Mon
Rest
Rest
4-Day Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Training Plan
Oklahoma City, OKApril 25, 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 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon course.
The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon starts with 168 seconds of silence, one for each person killed in the 1995 bombing, and then runs past 168 banners carrying their names. The gun goes at 6:30 a.m. at the 9:03 Gate of the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Nothing else about the morning feels like a normal road race.
- Race day
- April 25, 2027
- 18-week window
- Around December 20, 2026
- Course
- Rolling Hills · Loop
- Peak week
- 40 miles
- Longest run
- 20 miles
Your complete Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon schedule
The 18-week window opens around December 20, 2026. 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
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Rest
Rest or 15 min gentle mobility
Thu
Easy
3 mi easy run + 4 short strides
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
2 mi shakeout, or rest
Sun
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 Oklahoma City Memorial 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 the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
Heat is the training priority in Oklahoma City. Race morning norms are 56F with 85% humidity at the 6:30 a.m. start, climbing toward an average high of 68F, so a four and a half hour finisher runs the entire back half warm and damp. Spend your last three weeks doing some running in the heat of the day.
The second priority is running rollers by effort. Across 758 feet of small climbs, a runner watching pace will surge up every rise and lose the race in fifty separate pieces. Practice long runs on rolling ground where you deliberately let pace drift twenty seconds slower uphill and take it back on the way down.
Then practice drinking. High humidity blunts evaporative cooling, so you sweat more and cool less. Rehearse your fluid and sodium plan in warm conditions during training instead of testing it for the first time on a course where the temperature climbs ten degrees while you're on it.
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
Run part of your Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon long-run mileage on terrain that rises and falls. Hold effort steady on climbs, let pace change, and practice cresting without surging.
Rehearse race morning
Race morning typically starts near 56F with 85% humidity under overcast skies and a 9 mph southerly, warming to an average high of 68F. That's a warm, sticky start for a spring marathon, and it keeps warming while you run. Train some long runs at midday in the final weeks so your fluid plan has been tested rather than theorized.
Prepare for the hard part
After mile 20, when the last of 758 feet of rolling climb meets a temperature that has been rising since the 6:30 a.m. start.
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 December 20, 2026 without forcing the early weeks.
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon course facts
- Course
- Loop · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 758 ft gain, 778 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 1,266 ft / 1,121 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 2,527 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 2.8% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 56°F at the start, 85% humidity, overcast
- Race day high / low
- 68°F / 51°F on average
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon questions, answered.
When should I start this 18-week Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon plan?
The 2027 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon is scheduled for April 25, 2027, so the 18-week window opens around December 20, 2026. 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 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon course?
Run part of your Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon long-run mileage on terrain that rises and falls. Hold effort steady on climbs, let pace change, and practice cresting without surging. Heat is the training priority in Oklahoma City. Race morning norms are 56F with 85% humidity at the 6:30 a.m. start, climbing toward an average high of 68F, so a four and a half hour finisher runs the entire back half warm and damp. Spend your last three weeks doing some running in the heat of the day.
Is four days a week enough to train for the Oklahoma City Memorial 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.
What are the 168 seconds of silence at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon?
Before the 6:30 a.m. start, the race observes 168 seconds of silence, one second for each person killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Announcements begin at 6:00 a.m. Along the course, 168 banners carry the names of those killed. The race says runners call it the most moving start anywhere.
Is the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon hilly?
It's rolling rather than hilly. The loop climbs 758 feet and descends 778, a net drop of 20 feet, so nothing is steep, including the named Gorilla Hill. The difficulty is cumulative: constant small rises with no long descent to recover on, and it shows up after mile 20.
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.