20-Week Akron Marathon Training Plan

Akron, OHSeptember 25, 2027

Start around May 8, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Akron Marathon.

The Akron Marathon spends four miles of its middle on a crushed limestone towpath, then hands you the steepest climb of the day at mile 19. The organizers say it themselves: this is not a flat and fast course. It rewards runners who show up with hill legs and a plan for where to spend them.

Race day
September 25, 2027
Start window
May 8, 2027
Runway
20 weeks
Course
Rolling Hills · 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 Akron 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 9, 2027–Jun 19, 2027

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

Build

Weeks 7–13

Jun 20, 2027–Aug 7, 2027

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

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Aug 8, 2027–Sep 4, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Sep 5, 2027–Sep 25, 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 Akron 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 Akron

Training for the Akron Marathon means putting hills at the end of long runs, not the start. The two hardest climbs come at miles 19 and 22, so a runner who does hill repeats fresh on a Tuesday and flat long runs on Sunday arrives unprepared for the only part of the course that decides anything.

Build a long run that finishes with 3 to 4 miles of rolling terrain at marathon effort. Twice in the buildup, run a 20-miler that puts a genuine climb inside the last three miles. You also need downhill tolerance, because Howard Street drops at 7% and Market Street falls toward downtown after mile 24. Quads that have never absorbed a fast descent will complain on both.

Spend a few long runs on crushed limestone or packed gravel if you can find it. The towpath's softer surface changes your push-off for four miles in the middle of the race, and runners who have only trained on asphalt often describe those miles as oddly heavy. The adjustment takes a few minutes, and fewer if you have felt it before.

Akron Marathon course facts

Course
Loop · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
989 ft gain, 1,005 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
1,104 ft / 749 ft
Marathon finishers
818 in 2025 (small field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
6.4% in 2025
Typical race morning
57°F at the start, 82% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
70°F / 50°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 25, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Akron Marathon plan questions, answered.

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

The 2027 Akron Marathon is scheduled for September 25, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around May 8, 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 Akron 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 Akron 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. Training for the Akron Marathon means putting hills at the end of long runs, not the start. The two hardest climbs come at miles 19 and 22, so a runner who does hill repeats fresh on a Tuesday and flat long runs on Sunday arrives unprepared for the only part of the course that decides anything.

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

Moderately, yes. The Akron Marathon's own course description lists a dozen climbs at 1.5% grade or steeper, and the organizers state plainly that it is not flat and fast. The hardest stretch is roughly 200 meters at 5.3% up Sand Run Road in the nineteenth mile, after 18 miles of rolling terrain.

What is the hill at mile 19 of the Akron Marathon?

It is Sand Run Road, reached at the end of a mile-long climb the race nicknames the Rally from the Valley. A ford crossing near mile 18 marks the start of the effort, and the road pitches to about 5.3% for roughly 200 meters between miles 19.1 and 19.4.

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.