Your plan in four answers
Set for October 10, 2027, about 50 weeks out.
- Distances
- 5K, 5 miles, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- More than 17,000 participants across all distances (2026)
- Taper starts
- September 22, 2027
Course
The Victoria Marathon course
The marathon starts on Menzies Street at Kingston, drops gently down Government Street past the Empress Hotel and winds through Fairfield before entering Beacon Hill Park and joining the Dallas Road waterfront at Clover Point. At 13 km the half turns back while the marathon heads into Oak Bay, running Beach Drive past the Victoria Golf Club, the Oak Bay Marina, Willows Beach and Cattle Point to a turnaround at Exeter Road in Uplands.
Read the full course notes
Runners then retrace Beach Drive and Dallas Road past the Ogden Point breakwater to finish on Belleville Street in front of the Legislature. The course is gently undulating, never more than 27 m from its lowest point, with about 235 m of total climbing and one short pitch that reaches 10%. Ocean views are almost constant, and marathoners need to reach 13 km by 10:30 a.m.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 5K, 5 miles, Half marathon, Marathon
- Field
- More than 17,000 participants across all distances (2026)
- Weather on race day
- The organisers give an average race-day high of 14 °C, with 6–10 °C typical at the 8:15 a.m. start. Showers are possible in October and the waterfront can be breezy, so start in a throwaway layer and enjoy cool, efficient running conditions.
What to train for
Constant small rises reward runners who keep rhythm through changes in gradient, so do your long runs on rolling routes and hold effort, not pace, on each rise.
Add a weekly session of 8–10 x 45 seconds up a steep hill to prepare for the 10% pitch.
Long runs of 30–35 km with the last 10 km at goal pace, in cool or wet weather if that is what you get, are ideal rehearsal for a race that finishes along an open waterfront.
Sample week
A sample Victoria 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 Victoria 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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Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Royal Victoria Marathon on October 10, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Victoria Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Victoria 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 Victoria Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. The marathon starts on Menzies Street at Kingston, drops gently down Government Street past the Empress Hotel and winds through Fairfield before entering Beacon Hill Park and joining the Dallas Road waterfront at Clover Point.
What is the weather usually like at the Victoria Marathon?
The organisers give an average race-day high of 14 °C, with 6–10 °C typical at the 8:15 a.m. start. Showers are possible in October and the waterfront can be breezy, so start in a throwaway layer and enjoy cool, efficient running conditions.
When should I start tapering for the Victoria 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 Victoria 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.