20-Week Des Moines Marathon Training Plan

The 2027 Des Moines Marathon is scheduled for October 17, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around May 30, 2027. Treat that as the outside edge of the window, then line week one up with the plan's normal weekly rhythm.

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.

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 Des Moines means building a pace you can hold over rolling ground rather than flat ground. The course never gives you a long climb to break the rhythm and never gives you a long flat to settle into it, so the specific skill you need is holding steady effort while the road tilts under you every few minutes.

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.

No, but it is close. The Des Moines Marathon rolls, with about 682 feet of total climbing spread across the course and only a 195-foot gap between its lowest and highest points. There is no single big hill. The real challenge is holding even effort while the road tilts every few minutes.

Yes. About 8.9 percent of Des Moines Marathon finishers ran Boston qualifying times in 2025, and the rate has run between roughly 5.5 and 10.9 percent in recent years. Cool mid-October weather, a USATF certified course and a modest rolling profile make it a realistic place to chase a time.