Foundation
Weeks 1–6
Dec 27, 2026–Feb 6, 2027
Set the routine, grow easy volume gradually, and finish each week with enough control to repeat it.
20-Week Ogden Marathon Training Plan
Ogden, UTMay 15, 2027
Start around December 26, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Ogden Marathon.
The Ogden Marathon starts at a place called Dancing Moose Farm, up in the Ogden Valley near Huntsville, and finishes at 25th and Grant Avenue in downtown Ogden about 1,100 feet lower. Runner's World has called it one of the best courses in America for first-time marathoners, and 1,528 people finished it in 2026.
- Race day
- May 15, 2027
- Start window
- December 26, 2026
- Runway
- 20 weeks
- Course
- Downhill · Point to Point
- 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 Ogden 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 7, 2027–Mar 27, 2027
Extend the long run, introduce race-specific terrain, and keep recovery weeks on the calendar.
Peak
Weeks 14–17
Mar 28, 2027–Apr 24, 2027
Complete the most demanding race rehearsals and settle fueling, pacing, shoes, and clothing before taper begins.
Taper
Weeks 18–20
Apr 25, 2027–May 15, 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 Ogden 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 Ogden
Train for Ogden by teaching your quads to brake for four hours. A course with 1,514 feet of loss and almost no climbing loads the same muscle group in the same eccentric way from the first mile to the last, and there is no uphill section anywhere to hand those muscles a different job. This is the classic downhill-marathon failure and it has nothing to do with aerobic fitness.
Build downhill repeats in gradually, starting around 8 to 10 weeks out with short, gentle descents and adding length before you add steepness. If you can, run a few of your long runs on a net-downhill route so your legs practice the duration of the load rather than just a handful of reps. Soreness for two or three days after the first sessions is normal and is exactly the point.
Then account for altitude. The race runs entirely above 4,290 feet, which is enough to cost a sea-level runner real aerobic capacity without ever feeling dramatic. Either arrive within about 24 hours of the start or give yourself a couple of weeks, and set goal pace a little slower than your flat sea-level fitness promises, then let the descent give it back.
Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans built on the most proven training methodologies in the sport and maps every week between now and race day, which matters on a course like this where the downhill work has to be sequenced rather than crammed in at the end. It is on the App Store.
Ogden Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Downhill · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 398 ft gain, 1,514 ft loss
- Net elevation drop
- About 1,116 ft lower at the finish than the start
- Highest / lowest point
- 5,421 ft / 4,292 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,528 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 8.4% in 2026
- Race day high / low
- 71°F / 45°F on average
Start-line temperature is not listed for this race. The course finishes thousands of feet below where it starts, so the weather recorded in the finish city does not describe the start line.
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 15, 2027.
20-week Ogden Marathon plan questions, answered.
When should I start a 20-week Ogden Marathon plan?
The 2027 Ogden Marathon is scheduled for May 15, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around December 26, 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 Ogden 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 Ogden 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 Ogden by teaching your quads to brake for four hours. A course with 1,514 feet of loss and almost no climbing loads the same muscle group in the same eccentric way from the first mile to the last, and there is no uphill section anywhere to hand those muscles a different job. This is the classic downhill-marathon failure and it has nothing to do with aerobic fitness.
What if the 20-week Ogden 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 Ogden Marathon downhill the whole way?
Effectively yes. The Ogden Marathon drops about 1,514 feet and climbs only around 398, running point to point from roughly 5,421 feet down to 4,292. The organizers describe 'gentle downhills that keep you moving.' The descent through Ogden Canyon comes late in the race rather than early, which is the detail most people miss.
Is the Ogden Marathon a good first marathon?
It is one of the better ones, and Runner's World has named it among the best first-marathon courses in America. More than 1,500 people finish each year, aid stations sit every mile or two late in the race, and the net drop of about 1,100 feet flatters your pace. Train downhill first or your quads will fail regardless.
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.