20-Week Steamtown Marathon Training Plan

Scranton, PAOctober 10, 2027

Start around May 23, 2027. The calendar below gives each phase a real date, then the course guidance shows where to make the build specific to Steamtown Marathon.

The Steamtown Marathon saves a hill for your last mile. Cooper's Hill begins at 25.41 and it is the final obstacle before the courthouse in Scranton, on a course that has dropped 953 feet from Forest City and opened with what the organizers themselves write in capitals as a VERY STEEP DOWNHILL, less than a mile in.

Race day
October 10, 2027
Start window
May 23, 2027
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 Steamtown 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 24, 2027–Jul 4, 2027

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

Build

Weeks 7–13

Jul 5, 2027–Aug 22, 2027

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

Peak

Weeks 14–17

Aug 23, 2027–Sep 19, 2027

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

Taper

Weeks 18–20

Sep 20, 2027–Oct 10, 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 Steamtown 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 Steamtown Marathon

Train for the Steamtown Marathon in two separate blocks of work: eccentric quad durability for the 953 foot drop, and the ability to climb on emptied legs for Cooper's Hill at mile 25.41. Most downhill-marathon advice covers only the first of those, which is exactly why the last mile catches people out.

For the descent, build downhill running progressively from about twelve weeks out. Two or three miles of moderate grade inside a long run at goal effort, growing toward eight or ten. Quick short steps, no braking and no leaning back. Run something genuinely steep at least twice, because mile one here is steeper than anything else on the course.

For the finish, do the thing almost nobody does: end three or four long runs with a hard climb in the final mile, on legs already emptied by descent. Find a hill near home, run eighteen miles down toward it, and go up it at marathon effort. That single session is worth more here than an extra tempo run.

Train for the surface changes too. The route uses rails-to-trails sections, so your feet move between road and path more than once. Mix a few miles of crushed path into long runs so the transition is not new information at mile 14.

Steamtown Marathon course facts

Course
Point to Point · Downhill · Road/Pavement
Elevation gain / loss
518 ft gain, 1,471 ft loss
Net elevation drop
About 953 ft lower at the finish than the start
Highest / lowest point
1,698 ft / 713 ft
Marathon finishers
892 in 2025 (small field)
Boston qualifier
Certified Boston qualifying course
Finishers running a qualifying time
18.2% in 2025
Typical race morning
42°F at the start, 75% humidity
Race day high / low
64°F / 43°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 October 10, 2027.

Build My Plan

20-week Steamtown Marathon plan questions, answered.

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

The 2027 Steamtown Marathon is scheduled for October 10, 2027, so the 20-week window opens around May 23, 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 Steamtown 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 Steamtown 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 Steamtown Marathon in two separate blocks of work: eccentric quad durability for the 953 foot drop, and the ability to climb on emptied legs for Cooper's Hill at mile 25.41. Most downhill-marathon advice covers only the first of those, which is exactly why the last mile catches people out.

What if the 20-week Steamtown 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 steep is the Steamtown Marathon downhill?

The Steamtown Marathon drops 953 feet net, losing 1,471 feet and gaining 518 across 26.2 miles. The steepest part comes almost immediately, at 0.95 miles, where the course turns onto Dundaff Street on a descent the organizers write in capitals as VERY STEEP DOWNHILL. Most of the damage is done early.

What is Cooper's Hill at the Steamtown Marathon?

Cooper's Hill is the climb starting at mile 25.41, the last obstacle before the finish at Courthouse Square in Scranton. After twenty-five miles of descent your quads are trained to brake rather than push, so a short climb there costs far more than its size suggests. Train for it specifically.

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.