16-Week Surf City Marathon Training Plan

Huntington Beach, CAFebruary 7, 2027

Start around October 18, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Surf City Marathon.

The Surf City Marathon runs an out and back along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, past the pier, spending the entire race between about 2 and 87 feet above sea level. It's early February in Southern California, which means you get the good weather and you get the same road twice.

Race day
February 7, 2027
Start window
October 18, 2026
Runway
16 weeks
Course
Mostly Flat · Mostly Out and Back
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 Surf City 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.

Foundation

Weeks 1–4

Oct 19, 2026–Nov 15, 2026

Establish repeatable weeks, keep most running easy, and begin extending the long run without forcing the pace.

Build

Weeks 5–10

Nov 16, 2026–Dec 27, 2026

Increase the weekly load, preserve step-back weeks, and introduce the terrain and effort the race will require.

Peak

Weeks 11–13

Dec 28, 2026–Jan 17, 2027

Complete the biggest race-specific weeks and use long runs to lock in fueling, pacing, and equipment.

Taper

Weeks 14–16

Jan 18, 2027–Feb 7, 2027

Bring volume down while keeping the weekly rhythm familiar. Training is finished before race week begins.

Make the window specific to Surf City 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 guide

How to train for the Surf City Marathon

Train for the Surf City Marathon by rehearsing the return trip. An out and back at sea level asks two specific things of you: even pacing with no terrain to hide behind, and the discipline to run the second half on a road you've already seen once. Neither is a fitness problem, and both are trainable.

Build long runs as literal out and backs and make the way home the faster half. Six to eight miles out at easy effort, turn, then run home at goal marathon pace. Do it often enough that turning around and pressing feels ordinary rather than demoralizing. Runners who only ever run loops tend to find the return leg here mentally longer than it actually is.

Then train flat, and train wind. Sea level, unvarying terrain hands your legs the same stride for the whole race, so put your long runs on genuinely flat ground instead of rolling routes. Race morning here is usually calm, near 53F with a light easterly, but coastal mornings aren't guaranteed, and on an out and back a bad wind day costs you an entire leg. Run some homeward halves into a headwind on purpose.

Surf City Marathon course facts

Course
Mostly Out and Back · Mostly Flat · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
371 ft gain, 362 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
87 ft / 2 ft
Marathon finishers
1,963 in 2026 (mid-size field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
5.7% in 2026
Typical race morning
53°F at the start, 71% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
67°F / 49°F on average

Sources

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 February 7, 2027.

Build My Plan

16-week Surf City Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 16-week Surf City Marathon plan?

The 2027 Surf City Marathon is scheduled for February 7, 2027, so the 16-week window opens around October 18, 2026. 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 Surf City 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 Surf City 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. Train for the Surf City Marathon by rehearsing the return trip. An out and back at sea level asks two specific things of you: even pacing with no terrain to hide behind, and the discipline to run the second half on a road you've already seen once. Neither is a fitness problem, and both are trainable.

What if the 16-week Surf City 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 Surf City Marathon flat?

Yes. The Surf City Marathon runs along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach between roughly 2 and 87 feet above sea level, with about 371 feet of climbing and 362 feet of descent across 26.2 miles. The organizers describe it as flat and fast, and the elevation data supports that description.

Is Surf City a good Boston qualifier?

It's certified and eligible, with about 9 feet of net rise, so no downhill adjustment applies to a time run there. But 5.7% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026 and 5.8% in 2025, down from 11.5% in 2022. The course won't be your excuse, and it also won't do the work for you.

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.