20-Week Sioux Falls Marathon Training Plan

Sioux Falls, SDSeptember 19, 2027

Start around May 2, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Sioux Falls Marathon.

The Sioux Falls Marathon finishes on the track at Howard Wood Field, which means the last thing you do after 26.2 miles is run part of a lap on a rubberized surface with a stadium around you. It begins at 6:45 a.m. in the parking lot just east of that same stadium.

Race day
September 19, 2027
Start window
May 2, 2027
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 Sioux Falls 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

May 3, 2027–Jun 13, 2027

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

Build

Weeks 7–13

Jun 14, 2027–Aug 1, 2027

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

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Aug 2, 2027–Aug 29, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Aug 30, 2027–Sep 19, 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 Sioux Falls 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 Sioux Falls Marathon

Train for the Sioux Falls Marathon on flat paved trail, and train your pacing rather than your climbing. With roughly 610 feet of gain across the whole distance and long stretches on the city's recreation path, nothing in the terrain will force you to change gear, which means every pacing mistake on race day is entirely yours.

Do your long runs on a bike path if you can find one. Trail surfaces have a slight camber and a repetitive footstrike, and legs that only know varied road terrain notice it around mile 18. Add calf and hip strength work for the same reason. An unvarying stride loads the same tissue over and over with no relief.

Then rehearse the finish. A track finish is worth training for, because your last quarter mile happens on a fast surface with a visible line, and runners who have never practiced a hard close leave time out on the track. Finish two or three long runs with a controlled, genuinely hard 400.

Sioux Falls Marathon course facts

Course
Loop · Mostly Flat · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
613 ft gain, 613 ft loss
Highest / lowest point
1,534 ft / 1,340 ft
Marathon finishers
404 in 2025 (small field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
6.7% in 2025
Typical race morning
57°F at the start, 90% humidity, clear
Race day high / low
74°F / 50°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 September 19, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Sioux Falls Marathon plan questions, answered.

When should I start a 20-week Sioux Falls Marathon plan?

The 2027 Sioux Falls Marathon is scheduled for September 19, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around May 2, 2027. 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 Sioux Falls 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 Sioux Falls 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 the Sioux Falls Marathon on flat paved trail, and train your pacing rather than your climbing. With roughly 610 feet of gain across the whole distance and long stretches on the city's recreation path, nothing in the terrain will force you to change gear, which means every pacing mistake on race day is entirely yours.

What if the 20-week Sioux Falls 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 Sioux Falls Marathon flat?

Close to it. The Sioux Falls Marathon covers about 610 feet of climbing across 26.2 miles inside a range of under 200 feet, with much of the route on the city's paved recreation trail system. There is no hill worth planning around. The challenge is pacing discipline on terrain that never changes.

Where does the Sioux Falls Marathon start and finish?

It starts at 6:45 a.m. in the large parking lot east of Howard Wood Field and finishes on the stadium track. In between, the route passes through the historic district, downtown Sioux Falls, Falls Park on North Phillips Avenue, Terrace Park and Fawick Park, plus a long southern residential and trail loop.

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.