12-Week Big Sur International Marathon Training Plan

Carmel, CAApril 25, 2027

Start around January 31, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Big Sur International Marathon.

Highway 1 shuts down for this race, and it reopens at 1 p.m. whether you have finished or not. That single permit condition sets everything else about the Big Sur International Marathon: a 6:45 a.m. start, a hard six-hour limit that works out to roughly 13:45 per mile, and a course that gives you almost no flat road to make up time on. The organizers point out that this highway is the only access for a 90-mile stretch of the central California coast, so the cutoff is real.

Race day
April 25, 2027
Start window
January 31, 2027
Runway
12 weeks
Course
Hilly · Point to Point
Plan choice
Current training

Does this window fit your starting point?

Use this window when your recent training is steady and the opening week will not be a mileage jump. If you are returning after a long break, twelve weeks is too little room to rebuild and peak at the same time.

  • Your weekly mileage has been consistent for the last six to eight weeks.
  • You have completed recent long runs and do not need to rebuild from three easy miles.
  • You can protect the same number of run days from week one through race week.
  • You are prepared to begin race-specific work early instead of using a long base phase.

The 12-week Big Sur International Marathon calendar

These dates define the job of each phase. Your current mileage, recent longest run, experience, goal, and available days still decide the actual workouts inside them.

Settle

Weeks 1–2

Feb 1, 2027–Feb 14, 2027

Hold close to your current volume, establish the weekly rhythm, and make sure the opening load is honest.

Build

Weeks 3–7

Feb 15, 2027–Mar 21, 2027

Grow the long run and weekly work with step-back weeks intact. There is no room to repay missed mileage.

Peak

Weeks 8–10

Mar 22, 2027–Apr 11, 2027

Complete the most race-specific long runs, rehearse fueling, and practice the terrain that will decide the final 10K.

Taper

Weeks 11–12

Apr 12, 2027–Apr 25, 2027

Reduce volume, keep the routine familiar, and arrive on race day without trying to squeeze in one more big week.

Make the window specific to Big Sur International Marathon.

Course-specific work starts early in a 12-week build. Put the race's terrain and expected conditions into long runs once the opening weeks feel controlled, without adding extra hard days.

Read the full race guide

How to train for Big Sur

Training for Big Sur means training both directions on hills. Runners lose this race on the descents rather than the climbs, because the muscle damage from running downhill hard shows up later as an inability to climb at all. Put hills inside your long runs, not only in your workouts, and run the downhills under control instead of coasting them.

Two specifics. Practice sustained climbing of 15 to 20 minutes at easy effort, so Hurricane Point feels like a gear you own rather than an emergency. Then build your last few long runs on a rolling out-and-back, so your legs learn to keep turning over on a rise at mile 20. If the six-hour cutoff is anywhere near your realistic finish, build the long run by time on feet rather than distance, and know your honest pace before race week rather than during it.

Big Sur International Marathon course facts

Course
Point to Point · Hilly · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
1,654 ft gain, 1,949 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
578 ft / 8 ft
Marathon finishers
3,222 in 2026 (large field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
4.5% in 2026
Typical race morning
51°F at the start, 88% humidity, partly cloudy
Race day high / low
61°F / 46°F on average

Sources

Let your current training decide the actual plan.

Current mileage, recent longest run, marathon experience, goal, and available days determine which plans rank first. After you choose and subscribe, Stride dates every workout through April 25, 2027.

Build My Plan

12-week Big Sur International Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 12-week Big Sur International Marathon plan?

The 2027 Big Sur International Marathon is scheduled for April 25, 2027, so the 12-week window opens around January 31, 2027. Treat that as the outside edge of the window, then line week one up with the plan's normal weekly rhythm.

Is a 12-week plan long enough for the Big Sur International Marathon?

Use this window when your recent training is steady and the opening week will not be a mileage jump. If you are returning after a long break, twelve weeks is too little room to rebuild and peak at the same time. The course does not change the opening load you can handle, so choose from your current mileage and recent longest run before adding race-specific terrain.

How should I prepare for the Big Sur International Marathon course in 12 weeks?

Course-specific work starts early in a 12-week build. Put the race's terrain and expected conditions into long runs once the opening weeks feel controlled, without adding extra hard days. Training for Big Sur means training both directions on hills. Runners lose this race on the descents rather than the climbs, because the muscle damage from running downhill hard shows up later as an inability to climb at all. Put hills inside your long runs, not only in your workouts, and run the downhills under control instead of coasting them.

What if the 12-week Big Sur International Marathon window has already started?

Do not double weeks or cram missed mileage into the remaining calendar. Use your current mileage, recent longest run, experience, goal, and available days to choose a plan that can enter at an appropriate point while preserving the taper.

Is the Big Sur Marathon hard?

Yes. Big Sur is a genuinely hard road marathon. The course climbs and descends more than 2,000 feet by the organizers' own numbers, there are almost no flat recovery miles, and a strict six-hour limit applies because Highway 1 reopens to traffic at 1 p.m. Most runners finish well off their flat-course time.

What is Hurricane Point at Big Sur?

Hurricane Point is the long climb in the middle of the Big Sur Marathon, the highest and most exposed part of the course, marked by taiko drummers playing partway up it. It hands you straight into the descent toward Bixby Bridge at the 13.1 halfway mark. Train sustained climbing and controlled downhill running for it.

Put the 12-week window against your actual race.

Each page counts back from race day, maps the 4 phases to real dates, and applies the window to that course and its typical conditions.