20-Week Miami Marathon Training Plan

Miami, FLJanuary 31, 2027

Start around September 13, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Miami Marathon.

The Life Time Miami Marathon is one of the flattest certified courses in the country and one of the harder places on the calendar to run a fast time. The whole route sits between 1 and 35 feet above sea level with 254 feet of climbing. In 2026, 1.7 percent of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time.

Race day
January 31, 2027
Start window
September 13, 2026
Runway
20 weeks
Course
Mostly Flat · 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 Miami 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

Sep 14, 2026–Oct 25, 2026

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

Build

Weeks 7–13

Oct 26, 2026–Dec 13, 2026

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

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Dec 14, 2026–Jan 10, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Jan 11, 2027–Jan 31, 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 Miami 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 Miami

Training for the Life Time Miami Marathon is heat work, not hill work. Race morning averages 66 degrees and 80 percent humidity, and most runners building for a late January race are doing it through a northern winter. Do every long run in cold air and the first warm mile of the race is a shock you cannot take back.

Overdress deliberately for two long runs a week through the last six weeks, or run them indoors with the heat turned up. Then set an honest pace. A flat course is not a fast day when the dew point is high, so plan a goal pace 20 to 40 seconds per mile slower than your cold-weather fitness suggests and treat anything quicker as a bonus. Practice drinking at every station, because the 254 feet of climbing on those causeway ramps will not tire you out. The fluid loss will.

Miami Marathon course facts

Course
Loop · Mostly Flat · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
254 ft gain, 253 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
35 ft / 1 ft
Marathon finishers
3,251 in 2026 (large field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
1.7% in 2026
Typical race morning
66°F at the start, 80% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
77°F / 59°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 January 31, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Miami Marathon plan questions, answered.

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

The 2027 Miami Marathon is scheduled for January 31, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around September 13, 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 Miami 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 Miami 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 Life Time Miami Marathon is heat work, not hill work. Race morning averages 66 degrees and 80 percent humidity, and most runners building for a late January race are doing it through a northern winter. Do every long run in cold air and the first warm mile of the race is a shock you cannot take back.

What if the 20-week Miami 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 Miami Marathon a fast course?

It is a flat course, which is not the same thing. The Life Time Miami Marathon sits between 1 and 35 feet above sea level with only 254 feet of climbing, but race morning averages 66 degrees and 80 percent humidity. The terrain is fast and the air is slow, and the air usually wins the argument.

How hot is the Miami Marathon?

Race morning at the end of January has averaged 66 degrees with 80 percent humidity under clear skies, warming toward a daily high near 77. The sun is up for most of the race and the causeway crossings offer no shade at all. Runners coming from cold climates should build deliberate heat exposure into the final six weeks.

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.