20-Week Atlanta Marathon Training Plan

Atlanta, GAMarch 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 Atlanta Marathon.

The Atlanta Marathon is being rebuilt. Atlanta Track Club has moved the race to a new date in early March and put it on a new course, and the detailed routing has not been published yet. What has not changed is the ground underneath it. Atlanta sits on a set of ridges, and a marathon that stays inside the city has to go over them.

Race day
March 7, 2027
Start window
October 18, 2026
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 Atlanta 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

Oct 19, 2026–Nov 29, 2026

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

Build

Weeks 7–13

Nov 30, 2026–Jan 17, 2027

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

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Jan 18, 2027–Feb 14, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Feb 15, 2027–Mar 7, 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 Atlanta 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 Atlanta Marathon

Train for the Atlanta Marathon on rolling terrain at goal effort, not on a flat loop at goal pace. This is a course where climbing arrives in repeated moderate doses rather than at one summit, so the thing being tested is your ability to hold steady output while the numbers on your watch move around underneath you.

Build the long run on a route with a rise every mile or two and run it without surging on the ups or coasting on the downs. Check your breathing, not your splits. If your pace drops forty seconds on a climb and your effort hasn't changed, you're doing it right.

Then train the descents on purpose. A returning loop hands you as much downhill as uphill, and the late-race descents are where quads that only ever saw flat ground start to give out. Two or three sessions of controlled downhill running in the final six weeks, quick cadence and no braking, will change how mile 22 feels.

Because you can't know the exact route in advance, do your specificity work by profile rather than by street. Continuously rolling ground, no long flat stretches to hide in, and the last hour rehearsed on tired legs will cover any version of this course.

Atlanta Marathon course facts

Course
Loop · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
1,338 ft gain, 1,315 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
1,067 ft / 880 ft
Marathon finishers
3,078 in 2026 (large field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
1.9% in 2026
Typical race morning
49°F at the start, 75% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
60°F / 41°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 March 7, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Atlanta Marathon plan questions, answered.

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

The 2027 Atlanta Marathon is scheduled for March 7, 2027, so the 20-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 20-week plan long enough for the Atlanta 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 Atlanta 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 for the Atlanta Marathon on rolling terrain at goal effort, not on a flat loop at goal pace. This is a course where climbing arrives in repeated moderate doses rather than at one summit, so the thing being tested is your ability to hold steady output while the numbers on your watch move around underneath you.

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

Yes. The Atlanta Marathon climbs through a city built on ridges, and the elevation arrives in repeated moderate doses rather than one big hill, which makes it hard to pace. Boston qualifying rates sit in low single digits: 1.9% of finishers in 2026, 5.3% in 2024. Plan to run slower here than on flat ground.

Is the Atlanta Marathon course changing?

Yes. Atlanta Track Club has moved the race to a new date in early March and announced a new course. Detailed routing has not been published, so older mile by mile descriptions and elevation profiles describe a route that is being replaced. Check the organizer's course page before you plan splits or pick out landmarks.

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.