20-Week Los Angeles Marathon Training Plan

Los Angeles, CAMarch 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 Los Angeles Marathon.

LA runs its marathon like a studio tour with a start cannon: the Stadium to the Stars course leaves Dodger Stadium and rolls point-to-point through downtown, Echo Park, Hollywood, the Sunset Strip, and Beverly Hills before finishing among the towers of Century City.

Race day
March 7, 2027
Start window
October 18, 2026
Runway
20 weeks
Course
Dodger Stadium to Century City
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 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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 LA

Two priorities: rollers and warmth. Put rolling terrain in your long runs so repeated short climbs at fatigue are familiar, and get some warm-weather running in late in your buildup; a March race in LA can be cool and gray or genuinely hot, and heat on race day punishes anyone who never practiced in it.

A March marathon means a winter buildup, and for most of the country that's the reverse of the usual problem: you train in cold and race in warmth. Run some long runs overdressed, practice drinking more than winter makes you want to, and plan race pacing by effort in case the sun shows 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 March 7, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Los Angeles Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 20-week Los Angeles Marathon plan?

The 2027 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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. Two priorities: rollers and warmth. Put rolling terrain in your long runs so repeated short climbs at fatigue are familiar, and get some warm-weather running in late in your buildup; a March race in LA can be cool and gray or genuinely hot, and heat on race day punishes anyone who never practiced in it.

What if the 20-week Los Angeles 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.

How long do I need to train for the LA Marathon?

Most Stride marathon plans run 12 to 20 weeks, which for a March race means a winter buildup. Get matched in the app and Stride maps every week from today to Dodger Stadium.

Is the LA Marathon course hilly?

Rolling more than hilly: a net downhill from Dodger Stadium to Century City, delivered in waves of short climbs and descents through the first half especially. Train rolling terrain and the profile works in your favor.

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.