12-Week City of Oaks Marathon Training Plan

Raleigh, NCNovember 1, 2026

Start around August 9, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to City of Oaks Marathon.

The City of Oaks Marathon climbs roughly 1,104 feet across its 26.2 miles in Raleigh and gives back about 1,117, finishing you thirteen feet lower than you started. None of that climbing arrives as one famous hill you can point at on a map. It is a mostly out and back course that keeps tilting, and it holds you to a 1:00 p.m. cutoff.

Race day
November 1, 2026
Start window
August 9, 2026
Runway
12 weeks
Course
Hilly · Mostly Out and Back
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 City of Oaks 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

Aug 10, 2026–Aug 23, 2026

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

Build

Weeks 3–7

Aug 24, 2026–Sep 27, 2026

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

Peak

Weeks 8–10

Sep 28, 2026–Oct 18, 2026

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

Taper

Weeks 11–12

Oct 19, 2026–Nov 1, 2026

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 City of Oaks 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 the City of Oaks Marathon

Train the City of Oaks Marathon by running rolling terrain continuously rather than by doing hill repeats. The course spreads about 1,104 feet of climb across 26.2 miles with no long sustained ascent, so the skill it rewards is holding one steady effort while your pace swings up and down by thirty seconds a mile in both directions.

Build that with long runs on a route that never settles. Two hours of undulation at easy to steady effort teaches your legs to absorb repeated short climbs, and it teaches your head not to panic when a mile split comes in slow. Chasing an even pace on this course is the classic mistake, because you buy the fast miles with interest.

Do not skip the descending. You take back essentially everything you climb here, and the descents in the back half land on tired quads. Practice running downhill at goal effort with a short, quick stride instead of braking into each one. A few sessions of controlled downhill running late in a long run is the cheapest insurance on this course.

Finally, respect the cutoff in how you build. A six hour limit with a 1:00 p.m. close is generous but not unlimited, and on rolling terrain your finishing time drifts later than a flat course predicts. If your long runs are landing near 13:45 per mile, add walking practice at a brisk pace rather than assuming race day adrenaline covers it.

City of Oaks Marathon course facts

Course
Mostly Out and Back · Hilly · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
1,104 ft gain, 1,117 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
476 ft / 227 ft
Marathon finishers
979 in 2025 (small field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
3.4% in 2025
Typical race morning
47°F at the start, 83% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
67°F / 43°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 November 1, 2026.

Build My Plan

12-week City of Oaks Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 12-week City of Oaks Marathon plan?

The 2026 City of Oaks Marathon is scheduled for November 1, 2026, so the 12-week window opens around August 9, 2026. 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 City of Oaks 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 City of Oaks 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. Train the City of Oaks Marathon by running rolling terrain continuously rather than by doing hill repeats. The course spreads about 1,104 feet of climb across 26.2 miles with no long sustained ascent, so the skill it rewards is holding one steady effort while your pace swings up and down by thirty seconds a mile in both directions.

What if the 12-week City of Oaks 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 City of Oaks Marathon a hilly course?

Yes, in a distributed way. The City of Oaks Marathon carries about 1,104 feet of climbing and 1,117 feet of descent across 26.2 miles, but only about 250 feet separates its lowest and highest points. There is no single famous hill. The difficulty is that the road rarely stays level long enough for you to settle.

Is the City of Oaks Marathon a good Boston qualifier?

Not really. 3.4% of City of Oaks finishers ran a qualifying time in 2025, with 4.8% in 2024 and 2023, and the course carries a thousand feet of rolling climb and effectively no net drop. It is a certified Boston qualifying course, but a flatter race gives you a better shot at the time.

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.