Newport News One City Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Newport News, VAMarch 7, 2027
The Newport News One City Marathon is a point to point that runs the entire length of Newport News, Virginia, finishing downtown beside Newport News Shipbuilding, the only place in the country that builds aircraft carriers. The course is very flat: it never rises above about 71 feet and gives back only six feet net.
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Flat plus point to point is a specific combination, and the qualifying numbers show what it produces. 14.8 percent of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2026 and 17.3 percent did in 2022. It also means wind is the only real variable, because a course that runs one direction for 26.2 miles never gives you a break from whatever the wind is doing.
164 days to race day
Newport News One City Marathon · March 7, 2027 · about 23 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 Newport News One City Marathon 2027
Race day is March 7, 2027, which is 164 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 buildStart November 1, 2026
- 16-week buildStart November 15, 2026
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart December 13, 2026
You have about 23 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 March 7, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Newport News One City Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Very Flat · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 318 ft gain, 312 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 71 ft / 5 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 508 in 2026 (small field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 14.8% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 44°F at the start, 74% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 59°F / 38°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 Newport News One 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 Newport News One 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: the length of the city, ending at the shipyard
The One City Marathon is a point to point road race spanning the entire length of Newport News, Virginia, finishing in the downtown area that is home to Newport News Shipbuilding. The organizers describe scenic views of the peninsula's parks and waterways and its historical neighborhoods. Terrain barely registers: about 318 feet of climbing across the whole race.
The vertical range runs roughly 5 to 71 feet and the net change is about six feet of drop, which is nothing. Nothing on this course will make your legs do something different from what they did a mile ago. The terrain will not save you and it will not sink you, so wind and pacing decide your day.
Support is spaced tightly. Water stations sit approximately every two miles, with portable toilets at every one of them. The race is in its 13th year and is put on by Flat-Out Events, with 508 finishers in 2026 and somewhere between 359 and 508 every year since 2022.
How to train for the One City Marathon
Train for One City by making even pacing automatic and by practicing wind. A course this flat, run in one direction across a coastal city in early March, hands you no terrain variety and no shelter. Two things decide your race: your discipline through the first 10 miles, and how you respond when a headwind arrives and stays.
Do your long runs on genuinely flat ground with long blocks at goal pace, and structure at least a third of them so the second half runs into the wind rather than with it. Most people naturally head out with a tailwind and come home into the breeze, which is the easy version. On a point to point you do not get to choose, so rehearse the hard one.
The other half of flat-course preparation is the part people skip. On unchanging ground your stride never varies, so calves, arches and hip flexors absorb identical loading for hours on end. Build that tolerance directly with progressive long runs and single leg strength work, and put a few deliberate cadence changes into every long effort to move the load around.
Getting in
Registration for the One City Marathon runs through RunSignup and the race does not sell out, with 508 finishers in 2026 and 359 in 2022. The marathon starts at 7:00 a.m. on the Sunday of a weekend that carries several shorter events. Because the course is point to point, plan around the shuttle and parking arrangements the organizers publish rather than assuming you can park anywhere near the start.
Where does the Newport News One City Marathon get hard?
Roughly mile 20 onward, when three hours on ground that has not changed once meets whatever the March wind is doing to a course that runs a single direction the whole way.
What is the weather like at the Newport News One City Marathon?
Early March mornings in Newport News have run around 44F with 74 percent humidity, clear skies and an 8 mph northwest wind at the 7:00 a.m. start, with the day averaging a 59F high. You start cool and finish notably warmer, especially past four hours. Do your later long runs at dawn so you have practiced shedding layers at mile 4 instead of carrying them to mile 14.
Is the Newport News One City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
The One City Marathon has a strong qualifying record and the organizers say so directly. 14.8 percent of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2026, 13.9 percent in 2025 and 17.3 percent in 2022. The course is certified with a net drop of only about six feet, so the BAA's downhill adjustment does not apply and a time here stands exactly as run.
Is the Newport News One City Marathon a good first marathon?
It is a good first marathon, with one caveat worth reading closely. The course is flat and at sea level, water comes every two miles, and the limit is seven hours at 16:00 per mile. The caveat is that the limit is enforced along the way: mile 6.5 by 8:45 a.m., halfway by 10:30 a.m., mile 18 by 11:45 a.m. and mile 23 by 1:10 p.m.
Newport News One City Marathon questions, answered.
Is the One City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Yes. Qualifying rates have run in double digits every year since 2022: 14.8 percent of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2026, 13.9 percent in 2025 and 16.2 percent in 2024. The course is flat and certified with a net drop of only about six feet, so no downhill adjustment applies to a time run here.
What is the time limit for the Newport News One City Marathon?
Seven hours from the 7:00 a.m. start, which is a 16:00 per mile pace. The organizers enforce it with intermediate cutoffs at mile 6.5 by 8:45 a.m., mile 13.1 by 10:30 a.m., mile 18 by 11:45 a.m. and mile 23 by 1:10 p.m., so a slow first half cannot be made up later on.
Is the One City Marathon course flat?
Very. The course stays between roughly 5 and 71 feet above sea level with about 318 feet of total climbing across 26.2 miles and six feet of net drop. It runs the full length of Newport News as a point to point, so the only real variable is wind, and you carry it in one direction the whole way.
Where does the One City Marathon finish?
In downtown Newport News, beside Newport News Shipbuilding, the sole builder of United States aircraft carriers. The course is point to point across the entire length of the city, so the finish sits at the opposite end from the start. Build the shuttle into your race morning plan, since you cannot walk between the two.
Where does the Newport News One City Marathon get hard?
Roughly mile 20 onward, when three hours on ground that has not changed once meets whatever the March wind is doing to a course that runs a single direction the whole way.
What is the weather like at the Newport News One City Marathon?
Early March mornings in Newport News have run around 44F with 74 percent humidity, clear skies and an 8 mph northwest wind at the 7:00 a.m. start, with the day averaging a 59F high. You start cool and finish notably warmer, especially past four hours. Do your later long runs at dawn so you have practiced shedding layers at mile 4 instead of carrying them to mile 14.
Is the Newport News One City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
The One City Marathon has a strong qualifying record and the organizers say so directly. 14.8 percent of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2026, 13.9 percent in 2025 and 17.3 percent in 2022. The course is certified with a net drop of only about six feet, so the BAA's downhill adjustment does not apply and a time here stands exactly as run.
Is the Newport News One City Marathon a good first marathon?
It is a good first marathon, with one caveat worth reading closely. The course is flat and at sea level, water comes every two miles, and the limit is seven hours at 16:00 per mile. The caveat is that the limit is enforced along the way: mile 6.5 by 8:45 a.m., halfway by 10:30 a.m., mile 18 by 11:45 a.m. and mile 23 by 1:10 p.m.
When should I start training for the Newport News One City Marathon 2027?
Race day is March 7, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around October 18, 2026, a 16-week build around November 15, 2026, and a 12-week build around December 13, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Newport News One City Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Newport News One 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 March 7, 2027, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
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Find your plan.
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