Foundation
Weeks 1–6
Dec 28, 2026–Feb 7, 2027
Set the routine, grow easy volume gradually, and finish each week with enough control to repeat it.
20-Week Green Bay Marathon Training Plan
Green Bay, WIMay 16, 2027
Start around December 27, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Green Bay Marathon.
The EPIC Marathon starts and finishes on Cormier Road outside the EPIC Event Center in Ashwaubenon, a few blocks from Lambeau Field, and the organizer describes the route as flat courses through Ashwaubenon, Green Bay, Allouez and the Brown County trail system. The marathon goes off at 7:00 a.m. This is a young event, running its third edition.
- Race day
- May 16, 2027
- Start window
- December 27, 2026
- Runway
- 20 weeks
- Course
- flat, mixed roads and trail, with Lambeau in the background
- 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 Green Bay 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.
Build
Weeks 7–13
Feb 8, 2027–Mar 28, 2027
Extend the long run, introduce race-specific terrain, and keep recovery weeks on the calendar.
Peak
Weeks 14–17
Mar 29, 2027–Apr 25, 2027
Complete the most demanding race rehearsals and settle fueling, pacing, shoes, and clothing before taper begins.
Taper
Weeks 18–20
Apr 26, 2027–May 16, 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 Green Bay 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 guideHow to train for the EPIC Marathon
Train for the EPIC Marathon by rehearsing goal pace in long, unbroken blocks, because a flat course gives you nothing to hide behind. On rolling terrain, every hill forces a change in stride and a moment of relief. Here you will hold one cadence for hours, so the failure mode is not blown quads at mile 19 but the slow drift where your form degrades and the pace goes with it.
Put two or three of your long runs on the surface you will race. If part of the course is county trail, get onto packed gravel or a rail trail for the back half of a long run and find out how your ankles and calves respond after two hours. Doing that in February is inconvenient, which is exactly why most of the field will not.
Then deal with the calendar. A mid May race means your 16 week build starts in January in the upper Midwest, so plan around snow and ice from the first week. Treadmill work for the hard sessions is fine. What is not optional is getting your long runs outdoors in wind, because a flat, exposed loop can hand you a headwind with no hill to break it up.
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 May 16, 2027.
20-week Green Bay Marathon plan questions, answered.
When should I start a 20-week Green Bay Marathon plan?
The 2027 Green Bay Marathon is scheduled for May 16, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around December 27, 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 Green Bay 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 Green Bay 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 EPIC Marathon by rehearsing goal pace in long, unbroken blocks, because a flat course gives you nothing to hide behind. On rolling terrain, every hill forces a change in stride and a moment of relief. Here you will hold one cadence for hours, so the failure mode is not blown quads at mile 19 but the slow drift where your form degrades and the pace goes with it.
What if the 20-week Green Bay 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 EPIC Marathon in Green Bay flat?
The organizer describes the courses as fast and flat, running through Ashwaubenon, Green Bay, Allouez and the Brown County trail system. No elevation profile or gain figure is published, so treat flat as their description rather than a measured number. Train for sustained goal pace with no hills to break up your stride.
Where does the EPIC Marathon start and finish?
Both on Cormier Road, outside the EPIC Event Center in Ashwaubenon, just off Holmgren Way near Lambeau Field. Every distance in the festival uses the same start and finish, and the marathon goes off at 7:00 a.m. alongside the half marathon and the relays, so race morning logistics are simple.
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.