Foundation
Weeks 1–4
Jan 11, 2027–Feb 7, 2027
Establish repeatable weeks, keep most running easy, and begin extending the long run without forcing the pace.
16-Week OC Marathon Training Plan
Costa Mesa, CAMay 2, 2027
Start around January 10, 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
- January 10, 2027
- Runway
- 16 weeks
- Course
- Mostly Flat · Point to Point
- Plan choice
- Current training
Does this window fit your starting point?
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.
- You run consistently enough that week one is a continuation, not a restart.
- You want a distinct foundation phase before the biggest long runs.
- You can protect your planned run days for roughly four months.
- Your race date leaves the full window without forcing skipped weeks.
The 16-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 5–10
Feb 8, 2027–Mar 21, 2027
Increase the weekly load, preserve step-back weeks, and introduce the terrain and effort the race will require.
Peak
Weeks 11–13
Mar 22, 2027–Apr 11, 2027
Complete the biggest race-specific weeks and use long runs to lock in fueling, pacing, and equipment.
Taper
Weeks 14–16
Apr 12, 2027–May 2, 2027
Bring volume down while keeping the weekly rhythm familiar. Training is finished before race week begins.
Make the window specific to OC Marathon.
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.
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.
16-week OC Marathon plan questions, answered.
When should I start a 16-week OC Marathon plan?
The 2027 OC Marathon is scheduled for May 2, 2027, so the 16-week window opens around January 10, 2027. Treat that as the outside edge of the window, then line week one up with the plan's normal weekly rhythm.
Is a 16-week plan long enough for the OC Marathon?
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.
How should I prepare for the OC Marathon course in 16 weeks?
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. 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 16-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 16-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.