Foundation
Weeks 1–6
Jul 27, 2026–Sep 6, 2026
Set the routine, grow easy volume gradually, and finish each week with enough control to repeat it.
20-Week Palm Beaches Marathon Training Plan
West Palm Beach, FLDecember 13, 2026
Start around July 26, 2026. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Palm Beaches Marathon.
The Palm Beaches Marathon accumulates 88 feet of climbing over 26.2 miles. Not 880. The course sits between roughly 1 and 11 feet above sea level along Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, which makes it about as flat as a marathon can physically be. The ground is not what makes this race hard.
- Race day
- December 13, 2026
- Start window
- July 26, 2026
- Runway
- 20 weeks
- Course
- Very Flat · Multiple Out and Backs
- 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 Palm Beaches 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
Sep 7, 2026–Oct 25, 2026
Extend the long run, introduce race-specific terrain, and keep recovery weeks on the calendar.
Peak
Weeks 14–17
Oct 26, 2026–Nov 22, 2026
Complete the most demanding race rehearsals and settle fueling, pacing, shoes, and clothing before taper begins.
Taper
Weeks 18–20
Nov 23, 2026–Dec 13, 2026
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 Palm Beaches 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 Palm Beaches
Training for the Palm Beaches Marathon is heat acclimation first and pacing discipline second. A start near 71F with 83% humidity means your body is shedding heat the entire race, and a course this flat gives you no terrain excuse to back off. Runners who train in cool weather and race here typically fade from mile 18 onward.
Get heat exposure deliberately. Over the last six to eight weeks, run at least two sessions a week in the warmest, most humid part of the day rather than the coolest. Ten to fourteen exposures is enough to change how much you sweat and how early you start. If your October and November are cold, over-dressing on easy runs is a workable substitute.
Then handle the sameness. On a course with 88 feet of gain, nothing forces a change of gear, so your form and your fueling have to survive three-plus hours of identical demand. Do two long runs on the flattest route you can find, at goal pace, and pay attention to what starts hurting. On flat ground it will be the same thing every time, and it shows up early.
Palm Beaches Marathon course facts
- Course
- Multiple Out and Backs · Very Flat · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 88 ft gain, 88 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 11 ft / 1 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 886 in 2025 (small field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 2.9% in 2025
- Typical race morning
- 71°F at the start, 83% humidity, partially cloudy
- Race day high / low
- 77°F / 62°F on average
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 December 13, 2026.
20-week Palm Beaches Marathon plan questions, answered.
When should I start a 20-week Palm Beaches Marathon plan?
The 2026 Palm Beaches Marathon is scheduled for December 13, 2026, so the 20-week window opens around July 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 Palm Beaches 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 Palm Beaches 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 Palm Beaches Marathon is heat acclimation first and pacing discipline second. A start near 71F with 83% humidity means your body is shedding heat the entire race, and a course this flat gives you no terrain excuse to back off. Runners who train in cool weather and race here typically fade from mile 18 onward.
What if the 20-week Palm Beaches 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 Palm Beaches Marathon flat?
Yes, genuinely. The course runs between about 1 and 11 feet of elevation and accumulates only 88 feet of total climbing over 26.2 miles, with no net drop. There is no hill anywhere on the route. It is one of the flatter certified marathon courses a runner can enter.
What is the weather like at the Palm Beaches Marathon?
Warm and humid. Mid-December race mornings in West Palm Beach average around 71F with humidity near 83% and a light easterly breeze, warming toward a high near 77F. The 6 a.m. start helps, but heat is the limiting factor here and it should shape both your pacing and your training.
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.