Your plan in four answers
Set for October 10, 2027, about 50 weeks out.
- Distances
- Marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- September 22, 2027
Course
The Steamtown Marathon course
Steamtown is a point-to-point course that starts at Forest City High School and finishes at Courthouse Square in downtown Scranton, with a 955-foot elevation drop along the way. It follows the Lackawanna Valley through Vandling, Carbondale, Mayfield, Archbald, Winton, Jessup, Blakely, Olyphant and Dickson City, with about 5 miles on rail-trail sections between miles 12 and 21 and a park loop and footbridge in Blakely.
Read the full course notes
The descent starts right away with a very steep downhill on Dundaff Street near mile 1, and the early miles keep dropping. The challenge comes late: the final miles through Scranton include climbs, ending with Cooper's Hill from about mile 25.4, roughly 0.8 miles from the finish. It is consistently ranked among the fastest marathon courses in the country, with 14 aid stations along the way, and the 2027 edition is the 30th running.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- Marathon
- Weather on race day
- Around mid-October, NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport usually run from lows of about 44–46 °F to highs of about 64–66 °F, so expect a cool start. The race's own advice is to slow your planned pace and drink more if the start is above 50 °F and looks set to warm, so check the forecast and adjust your splits before you go.
What to train for
The two things to train for are the long early descent and the climbs at the end.
Do downhill-specific work, such as 6 to 8 x 2 minutes on a gentle downhill at goal pace, and long runs that open with several miles of descent, so your quads are ready for the 955-foot drop.
Finish long runs with 3 to 4 miles at or slightly faster than goal pace, ideally on a route with a hill in the last mile to rehearse Cooper's Hill. On race day hold back on the early downhills; the race asks entrants to be confident of finishing within six hours.
Sample week
A sample Steamtown 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 mile at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- 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, the last 4 mi at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Steamtown 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 October 10, 2027, your taper starts around September 22, 2027.
Also in Claude
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Build me a training plan for the Steamtown Marathon on October 10, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Steamtown Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Steamtown 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 Steamtown Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. Steamtown is a point-to-point course that starts at Forest City High School and finishes at Courthouse Square in downtown Scranton, with a 955-foot elevation drop along the way.
What is the weather usually like at the Steamtown Marathon?
Around mid-October, NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport usually run from lows of about 44–46 °F to highs of about 64–66 °F, so expect a cool start. The race's own advice is to slow your planned pace and drink more if the start is above 50 °F and looks set to warm, so check the forecast and adjust your splits before you go.
When should I start tapering for the Steamtown 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 October 10, 2027, your taper starts around September 22, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Steamtown 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.