Louisiana Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Baton Rouge, LAJanuary 17, 2027
The Louisiana Marathon leaves North 4th Street in downtown Baton Rouge at 7:00 a.m. and spends the whole 26.2 miles between 21 and 89 feet above sea level, out past the lakes and the LSU campus and back through historic neighborhoods. Total climbing is about 436 feet. That is roughly a third of what a rolling course puts in your legs.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
It has also become a considerably bigger race than it used to be. 1,477 people finished the marathon in 2026, up from 642 in 2021, so the road feels less lonely than it did a few years ago.
115 days to race day
Louisiana Marathon · January 17, 2027 · about 16 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 Louisiana Marathon 2027
Race day is January 17, 2027, which is 115 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 buildStart September 27, 2026
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart October 25, 2026
You have about 16 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 January 17, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Louisiana Marathon course facts
- Course
- Mostly Loop · Mostly Flat · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 436 ft gain, 436 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 89 ft / 21 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,477 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 9% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 40°F at the start, 80% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 62°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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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: flat enough that the flatness is the difficulty
The Louisiana Marathon course is a mostly loop route the organizer describes as a fast, flat, runner friendly path through the lakes, along the river, around downtown, on the university campus and in historic neighborhoods. The elevation numbers back that up: 68 feet separate the lowest and highest points on the entire course, and total gain and loss both come in around 436 feet.
The marathon shares its opening miles with the half, which turns around near Klinert Avenue at about mile 10.8 and heads back toward the state capitol to finish. That is the moment the race changes character. The crowd you started with disappears, and you have roughly 15 miles left on flat road through the neighborhoods with a much thinner field around you.
The course carries three published checkpoints with hard times attached: Klinert Avenue at 10.8 miles, Longwood Drive at Claycut Road at 15 miles, and LaSalle Avenue at Chevelle Drive at 18.2 miles. The finish line closes six hours after the start, at a 13:45 per mile pace. Aid stations carry water and Powerade, with gels at selected stations, and taking anything from anyone not working the race is against the rules.
How to train for the Louisiana Marathon
Train for the Louisiana Marathon with long, continuous blocks at goal pace on the flattest road you can find, because this course gives your legs no variation for four hours. With only 436 feet of climbing spread across 26.2 miles, nothing forces you to change stride, so the same muscle fibers do the same job over and over. That is what makes flat marathons hurt in a way the elevation chart never predicts.
The specific session is a long run with 10 to 14 miles at marathon effort in one unbroken piece, done on flat ground, ideally into the second half of the run. If you live somewhere hilly, seek out a levee path, a rail trail or a lake loop. Running your goal pace on rolling terrain is a different skill and it will not tell you whether you can hold this pace when your form starts to slip.
Then rehearse the second half alone. After the half marathon field turns off near mile 10.8, you have 15 miles of flat road and thinning company, which is exactly where a flat course tempts you into a slow, invisible fade. Do at least three long runs solo at goal effort so holding pace without a pack is already familiar.
One more piece of specificity: the pace math here is unforgiving in a useful way. Because there are no hills to blame, your splits are an honest readout. Practice checking in every five miles rather than every mile, and treat a 10 second drift as information rather than noise.
Getting in
Entry is open registration with prices that rise as race day approaches, and the marathon has grown steadily rather than selling out, from 586 finishers in 2022 to 1,477 in 2026. The start is at 660 North 4th Street in downtown Baton Rouge at 7:00 a.m. Sunday, with the half going off at the same time, so if you are traveling, stay downtown and walk to the start rather than solving a parking problem at 6 a.m.
Where does the Louisiana Marathon get hard?
Miles 15 to 20, after the half marathon field has turned off near mile 10.8 and you are left holding one pace on flat road with a much thinner crowd around you.
What is the weather like at the Louisiana Marathon?
Race morning in Baton Rouge usually starts near 40F with humidity around 80%, clear skies and a light north wind, warming toward an average high of 62F. That is a cold start line and a mild finish, which is close to ideal marathon weather and leaves you no excuses. Practice starting cold in your race kit rather than overdressing, because you will be too warm by mile 6.
Is the Louisiana Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
The Louisiana Marathon is a certified, Boston eligible course and a genuinely reasonable qualifying option. 9.0% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026 and 9.1% did in 2025, down from 15.4% in 2021 and 13.2% in 2023. The course did not get slower over that stretch. The field more than doubled, from 642 finishers in 2021 to 1,477 in 2026, which pulls the percentage down as the race attracts more first timers. With no net drop, there is no downhill adjustment applied to a time run here.
Is the Louisiana Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a good first marathon. It is flat, it is mid sized at 1,477 finishers in 2026, and it finishes into a festival rather than an empty parking lot. Know the cutoffs before you enter: six hours at a 13:45 per mile pace, with checkpoints at 10.8, 15 and 18.2 miles that you have to reach on time.
Louisiana Marathon questions, answered.
Is the Louisiana Marathon flat?
Yes, about as flat as an American road marathon gets. The entire Baton Rouge course sits between 21 and 89 feet of elevation with roughly 436 feet of total climbing across 26.2 miles. The organizer calls it fast and flat and the numbers agree. The difficulty is unvarying terrain, not hills.
Is the Louisiana Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
It is a solid one. 9.0% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026 and 9.1% in 2025, on a certified course with no net elevation drop, so no downhill adjustment applies. The rate was higher when the race was smaller, at 15.4% in 2021, largely because the field has since more than doubled.
What is the time limit for the Louisiana Marathon?
Six hours, at a 13:45 per mile pace from the 7:00 a.m. start. There are three published checkpoints you must reach on time: Klinert Avenue at 10.8 miles, Longwood Drive at Claycut Road at 15 miles, and LaSalle Avenue at Chevelle Drive at 18.2 miles. The finish line closes at 1:00 p.m.
What is the weather like for the Louisiana Marathon?
January in Baton Rouge typically means a start near 40F with humidity around 80% and an average high near 62F later in the day. That is a cold start and a mild finish, close to ideal racing conditions. Dress for the middle of the race, not the start corral, and expect to shed a layer early.
Where does the Louisiana Marathon get hard?
Miles 15 to 20, after the half marathon field has turned off near mile 10.8 and you are left holding one pace on flat road with a much thinner crowd around you.
What is the weather like at the Louisiana Marathon?
Race morning in Baton Rouge usually starts near 40F with humidity around 80%, clear skies and a light north wind, warming toward an average high of 62F. That is a cold start line and a mild finish, which is close to ideal marathon weather and leaves you no excuses. Practice starting cold in your race kit rather than overdressing, because you will be too warm by mile 6.
Is the Louisiana Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
The Louisiana Marathon is a certified, Boston eligible course and a genuinely reasonable qualifying option. 9.0% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2026 and 9.1% did in 2025, down from 15.4% in 2021 and 13.2% in 2023. The course did not get slower over that stretch. The field more than doubled, from 642 finishers in 2021 to 1,477 in 2026, which pulls the percentage down as the race attracts more first timers. With no net drop, there is no downhill adjustment applied to a time run here.
Is the Louisiana Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a good first marathon. It is flat, it is mid sized at 1,477 finishers in 2026, and it finishes into a festival rather than an empty parking lot. Know the cutoffs before you enter: six hours at a 13:45 per mile pace, with checkpoints at 10.8, 15 and 18.2 miles that you have to reach on time.
When should I start training for the Louisiana Marathon 2027?
Race day is January 17, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around August 30, 2026, a 16-week build around September 27, 2026, and a 12-week build around October 25, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Louisiana Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Louisiana 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 January 17, 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 Louisiana 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.