12-Week Los Angeles Marathon Training Plan

Los Angeles, CAMarch 7, 2027

Start around December 13, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Los Angeles Marathon.

LA runs its marathon like a studio tour with a start cannon: the Stadium to the Stars course leaves Dodger Stadium and rolls point-to-point through downtown, Echo Park, Hollywood, the Sunset Strip, and Beverly Hills before finishing among the towers of Century City.

Race day
March 7, 2027
Start window
December 13, 2026
Runway
12 weeks
Course
Dodger Stadium to Century City
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 Los Angeles 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

Dec 14, 2026–Dec 27, 2026

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

Build

Weeks 3–7

Dec 28, 2026–Jan 31, 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

Feb 1, 2027–Feb 21, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 11–12

Feb 22, 2027–Mar 7, 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 Los Angeles 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 LA

Two priorities: rollers and warmth. Put rolling terrain in your long runs so repeated short climbs at fatigue are familiar, and get some warm-weather running in late in your buildup; a March race in LA can be cool and gray or genuinely hot, and heat on race day punishes anyone who never practiced in it.

A March marathon means a winter buildup, and for most of the country that's the reverse of the usual problem: you train in cold and race in warmth. Run some long runs overdressed, practice drinking more than winter makes you want to, and plan race pacing by effort in case the sun shows up.

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 March 7, 2027.

Build My Plan

12-week Los Angeles Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 12-week Los Angeles Marathon plan?

The 2027 Los Angeles Marathon is scheduled for March 7, 2027, so the 12-week window opens around December 13, 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 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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. Two priorities: rollers and warmth. Put rolling terrain in your long runs so repeated short climbs at fatigue are familiar, and get some warm-weather running in late in your buildup; a March race in LA can be cool and gray or genuinely hot, and heat on race day punishes anyone who never practiced in it.

What if the 12-week Los Angeles 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.

How long do I need to train for the LA Marathon?

Most Stride marathon plans run 12 to 20 weeks, which for a March race means a winter buildup. Get matched in the app and Stride maps every week from today to Dodger Stadium.

Is the LA Marathon course hilly?

Rolling more than hilly: a net downhill from Dodger Stadium to Century City, delivered in waves of short climbs and descents through the first half especially. Train rolling terrain and the profile works in your favor.

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.