Big Sur International Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Carmel, CAApril 25, 2027
Highway 1 shuts down for this race, and it reopens at 1 p.m. whether you have finished or not. That single permit condition sets everything else about the Big Sur International Marathon: a 6:45 a.m. start, a hard six-hour limit that works out to roughly 13:45 per mile, and a course that gives you almost no flat road to make up time on. The organizers point out that this highway is the only access for a 90-mile stretch of the central California coast, so the cutoff is real.
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They call the course point to point and moderately difficult, which undersells the middle of it. You run north from Big Sur to Carmel through redwoods and ranchland with the Pacific on your left, and the organizers' own elevation figures put the climbing above 2,000 feet with slightly more descent than that. Train for the distance and you will still be walking by mile 22. Train for this profile and the hills become the reason you came.
213 days to race day
Big Sur International Marathon · April 25, 2027 · about 30 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 Big Sur International Marathon 2027
Race day is April 25, 2027, which is 213 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildStart September 27, 2026
- 24-week buildStart November 8, 2026
- 18-week buildStart December 20, 2026
- 16-week buildStart January 3, 2027
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart January 31, 2027
You have about 30 weeks until race day, so there is still room for a full build. Stride reads the runway you actually have and maps every week from today to April 25, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Big Sur International Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Hilly · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 1,654 ft gain, 1,949 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 578 ft / 8 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 3,222 in 2026 (large field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 4.5% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 51°F at the start, 88% humidity, partly cloudy
- Race day high / low
- 61°F / 46°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 Big Sur International 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 Big Sur International 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: Hurricane Point, then the piano at Bixby Bridge
The Big Sur International Marathon's defining stretch is the long climb to Hurricane Point, where taiko drummers play partway up, followed by the drop to Bixby Bridge at the 13.1 halfway mark, where a pianist in a tuxedo plays a grand piano as you cross. That sequence, climb and then descent, is the race in miniature.
The rolling does not stop after halfway. Gels come at miles 12.2 and 19.0, and the strawberry station at mile 23.2 exists because by then you want a reason to keep moving. What makes the second half expensive is not any single climb but the accumulation. Every late rise arrives in quads that already paid for Hurricane Point and the long descent off it.
How to train for Big Sur
Training for Big Sur means training both directions on hills. Runners lose this race on the descents rather than the climbs, because the muscle damage from running downhill hard shows up later as an inability to climb at all. Put hills inside your long runs, not only in your workouts, and run the downhills under control instead of coasting them.
Two specifics. Practice sustained climbing of 15 to 20 minutes at easy effort, so Hurricane Point feels like a gear you own rather than an emergency. Then build your last few long runs on a rolling out-and-back, so your legs learn to keep turning over on a rise at mile 20. If the six-hour cutoff is anywhere near your realistic finish, build the long run by time on feet rather than distance, and know your honest pace before race week rather than during it.
Getting in
Most entries come through a random drawing, which costs nothing to enter and only charges you if you are selected. There is also a limited first-come VIP entry capped at 400 runners, guaranteed spots through official charity partners, hotel packages through the race's travel partner, and a separate Boston 2 Big Sur entry for Boston qualifiers. The race caps out near 5,000 runners and no longer runs a transfer program, so an entry you cannot use is an entry you lose.
Where does the Big Sur International Marathon get hard?
The climb to Hurricane Point before the halfway bridge is the famous part, but the race breaks people in the last 6 miles, when rolling terrain meets quads already emptied by the long descents.
What is the weather like at the Big Sur International Marathon?
Race morning at Big Sur averages around 51 degrees at the start under partly cloudy skies, with high humidity and a warm-up into the low 60s by late morning. The organizers warn about a sometimes fierce headwind off the ocean, which is the detail that matters most for training. Finish some of your long runs into the wind rather than with it, because you will spend hours on an exposed coast road with nothing blocking it.
Is the Big Sur International Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Big Sur is USATF certified and Boston eligible, but very few people qualify here. About 4.5 percent of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026, and the rate has sat between roughly 3.5 and 7.3 percent across recent years. Pick this race because you want to run Highway 1. If you need the qualifier itself, earn it somewhere flatter and come here for the road.
Is the Big Sur International Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a hard first marathon, and the six-hour limit is the reason. A first-timer who has never trained hills is likely to finish near that cutoff, and being swept off a course this good is a rough introduction. If Big Sur is your first, commit to a genuine hill build from week one and treat the cutoff as the target rather than an afterthought.
Big Sur International Marathon questions, answered.
Is the Big Sur Marathon hard?
Yes. Big Sur is a genuinely hard road marathon. The course climbs and descends more than 2,000 feet by the organizers' own numbers, there are almost no flat recovery miles, and a strict six-hour limit applies because Highway 1 reopens to traffic at 1 p.m. Most runners finish well off their flat-course time.
What is Hurricane Point at Big Sur?
Hurricane Point is the long climb in the middle of the Big Sur Marathon, the highest and most exposed part of the course, marked by taiko drummers playing partway up it. It hands you straight into the descent toward Bixby Bridge at the 13.1 halfway mark. Train sustained climbing and controlled downhill running for it.
Is Big Sur a good Boston qualifier?
Not really. Big Sur is USATF certified and Boston eligible, but only about 4.5 percent of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026, and the rate has stayed in the low single digits most years. The climbing and the coastal headwind cost most runners several minutes against a flat course.
How windy does it get at Big Sur?
The organizers describe a sometimes fierce headwind on the exposed coastal sections, and race morning averages near 51 degrees with heavy humidity. Dress for damp and cool rather than for cold. Expect the wind to matter most on the climbs, where it hits hardest and costs you the most pace.
Where does the Big Sur International Marathon get hard?
The climb to Hurricane Point before the halfway bridge is the famous part, but the race breaks people in the last 6 miles, when rolling terrain meets quads already emptied by the long descents.
What is the weather like at the Big Sur International Marathon?
Race morning at Big Sur averages around 51 degrees at the start under partly cloudy skies, with high humidity and a warm-up into the low 60s by late morning. The organizers warn about a sometimes fierce headwind off the ocean, which is the detail that matters most for training. Finish some of your long runs into the wind rather than with it, because you will spend hours on an exposed coast road with nothing blocking it.
Is the Big Sur International Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Big Sur is USATF certified and Boston eligible, but very few people qualify here. About 4.5 percent of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026, and the rate has sat between roughly 3.5 and 7.3 percent across recent years. Pick this race because you want to run Highway 1. If you need the qualifier itself, earn it somewhere flatter and come here for the road.
Is the Big Sur International Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a hard first marathon, and the six-hour limit is the reason. A first-timer who has never trained hills is likely to finish near that cutoff, and being swept off a course this good is a rough introduction. If Big Sur is your first, commit to a genuine hill build from week one and treat the cutoff as the target rather than an afterthought.
When should I start training for the Big Sur International Marathon 2027?
Race day is April 25, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around December 6, 2026, a 16-week build around January 3, 2027, and a 12-week build around January 31, 2027. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Big Sur International Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Big Sur International 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 April 25, 2027, 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 Big Sur International 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.