Your plan in four answers
Atlanta Marathon has not announced its next date, so we have estimated March. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Hilly
Course
The Atlanta Marathon course
Atlanta's hills are not a rumour, and no course through this city avoids them: the terrain rolls without ever flattening out, and the climbing is relentless in the way that only a course with no flat sections can be. The Atlanta Track Club moved the race to a new date and a new course for 2027, so check the current map before you plan splits.
Read the full course notes
It is a poor choice for a personal best and a very good one for learning to race terrain.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Weather on race day
- Late February or early March in Atlanta typically starts in the 40s and finishes in the 50s. It is a cool, often grey morning, which is exactly what a course this hilly needs.
What to train for
Downhill running as much as climbing.
Atlanta gives back every foot it takes, and the descents are what wreck quads by mile 18.
Include deliberate downhill repeats in the build, not just hill climbs, and set a goal based on effort rather than a flat-course time.
Sample week
A sample Atlanta 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: 8 × 90 s up a steady grade, jog back down
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 5–6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 7 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 10–12 mi on hilly ground, steady effort on the climbs
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Atlanta Marathon
Start the taper ten to fourteen days 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.
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 Publix Atlanta Marathon (Half marathon) in March. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Atlanta Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Atlanta Marathon?
Most runners give a half marathon twelve to sixteen 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 Atlanta Marathon course hilly?
Hilly. Atlanta's hills are not a rumour, and no course through this city avoids them: the terrain rolls without ever flattening out, and the climbing is relentless in the way that only a course with no flat sections can be.
What is the weather usually like at the Atlanta Marathon?
Late February or early March in Atlanta typically starts in the 40s and finishes in the 50s. It is a cool, often grey morning, which is exactly what a course this hilly needs.
When should I start tapering for the Atlanta Marathon?
Start the taper ten to fourteen days 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.
Do I need an account to get a Atlanta 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.