Mon
Rest
Rest
4-Day Utah Valley Marathon Training Plan
Provo, UTJune 5, 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 Utah Valley Marathon course.
The Utah Valley Marathon starts at 6:00 a.m. on East Main Canyon Road above Wallsburg, runs past Deer Creek Reservoir and down Provo Canyon alongside the Provo River past Bridal Veil Falls, and finishes on Center Street in Provo about 1,435 feet lower than it began. 1,519 people finished it in 2026. The organizers state a net loss of 1,444 feet, so both accounts agree on the shape of the thing.
- Race day
- June 5, 2027
- 18-week window
- Around January 30, 2027
- Course
- Downhill · Point to Point
- Peak week
- 40 miles
- Longest run
- 20 miles
Your complete Utah Valley Marathon schedule
The 18-week window opens around January 30, 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 Utah Valley 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 Utah Valley Marathon
Train for the Utah Valley Marathon around eccentric quad durability, because 1,830 feet of cumulative descent will find any weakness there. Begin downhill work 10 to 12 weeks out and progress slowly, since descending causes muscle damage that needs longer recovery than flat running. Six to eight repeats of 60 to 90 seconds on a moderate grade is a reasonable start.
The session that actually transfers is a long run whose final 8 to 10 miles are downhill at goal marathon effort. Descending on fresh legs teaches you nothing. Descending on legs that are already 90 minutes tired teaches you exactly what mile 20 will feel like. Keep your cadence quick and your stride short, land under yourself, and stop braking with a locked knee.
If you live near sea level, plan for altitude honestly. Every mile of this race is run around a mile above sea level, and your pace at that altitude will not match your flatland pace no matter how well you feel in the opening miles, which is exactly where the descent tempts you to run too fast. Set your goal by effort for the opening miles and let the course give you the time back.
Then rehearse the morning. A 2:30 a.m. alarm, a bus, and a long wait in the cold before running a marathon is a specific experience. Do two long runs that start at 5 a.m. after a deliberately short night, eat your race breakfast at 3 a.m. at least once, and practice standing around in throwaway layers you can shed at the line. The organizers tell runners to bring warm clothes for the start, and they mean 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
Use some of your Utah Valley 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
The start sits high above the valley in a canyon, and the organizers tell runners to plan for a cold start line and to bring warmer layers, while the day itself warms toward an average high near 76F against an average low near 49F. So you get a chilly wait, a cool first hour, and a distinctly warmer finish. Train with throwaway layers and rehearse the transition from standing cold to racing within a few minutes.
Prepare for the hard part
Miles 20 to 26 on the flatter run into Provo, where quads that have absorbed roughly 1,830 feet of descent have to keep turning over with no more downhill help coming.
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 30, 2027 without forcing the early weeks.
Utah Valley Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Downhill · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 395 ft gain, 1,830 ft loss
- Net elevation drop
- About 1,435 ft lower at the finish than the start
- Highest / lowest point
- 5,986 ft / 4,549 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,519 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 13.1% in 2026
- Race day high / low
- 76°F / 49°F on average
Boston qualifying note. This course sits close to a threshold in the Boston Marathon's net-downhill index, so check the BAA's current ruling before counting on a qualifying time from it.
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.
Utah Valley Marathon questions, answered.
When should I start this 18-week Utah Valley Marathon plan?
The 2027 Utah Valley Marathon is scheduled for June 5, 2027, so the 18-week window opens around January 30, 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 Utah Valley Marathon course?
Use some of your Utah Valley 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 the Utah Valley Marathon around eccentric quad durability, because 1,830 feet of cumulative descent will find any weakness there. Begin downhill work 10 to 12 weeks out and progress slowly, since descending causes muscle damage that needs longer recovery than flat running. Six to eight repeats of 60 to 90 seconds on a moderate grade is a reasonable start.
Is four days a week enough to train for the Utah Valley 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.
How much does the Utah Valley Marathon drop?
About 1,435 feet net, with the organizers stating 1,444. Cumulatively it descends roughly 1,830 feet while climbing about 395, running from a high near 5,990 feet down to about 4,550. That is a substantial descent with real climbing folded in, so it is not a pure downhill from gun to finish.
Is the Utah Valley Marathon run at altitude?
Yes, the entire course. It runs between roughly 4,550 and 5,990 feet, so every mile sits around a mile above sea level. Runners coming from low elevation should expect their effort at a given pace to be higher than at home, particularly in the early miles where the descent tempts you to run fast.
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.