20-Week Myrtle Beach Marathon Training Plan

Myrtle Beach, SCMarch 6, 2027

Start around October 17, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Myrtle Beach Marathon.

The Myrtle Beach Marathon runs its entire 26.2 miles between about 5 and 41 feet above sea level. There is no hill on this course, no bridge worth the name, and no descent. It starts at 6:35 a.m. in the parking lot at the Pelicans ballpark on 21st Avenue North and works its way along Kings Highway and Ocean Boulevard with the Atlantic a block away for long stretches.

Race day
March 6, 2027
Start window
October 17, 2026
Runway
20 weeks
Course
Very 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 Myrtle Beach 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 18, 2026–Nov 28, 2026

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

Build

Weeks 7–13

Nov 29, 2026–Jan 16, 2027

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

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Jan 17, 2027–Feb 13, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Feb 14, 2027–Mar 6, 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 Myrtle Beach 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 Myrtle Beach Marathon

Train for Myrtle Beach the way you would train for a track race that lasts three or four hours. On a course that never rises above 41 feet, your calves, soleus and hip flexors do the same work at the same angle for the entire distance, and that repetitive loading is what fails at mile 21, not your aerobic fitness. Flat courses are gentler on the cardiovascular system and harder on connective tissue.

So build long runs on the flattest ground available and finish them at goal pace. Add calf and soleus strength work twice a week, single leg heel raises and eccentric lowers, from early in the block. Runners who do all their long runs on rolling terrain get micro recovery every time the grade changes, and this race gives none of that.

The other half of the plan is wind. Coastal March mornings bring a breeze off the water, typically around 8 mph from the west southwest, and on open beachfront road that is worth real time and a lot of morale. Deliberately run some long efforts into the wind on the return half so you have felt the difference between a headwind that costs you 10 seconds a mile and one that only feels like it does.

Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans built on the most proven training methodologies in the sport, then maps every week from today to a sea level start line.

Myrtle Beach Marathon course facts

Course
Loop · Very Flat · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
283 ft gain, 280 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
41 ft / 5 ft
Marathon finishers
1,674 in 2026 (mid-size field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
6.1% in 2026
Typical race morning
50°F at the start, 71% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
62°F / 42°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 6, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Myrtle Beach Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 20-week Myrtle Beach Marathon plan?

The 2027 Myrtle Beach Marathon is scheduled for March 6, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around October 17, 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 Myrtle Beach 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 Myrtle Beach 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 Myrtle Beach the way you would train for a track race that lasts three or four hours. On a course that never rises above 41 feet, your calves, soleus and hip flexors do the same work at the same angle for the entire distance, and that repetitive loading is what fails at mile 21, not your aerobic fitness. Flat courses are gentler on the cardiovascular system and harder on connective tissue.

What if the 20-week Myrtle Beach 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 flat is the Myrtle Beach Marathon?

As flat as marathons get. The course runs between about 5 and 41 feet above sea level with roughly 283 feet of total climbing across 26.2 miles. There is no hill, no bridge climb and no descent. Your pace will be decided by wind, heat and pacing discipline rather than by the profile.

Does wind affect the Myrtle Beach Marathon?

It is the main variable. Race morning typically has a west southwest breeze near 8 mph, and long stretches of exposed oceanfront road offer nothing to hide behind. Train by running into the wind on the second half of long runs so you have rehearsed both the pace cost and the mental cost of it.

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.