bg26.2 Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Bowling Green, KYNovember 1, 2026
The bg26.2 Marathon is one 13.1 mile loop run twice, starting and finishing at Bowling Green Ballpark and passing through historic downtown Bowling Green and the Western Kentucky University campus each time around. In 2025, 92 people finished it. Field size has sat between 84 and 96 finishers every year since 2021.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Two laps changes how you race. You get a full rehearsal of the second half before you have to run it, which is a gift if you use it and a trap if you spend the first lap proving something.
38 days to race day
bg26.2 Marathon · November 1, 2026 · about 5 weeks out
Your plan starts with your race and works backward. Every week lands on a real calendar, with race day at the end.
When to start training for the bg26.2 Marathon 2026
Race day is November 1, 2026, which is 38 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildWindow has passed
- 24-week buildWindow has passed
- 18-week buildWindow has passed
- 16-week buildWindow has passed
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsWindow has passed
You have about 5 weeks until race day, which is inside the shortest build Stride matches. Stride won’t pretend there is room for a responsible full build. You can still use the finder to check your starting point, then choose a later race if this runway is too short.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
bg26.2 Marathon course facts
- Course
- Multiple Loops · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 1,329 ft gain, 1,329 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 618 ft / 476 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 92 in 2025 (very small field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 1.1% in 2025
- Typical race morning
- 47°F at the start, 84% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 65°F / 41°F on average
Let’s find the plan for you.
Your race, current mileage, longest run, marathon experience, and available days decide the best fit. Stride maps the plan you choose to race day at the bg26.2 Marathon.
- Stride Run-Walk FinisherThree sessions a week with planned walk breaks, cover the full distance before race day.
- Stride First MarathonThe classic four-day first-marathon build: easy running and one weekly long run, no speedwork.
- Stride First Marathon PlusA first-marathon build with a little more volume and weekly race-pace miles.
- Stride 6-Day FinisherFinish your first marathon on frequency: six easy-leaning runs a week, no monster long runs.
- Stride 5-Day Pace BuilderFive days a week with race-pace runs before your long runs, built for a mid-pack time goal.
- Stride 6-Day RhythmSix days a week with three quality sessions, steady fatigue that teaches you to finish strong.
- Stride Time-Based FoundationFive time-based runs a week, mostly easy, the injury-averse way to a strong finish.
- Stride Time-Based BuilderSix time-based runs a week at a strict 80% easy / 20% hard split, chase a time goal without breaking.
- Stride 3-Day Cross-TrainThree runs plus two cross-training days over 24 weeks, marathon fitness on a busy schedule.
- Stride 3-Day QualityExactly three hard runs plus two mandatory cross-training sessions, every workout counts.
- Stride 6-Day CumulativeThe six-day cumulative-fatigue build with quality from week two, for PR chasers with a base.
- Stride Threshold 55The serious BQ/PR build to 55 miles a week: threshold work, medium-long runs, and 20-milers.
- Stride Threshold 70The high-mileage BQ/PR build to 70 miles a week for veterans with a deep base.
- Stride 2-Quality FlexTwo fixed quality sessions a week, everything else flexible easy running, fits any schedule.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Choose your bg26.2 Marathon training window.
Compare 12, 16, 18, and 20 weeks counted back from race day. The 18-week option includes the complete four-day schedule.
The course: a 13.1 mile loop, run twice, with 1,329 feet of climbing hidden in small pieces
The bg26.2 course covers about 1,329 feet of climbing and the same amount of descent, but the whole route lives between 476 and 618 feet of elevation. That is roughly 142 feet of range and more than 1,300 feet of accumulated gain, which only happens when the road tips up and down constantly and never stays anywhere for long.
There is no signature hill to point at here, and that is the honest description. What you get instead is a road that keeps changing pitch under you, twice, on a route that runs through downtown and up onto the university campus. The race cones off lanes on University Boulevard, Fairview Avenue, Kentucky Street and Adams Street, and leaves the side streets open to traffic, so you are sharing the road in places rather than running a sealed city course.
Marathoners pass five timing checkpoints. The start is 7:00 a.m. Central at the ballpark on 8th Avenue, and course support ends at 1:00 p.m.
How to train for the bg26.2 Marathon
Train for bg26.2 on continuously rolling roads rather than on hill repeats. The course delivers its 1,329 feet of climbing in dozens of small doses, so the skill it rewards is holding steady effort while your pace swings, not surviving one big climb. Find a route that undulates for two hours and run it by breathing, not by watch.
Build the second lap into your long runs. Do at least two of them as a repeated loop of six to eight miles so you learn what it feels like to start a piece of road you already ran an hour ago. That familiarity is the whole strategic advantage of this format, and runners who ignore it tend to go out too hard on lap one because the course feels easy while they are fresh.
Then practice running alone. With fewer than a hundred finishers, there is no pack to hide in and no wall of runners to pull you along after mile 16. Do three long runs solo at goal effort so that generating your own pace on a quiet street is something you have already done.
Getting in
Getting in is easy. The race has finished between 84 and 96 people a year since 2021, so it does not sell out, and entry prices step up as race day approaches rather than closing. Minimum age is 16 and there are no refunds for any event. The one thing to get right is packet pickup: it runs Saturday evening at the ballpark concourse, and race morning pickup closes hard at 6:30 a.m. for a 7:00 a.m. start.
Where does the bg26.2 Marathon get hard?
The second lap from about mile 14 onward, when the rollers you already ran once come back and there is almost nobody left on the road with you.
What is the weather like at the bg26.2 Marathon?
Race morning in Bowling Green typically starts near 47F with humidity around 84%, clear skies and a light north wind, then climbs toward an average high of 65F. That is a cold start and a genuinely warm finish for anyone out past four and a half hours. Dress for mile 8, not for the start line, and get some late-morning long runs in so the second lap does not surprise you.
Is the bg26.2 Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
bg26.2 is a USATF certified, Boston eligible course, but very few people qualify on it. Just 1.1% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2025 and 1.0% in 2024, down from 4.8% in 2023 and 5.6% in 2021. The start and finish are the same place with no net drop, so there is no downhill adjustment to worry about. If a qualifier is the point of your season, this is a hard place to get one.
Is the bg26.2 Marathon a good first marathon?
It can work as a first marathon, but the cutoff is not generous. There is a six hour limit, you have to hold roughly 14:00 per mile, and you must reach halfway within three hours. If you are confident of finishing inside that, the two lap format is friendly for a first timer because your people can see you four times without moving.
bg26.2 Marathon questions, answered.
Is the bg26.2 Marathon hilly?
It is rolling rather than hilly. The bg26.2 course gains about 1,329 feet across 26.2 miles but never leaves a 142 foot band between 476 and 618 feet, so the climbing arrives as constant small changes in pitch instead of one long ascent. Train on undulating roads and run by effort.
How big is the bg26.2 Marathon?
Small. 92 runners finished the marathon in 2025, 96 in 2024 and 84 in 2023. You will run long stretches alone, especially on the second lap, and some side streets stay open to traffic. Runners who like a quiet, low key race day love it. If you need a crowd, look elsewhere.
Is bg26.2 a good Boston qualifier?
Not really. The course is USATF certified and Boston eligible, but only 1.1% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2025 and 1.0% did in 2024. The rate was higher earlier, at 4.8% in 2023 and 5.6% in 2021. Choose it for the format and the town, not for a fast time.
What is the time limit for the bg26.2 Marathon?
Six hours, with a midpoint gate. Marathoners must hold roughly 14:00 per mile and reach the 13.1 mile point within three hours of the 7:00 a.m. start, and course support ends at 1:00 p.m. If your realistic finish is over five and a half hours, build in a cushion during the first lap.
Where does the bg26.2 Marathon get hard?
The second lap from about mile 14 onward, when the rollers you already ran once come back and there is almost nobody left on the road with you.
What is the weather like at the bg26.2 Marathon?
Race morning in Bowling Green typically starts near 47F with humidity around 84%, clear skies and a light north wind, then climbs toward an average high of 65F. That is a cold start and a genuinely warm finish for anyone out past four and a half hours. Dress for mile 8, not for the start line, and get some late-morning long runs in so the second lap does not surprise you.
Is the bg26.2 Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
bg26.2 is a USATF certified, Boston eligible course, but very few people qualify on it. Just 1.1% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2025 and 1.0% in 2024, down from 4.8% in 2023 and 5.6% in 2021. The start and finish are the same place with no net drop, so there is no downhill adjustment to worry about. If a qualifier is the point of your season, this is a hard place to get one.
Is the bg26.2 Marathon a good first marathon?
It can work as a first marathon, but the cutoff is not generous. There is a six hour limit, you have to hold roughly 14:00 per mile, and you must reach halfway within three hours. If you are confident of finishing inside that, the two lap format is friendly for a first timer because your people can see you four times without moving.
When should I start training for the bg26.2 Marathon 2026?
Race day is November 1, 2026. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around June 14, 2026, a 16-week build around July 12, 2026, and a 12-week build around August 9, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's bg26.2 Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the bg26.2 Marathon as your race, and answer a few questions about your recent running and your weekly schedule. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans, maps every week from today to November 1, 2026, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
Choosing a training app?
A bg26.2 Marathon buildup is months of your life. See how Stride compares before you commit it to an app.
Find your plan.
Your race, current mileage, recent longest run, goal, and run days determine which plans rank first. Choose one and subscribe, then open every workout in Stride.