Mon
Rest
Rest
4-Day Ogden Marathon Training Plan
Ogden, UTMay 15, 2027
Four runs per week for 18 weeks: two easy runs, one midweek aerobic run, and one long run. The schedule stays fixed; the guidance below shows how to choose terrain, rehearse conditions, and prepare for the Ogden Marathon course.
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
- 18-week window
- Around January 9, 2027
- Course
- Downhill · Point to Point
- Peak week
- 40 miles
- Longest run
- 20 miles
Your complete Ogden Marathon schedule
The 18-week window opens around January 9, 2027. Weeks one through 17 keep the normal Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday rhythm. Only race week moves so the marathon lands on its actual weekday. If the window has passed, do not skip ahead or cram missed mileage into the time left.
Open any week to see all seven days. Week 1 is open to start.
1Week 1Foundation · 15 mi
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Easy
3 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
6 mi long run, conversational effort
2Week 2Foundation · 17 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Easy
4 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
7 mi long run, conversational effort
3Week 3Recovery week · 15 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 20 min gentle mobility
Thu
Easy
3 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
6 mi long run, conversational effort
4Week 4Build · 19 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run + 4 relaxed strides
Sun
Long run
8 mi long run, conversational effort
5Week 5Build · 22 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
10 mi long run; practice fluids
6Week 6Recovery week · 18 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
4 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
8 mi long run, conversational effort
7Week 7Build · 25 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Quality
6 mi steady run; final 1 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
12 mi long run; practice fuel and fluids
8Week 8Recovery week · 23 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run + 4 relaxed strides
Sun
Long run
10 mi long run, conversational effort
9Week 9Build · 29 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Quality
7 mi steady run; middle 2 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
14 mi long run; use race-day fuel timing
10Week 10Recovery week · 24 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
11 mi long run, conversational effort
11Week 11Build · 32 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
5 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Quality
7 mi steady run; final 2 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
16 mi long run; rehearse fuel, fluids, and kit
12Week 12Recovery week · 26 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
6 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run + 4 relaxed strides
Sun
Long run
12 mi long run, conversational effort
13Week 13Peak week · 36 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
5 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Quality
8 mi steady run; middle 3 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
5 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
18 mi long run; full race-day fueling rehearsal
14Week 14Recovery week · 29 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
5 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
6 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
14 mi long run, conversational effort
15Week 15Peak week · 40 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
6 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Quality
9 mi steady run; middle 4 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
5 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
20 mi long run; complete race-day rehearsal
16Week 16Taper · 26 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
25 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Quality
6 mi relaxed run; 2 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
12 mi long run, controlled effort
17Week 17Taper · 18 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 20 min gentle mobility
Thu
Easy
4 mi relaxed run + 4 short strides
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
8 mi long run, conversational effort
18Week 18Taper · 8 mi + race
Sun
Rest
Rest
Mon
Easy
3 mi easy run
Tue
Rest
Rest or 15 min gentle mobility
Wed
Easy
3 mi easy run + 4 short strides
Thu
Rest
Rest
Fri
Easy
2 mi shakeout, or rest
Sat
Race
Marathon — 26.2 mi
This free plan is complete, fixed, and ready to use.
It begins at 15 miles per week, peaks at 40, and asks you to manage schedule changes and missed training yourself.
A Stride plan ranks from your running, then dates to race day.
Current mileage, recent longest run, marathon experience, goal, and available days decide which plans rank first.
How to use this plan for Ogden Marathon
The mileage builds your engine. Your long-run route, pacing, fueling, and clothing rehearsals make that fitness specific to this race.
How 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.
Keep the plan honest. This free schedule contains no speedwork. Apply the course guidance through route choice and race rehearsal without turning easy days into extra workouts. If your goal calls for marathon-pace work, compare it with First Marathon Plus.
Match the terrain
Use some of your Ogden Marathon long runs to practice controlled descending on tired legs. Add downhill exposure gradually; the goal is durable quads, not turning every easy run into a hard one.
Rehearse race morning
Ogden in mid-May averages a 45F low and a 71F high, which is close to ideal by the time you reach town. The start line is a different story, sitting more than 1,100 feet above the finish up in the valley, and the organizers warn runners to expect near-freezing conditions there. Bussing to the start is mandatory, so you will be standing outside a long time before the gun. Bring layers you are happy to abandon.
Prepare for the hard part
The Ogden Canyon descent late in the race, because it arrives after roughly 20 miles of downhill have already loaded your quads.
Check the starting line before you commit.
Beginner-friendly does not mean couch-to-marathon. Week one asks for four runs, 15 total miles, and a six-mile long run.
- Fifteen miles in week one is close to the volume you already handle.
- You can protect four run days most weeks, including a weekend long run.
- Your priority is a steady first-marathon build without speedwork.
- You can start around January 9, 2027 without forcing the early weeks.
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.
Ogden Marathon questions, answered.
When should I start this 18-week Ogden Marathon plan?
The 2027 Ogden Marathon is scheduled for May 15, 2027, so the 18-week window opens around January 9, 2027. Weeks one through 17 keep the normal weekly rhythm and Sunday long run; only the final race week shifts to the event's actual weekday. If that date has already passed, do not compress 18 weeks of mileage into a shorter window.
How should I adapt the four-day plan for the Ogden Marathon course?
Use some of your Ogden Marathon long runs to practice controlled descending on tired legs. Add downhill exposure gradually; the goal is durable quads, not turning every easy run into a hard one. 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.
Is four days a week enough to train for the Ogden Marathon?
Four run days can be enough when 15 miles in week one is not a sudden jump and you can protect the long run most weeks. This schedule builds to a 40-mile peak and a 20-mile long run. A runner chasing an aggressive time or already supporting more volume may fit a higher-mileage plan better.
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.
The same four-day schedule, shaped around the course ahead.
Choose your race for its current date, course profile, typical race-morning conditions, and specific long-run guidance.