Kansas City Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Kansas City, MOOctober 16, 2027
The Kansas City Marathon starts and finishes at Frank A. Theis Park, across the street from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and in between it climbs and descends a little over 1,000 feet on the city's boulevards. Kansas City is built on hills, and the course does not go around them.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
The qualifying numbers tell you what that costs. About 2.4 percent of 2025 finishers ran a Boston qualifying time, after 4.5 percent in 2024 and 5.2 percent in 2023. This is a beautiful race and a hard one to run fast on, and a training plan that treats it like any other October marathon will get found out somewhere past mile 18.
387 days to race day
Kansas City Marathon · October 16, 2027 · about 55 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 Kansas City Marathon 2027
Race day is October 16, 2027, which is 387 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildStart March 20, 2027
- 24-week buildStart May 1, 2027
- 18-week buildStart June 12, 2027
- 16-week buildStart June 26, 2027
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart July 24, 2027
You have about 55 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 October 16, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Kansas City Marathon course facts
- Course
- Loop · Hilly · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 1,046 ft gain, 1,046 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 1,002 ft / 767 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,538 in 2025 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 2.4% in 2025
- Typical race morning
- 49°F at the start, 79% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 65°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 Kansas City 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 Kansas City 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 loop over Kansas City's hills
The Kansas City Marathon runs a loop from Frank A. Theis Park past the National WWI Museum and Memorial, Union Station, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Country Club Plaza, Westport, the 18th and Vine district and the Waldo neighborhood before returning to the park. The route gains roughly 1,046 feet and loses the same amount, moving between 767 and 1,002 feet.
The important number there is the second one. Losing 1,046 feet means the descents are as relentless as the climbs, and it is the descents that do the quiet damage. Every downhill stride is an eccentric contraction, the kind that tears muscle fibres rather than just tiring them. On a course that gives you well over a thousand feet of it, quads that have only ever run flat will be gone before the hills stop coming.
How to train for the Kansas City Marathon
Train for the Kansas City Marathon by building downhill durability, not just hill strength. Most runners preparing for a hilly race do hill repeats and jog the descents easy, which trains exactly half the problem. This course hands back all 1,046 feet it takes, so your quads need specific preparation for absorbing that.
Work downhill running in gradually, starting with short controlled descents at steady effort and building to long runs on genuinely rolling terrain where you run the downs at goal pace rather than coasting. Expect to be sore for a couple of days the first few times, which is the point. Pair that with running the whole long run by effort instead of pace, because a climb-heavy loop will wreck anyone who tries to hold an even split up the boulevards. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans built on the most proven training methodologies in the sport, then maps every week from today to race day and adapts when life gets in the way.
Getting in
Entry to the Kansas City Marathon is open registration through RunSignUp with no lottery, and prices step up as race day gets closer, so entering early is cheaper. The marathon starts at 7 a.m. at Frank A. Theis Park, with the half at the same time and shorter distances following. The finish line festival is at the park where you started, which makes logistics unusually simple for a big-city race: one place to park, one place to meet people afterwards.
Where does the Kansas City Marathon get hard?
The climbing never lets up long enough to recover, so the race turns somewhere after mile 18, when 1,046 feet of ascent and the same amount of descent have already emptied your quads and there are still hills left to run.
What is the weather like at the Kansas City Marathon?
Mid-October race mornings in Kansas City typically start near 49 degrees under clear skies, with humidity around 79 percent and barely any wind, while the average daily high reaches about 65. That is a comfortable start and a sixteen degree warm-up over the race, and clear October sun on exposed boulevards feels hotter than the number suggests. Do your last long runs at dawn in the cold so the start does not fool you into overdressing.
Is the Kansas City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Be honest with yourself about this one. The Kansas City Marathon is USATF certified and Boston eligible with no net drop, so the BAA's downhill index does not apply, but only 2.4 percent of 2025 finishers ran a qualifying time, after 4.5 percent in 2024 and 5.2 percent in 2023. Those rates are low for a road marathon and the hills are why. Choose this race for the city, not for the qualifying time.
Is the Kansas City Marathon a good first marathon?
It depends entirely on where you live. If your regular routes have hills, this is a good first marathon: 1,538 people finished in 2025, the landmarks keep the miles interesting, and the course is a single loop with the finish never far away. If you train on flat ground and cannot change that, a first marathon with 1,046 feet of climbing is a rough introduction.
Kansas City Marathon questions, answered.
How hilly is the Kansas City Marathon?
Hilly throughout. The course gains about 1,046 feet and loses the same amount, ranging between 767 and 1,002 feet above sea level on a loop from Theis Park. There is no flat recovery stretch to speak of, and the descents are long enough to damage untrained quads well before the finish.
Is the Kansas City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
No, not if qualifying is the only goal. The course is certified and Boston eligible, but just 2.4 percent of 2025 finishers ran qualifying times, following 4.5 percent in 2024 and 5.2 percent in 2023. The constant climbing costs most runners minutes. Pick a flatter race for a qualifying attempt.
What does the Kansas City Marathon course go past?
It loops from Frank A. Theis Park, opposite the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, past the National WWI Museum and Memorial, Union Station, the Kauffman Center, the Country Club Plaza, Westport, the 18th and Vine district and Waldo. It is one of the better sightseeing marathon courses in the Midwest.
What is the weather like for the Kansas City Marathon?
Typically excellent. Mid-October mornings start around 49 degrees, clear and nearly windless, with humidity near 79 percent, and the average high reaches about 65. The start is cold enough to want a throwaway layer and the finish is warm enough that you will be glad you shed it.
Where does the Kansas City Marathon get hard?
The climbing never lets up long enough to recover, so the race turns somewhere after mile 18, when 1,046 feet of ascent and the same amount of descent have already emptied your quads and there are still hills left to run.
What is the weather like at the Kansas City Marathon?
Mid-October race mornings in Kansas City typically start near 49 degrees under clear skies, with humidity around 79 percent and barely any wind, while the average daily high reaches about 65. That is a comfortable start and a sixteen degree warm-up over the race, and clear October sun on exposed boulevards feels hotter than the number suggests. Do your last long runs at dawn in the cold so the start does not fool you into overdressing.
Is the Kansas City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Be honest with yourself about this one. The Kansas City Marathon is USATF certified and Boston eligible with no net drop, so the BAA's downhill index does not apply, but only 2.4 percent of 2025 finishers ran a qualifying time, after 4.5 percent in 2024 and 5.2 percent in 2023. Those rates are low for a road marathon and the hills are why. Choose this race for the city, not for the qualifying time.
Is the Kansas City Marathon a good first marathon?
It depends entirely on where you live. If your regular routes have hills, this is a good first marathon: 1,538 people finished in 2025, the landmarks keep the miles interesting, and the course is a single loop with the finish never far away. If you train on flat ground and cannot change that, a first marathon with 1,046 feet of climbing is a rough introduction.
When should I start training for the Kansas City Marathon 2027?
Race day is October 16, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around May 29, 2027, a 16-week build around June 26, 2027, and a 12-week build around July 24, 2027. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Kansas City Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Kansas City 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 October 16, 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 Kansas City 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.