20-Week Adirondack Marathon Training Plan

Schroon Lake, NYSeptember 26, 2027

Start around May 9, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Adirondack Marathon.

The Adirondack Marathon runs one lap around Schroon Lake, a nine mile finger of water in the eastern Adirondacks, and the loop never flattens out. The road tips up or down almost continuously between 811 and 1,110 feet. In 2025, 162 people finished it, which tells you what kind of race day this is.

Race day
September 26, 2027
Start window
May 9, 2027
Runway
20 weeks
Course
Hilly · Loop
Plan choice
Current training

Does this window fit your starting point?

Use the longer window to make the early build calmer, not to add five months of hard training. The plan should begin close to your current load, hold most running easy, and delay the biggest race-specific work until the middle of the cycle.

  • You want a longer foundation phase before marathon-specific training.
  • Your current mileage is steady but below the load you expect to carry later.
  • You prefer gradual long-run growth with regular step-back weeks.
  • You can sustain a five-month routine without turning every week into a peak week.

The 20-week Adirondack 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 1–6

May 10, 2027–Jun 20, 2027

Set the routine, grow easy volume gradually, and finish each week with enough control to repeat it.

Build

Weeks 7–13

Jun 21, 2027–Aug 8, 2027

Extend the long run, introduce race-specific terrain, and keep recovery weeks on the calendar.

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Aug 9, 2027–Sep 5, 2027

Complete the most demanding race rehearsals and settle fueling, pacing, shoes, and clothing before taper begins.

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Sep 6, 2027–Sep 26, 2027

Reduce the load, keep familiar running in the week, and let the work from the previous four months show up on race day.

Make the window specific to Adirondack Marathon.

Build general durability first. Add the race's hills, flat sustained running, downhill exposure, heat, or humidity in layers after the weekly rhythm is stable, then make the final long runs the most course-specific.

Read the full race guide

How to train for the Adirondack Marathon

Train the Adirondack Marathon by effort rather than by pace. The right preparation is continuously rolling terrain in your long runs, not one big hill repeat session bolted onto a flat plan. Find a route that undulates for two hours straight and learn to hold steady breathing while your per mile numbers swing thirty seconds in both directions.

Then add the part most people skip: downhill control. On a loop you take roughly as much descent as climb, and the descents on the back side arrive when you're already tired. Practice running down at goal effort with a quick, short stride instead of braking. Quads that are used to that will still be there when the Route 9 grades start.

One more thing. With 162 finishers in 2025 you will spend long stretches alone, so do at least three long runs solo at goal effort. Generating your own pace is a skill, and this course will ask for it.

Adirondack Marathon course facts

Course
Loop · Hilly · Road/Pavement
Highest / lowest point
1,110 ft / 811 ft
Marathon finishers
162 in 2025 (very small field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
3.7% in 2025
Typical race morning
57°F at the start, 82% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
66°F / 44°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 September 26, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Adirondack Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 20-week Adirondack Marathon plan?

The 2027 Adirondack Marathon is scheduled for September 26, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around May 9, 2027. Treat that as the outside edge of the window, then line week one up with the plan's normal weekly rhythm.

Is a 20-week plan long enough for the Adirondack Marathon?

Use the longer window to make the early build calmer, not to add five months of hard training. The plan should begin close to your current load, hold most running easy, and delay the biggest race-specific work until the middle of the cycle. 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 Adirondack Marathon course in 20 weeks?

Build general durability first. Add the race's hills, flat sustained running, downhill exposure, heat, or humidity in layers after the weekly rhythm is stable, then make the final long runs the most course-specific. Train the Adirondack Marathon by effort rather than by pace. The right preparation is continuously rolling terrain in your long runs, not one big hill repeat session bolted onto a flat plan. Find a route that undulates for two hours straight and learn to hold steady breathing while your per mile numbers swing thirty seconds in both directions.

What if the 20-week Adirondack 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 Adirondack Marathon a hard course?

Yes, moderately. The Adirondack Marathon is a continuously rolling loop with about 300 feet of elevation range and no sustained flat, so it runs slower than its numbers suggest. The back side of Schroon Lake rolls hardest, and the return along Route 9 adds long gentle grades when your legs are already spent.

Is the Adirondack Marathon good for a first marathon?

It's a reasonable first marathon for a runner who wants a small, quiet race and isn't chasing a time. The course closes at 3:00 p.m. after an 8:00 a.m. start, with a sweep at 3:30. Just know that rolling terrain makes even pacing harder than it would be on flat ground.

Put the 20-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.