Settle
Weeks 1–2
Feb 8, 2027–Feb 21, 2027
Hold close to your current volume, establish the weekly rhythm, and make sure the opening load is honest.
12-Week OC Marathon Training Plan
Costa Mesa, CAMay 2, 2027
Start around February 7, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to OC Marathon.
The OC Marathon goes off at 5:30 a.m., before sunrise, and there is a hard rule attached to it: runners who have not reached mile 12 by 9 a.m. get diverted onto the shorter course. That is the honest framing of this race. It is a fast, mostly flat point-to-point run down the coast, but the roads have to reopen and the clock is part of the deal.
- Race day
- May 2, 2027
- Start window
- February 7, 2027
- Runway
- 12 weeks
- Course
- Mostly Flat · 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 OC 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.
Build
Weeks 3–7
Feb 22, 2027–Mar 28, 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 29, 2027–Apr 18, 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 19, 2027–May 2, 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 OC 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 guideHow to train for the OC Marathon
Training for the OC Marathon is a pacing problem more than a strength problem. A mostly flat, net-downhill course punishes anyone who has only trained a single pace, because nothing in the terrain forces you to slow down early. You need goal pace to be automatic, and you need three short hills to leave it intact.
In practice: run long runs at goal pace on flat ground until the pace feels boring, then drop three short hill efforts into the middle of them so a rise at mile 7 does not spike your heart rate. Do a few sessions starting at 5:30 a.m. in the dark, fully fueled, because a pre-dawn start rearranges your whole morning routine. And run some easy miles on the flattest, most repetitive surface you can find, since unvarying terrain is its own kind of hard on tired legs.
OC Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Mostly Flat · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 559 ft gain, 681 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 254 ft / 9 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 3,563 in 2026 (large field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 3.6% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 57°F at the start, 87% humidity, overcast
- Race day high / low
- 70°F / 55°F on average
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 May 2, 2027.
12-week OC Marathon plan questions, answered.
When should I start a 12-week OC Marathon plan?
The 2027 OC Marathon is scheduled for May 2, 2027, so the 12-week window opens around February 7, 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 OC 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 OC 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 the OC Marathon is a pacing problem more than a strength problem. A mostly flat, net-downhill course punishes anyone who has only trained a single pace, because nothing in the terrain forces you to slow down early. You need goal pace to be automatic, and you need three short hills to leave it intact.
What if the 12-week OC 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 OC Marathon flat?
Mostly. The OC Marathon is net downhill by about 122 feet with a low point near sea level, but it includes three climbs: one between miles 6.5 and 7, one at mile 11, and a 55-foot rise at mile 14.5 crossing the 405 freeway overpass. None of them are long.
What is the time limit for the OC Marathon?
Seven hours, about a 16-minute mile, with a pacer carrying balloons holding exactly that pace. There is also an intermediate checkpoint: runners who have not reached mile 12 by 9 a.m. are moved onto the shorter course. Support vehicles at water stations pick up anyone who cannot continue.
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.