16-Week Detroit Free Press Marathon Training Plan

The 2027 Detroit Free Press Marathon is scheduled for October 17, 2027, so the 16-week window opens around June 27, 2027. Treat that as the outside edge of the window, then line week one up with the plan's normal weekly rhythm.

Use this window when you have a running base and want several weeks before the hardest marathon-specific work begins. The extra month over a 12-week plan creates more room for gradual long-run growth and recovery. 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.

Use the first month to establish consistency, then make long runs progressively more specific to the race's terrain and conditions. The course rehearsal should grow with the plan, not appear all at once in peak week. Two Detroit specific sessions matter. First, put a climb in the first fifteen minutes of some long runs, so the Ambassador Bridge at mile two doesn't cost you an effort spike that you pay for at mile 22. Second, practice running a full mile purely by feel, because your watch goes dark in the tunnel.

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.

Yes. The marathon crosses into Canada, so every runner needs a valid passport, a WHTI compliant document, or an enhanced driver's license from Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont or Washington. The race also warns that past convictions including OWI or DUI can make a runner inadmissible to Canada without a special permit.

Yes. The course gains 388 feet and loses 397 across 26.2 miles, a net drop of nine feet, with everything between 538 and 740 feet of elevation. The only meaningful climb is the Ambassador Bridge about two miles in. After that the race becomes an exercise in holding one steady effort.