Settle
Weeks 1–2
Feb 21, 2027–Mar 6, 2027
Hold close to your current volume, establish the weekly rhythm, and make sure the opening load is honest.
12-Week Ogden Marathon Training Plan
Ogden, UTMay 15, 2027
Start around February 20, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Ogden Marathon.
The Ogden Marathon starts at a place called Dancing Moose Farm, up in the Ogden Valley near Huntsville, and finishes at 25th and Grant Avenue in downtown Ogden about 1,100 feet lower. Runner's World has called it one of the best courses in America for first-time marathoners, and 1,528 people finished it in 2026.
- Race day
- May 15, 2027
- Start window
- February 20, 2027
- Runway
- 12 weeks
- Course
- Downhill · 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 Ogden 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
Mar 7, 2027–Apr 10, 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
Apr 11, 2027–May 1, 2027
Complete the most race-specific long runs, rehearse fueling, and practice the terrain that will decide the final 10K.
Taper
Weeks 11–12
May 2, 2027–May 15, 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 Ogden 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 Ogden
Train for Ogden by teaching your quads to brake for four hours. A course with 1,514 feet of loss and almost no climbing loads the same muscle group in the same eccentric way from the first mile to the last, and there is no uphill section anywhere to hand those muscles a different job. This is the classic downhill-marathon failure and it has nothing to do with aerobic fitness.
Build downhill repeats in gradually, starting around 8 to 10 weeks out with short, gentle descents and adding length before you add steepness. If you can, run a few of your long runs on a net-downhill route so your legs practice the duration of the load rather than just a handful of reps. Soreness for two or three days after the first sessions is normal and is exactly the point.
Then account for altitude. The race runs entirely above 4,290 feet, which is enough to cost a sea-level runner real aerobic capacity without ever feeling dramatic. Either arrive within about 24 hours of the start or give yourself a couple of weeks, and set goal pace a little slower than your flat sea-level fitness promises, then let the descent give it back.
Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans built on the most proven training methodologies in the sport and maps every week between now and race day, which matters on a course like this where the downhill work has to be sequenced rather than crammed in at the end. It is on the App Store.
Ogden Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Downhill · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 398 ft gain, 1,514 ft loss
- Net elevation drop
- About 1,116 ft lower at the finish than the start
- Highest / lowest point
- 5,421 ft / 4,292 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,528 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 8.4% in 2026
- Race day high / low
- 71°F / 45°F on average
Start-line temperature is not listed for this race. The course finishes thousands of feet below where it starts, so the weather recorded in the finish city does not describe the start line.
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 15, 2027.
12-week Ogden Marathon plan questions, answered.
When should I start a 12-week Ogden Marathon plan?
The 2027 Ogden Marathon is scheduled for May 15, 2027, so the 12-week window opens around February 20, 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 Ogden 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 Ogden 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 for Ogden by teaching your quads to brake for four hours. A course with 1,514 feet of loss and almost no climbing loads the same muscle group in the same eccentric way from the first mile to the last, and there is no uphill section anywhere to hand those muscles a different job. This is the classic downhill-marathon failure and it has nothing to do with aerobic fitness.
What if the 12-week Ogden 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 Ogden Marathon downhill the whole way?
Effectively yes. The Ogden Marathon drops about 1,514 feet and climbs only around 398, running point to point from roughly 5,421 feet down to 4,292. The organizers describe 'gentle downhills that keep you moving.' The descent through Ogden Canyon comes late in the race rather than early, which is the detail most people miss.
Is the Ogden Marathon a good first marathon?
It is one of the better ones, and Runner's World has named it among the best first-marathon courses in America. More than 1,500 people finish each year, aid stations sit every mile or two late in the race, and the net drop of about 1,100 feet flatters your pace. Train downhill first or your quads will fail regardless.
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.