard, which is why the race enforces cutoffs at the top.
When should I start tapering for the Pikes Peak 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 hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on September 19, 2027, your taper starts around September 1, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Pikes Peak 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.