REVEL Big Bear Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Big Bear, CANovember 8, 2026
REVEL Big Bear starts at 6,630 feet near Sugarloaf Mountain and finishes 5,081 feet lower at Redlands Sports Park. That's close to a vertical mile of descent inside one race, and roughly 4,200 feet of it comes after mile 9, an average grade near 4.7% across the final seventeen miles.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
The result is an unusually high Boston qualifying rate: 40.5% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2023, with 38.7% in 2022 and 37.6% in 2021. It's also the reason your quads, not your aerobic fitness, decide how the day goes. Train flat roads all spring and your legs will be gone by mile 19 no matter how fit you are.
45 days to race day
REVEL Big Bear Marathon · November 8, 2026 · about 6 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 REVEL Big Bear Marathon 2026
Race day is November 8, 2026, which is 45 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 6 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.
REVEL Big Bear Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Downhill · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 332 ft gain, 5,413 ft loss
- Net elevation drop
- About 5,081 ft lower at the finish than the start
- Highest / lowest point
- 6,630 ft / 1,545 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,837 in 2023 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 40.5% in 2023
- Race day high / low
- 78°F / 51°F on average
Boston qualifying note. The Boston Marathon adds 10 minutes to qualifying times run on courses that drop this much, starting with 2027 registration, so a time here counts as 10 minutes slower than the clock.
Start-line temperature is not listed for this race. The course finishes thousands of feet below where it starts, so the weather recorded in the finish city does not describe the start line.
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 REVEL Big Bear 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 REVEL Big Bear 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: Highway 38 off the mountain, then the streets of Redlands
REVEL Big Bear is a point to point road marathon starting at 6,630 feet near Sugarloaf Mountain and finishing in Redlands, California, with 5,081 feet of net descent against only about 330 feet of climbing. The first four miles roll on historic Highway 38 before the course tips over and stays down from roughly mile 9 to the line.
That rolling opening is a trap worth naming. Four miles of undulation above 6,000 feet feels harder than the pace on your watch says it should, and runners who fight it burn matches they need later. The real descent begins after it, past views of Constance Peak and Anderson Peak, and it doesn't let up.
The final three miles into Redlands drop 443 feet, steeper than the course average, on legs that have already spent twenty-plus miles braking. That's the section that decides whether your goal time survives. The race starts at 6:00 a.m. with a finish cutoff of 1:03 p.m., 6 hours 33 minutes at a 15 minute per mile pace, on a USATF certified course.
How to train for REVEL Big Bear
Train for REVEL Big Bear by building eccentric quad durability over months rather than weeks. A 5,081 foot descent damages muscle in a way flat running never does, and the adaptation is slow. Show up aerobically fit but downhill-untrained and your quads will fail somewhere around mile 18 to 20, turning the last six miles into a walk.
Start downhill repeats twelve weeks out at the latest, once a week, on a grade in the 4% to 6% range if you can find one. Begin with a handful of short repeats and build the volume gradually, because this is the one stimulus where too much too early produces injury instead of fitness. Two to three weeks out, do a long run with a sustained descent that mimics the real thing, then take a proper recovery week.
Form here is a technique problem, not a strength problem. Short quick steps, cadence high, foot landing under you rather than out in front. Every time you reach forward and land ahead of your center of mass on a descent you brake, and braking is what tears the tissue. Practice until it's automatic, because at mile 22 you won't be making conscious decisions.
Add strength work that loads the quads eccentrically: slow-lowering split squats, step-downs, single leg work. And run your last long run in the exact shoes and socks you'll race in. On a course that drops nearly a mile, feet slide forward, and lost toenails are the standard price for guessing at fit.
Getting in
Entry hasn't historically required a lottery, with 1,837 finishers in 2023, 1,603 in 2022 and 1,270 in 2021. The logistics are the real planning item. The start is high on the mountain and the finish is 5,081 feet below it in Redlands, so book lodging around the finish rather than the start, and confirm the race-morning transport schedule as soon as it's published. Race day begins very early and involves a cold wait at altitude before a 6:00 a.m. gun.
Where does the REVEL Big Bear Marathon get hard?
The final three miles into Redlands, which drop 443 feet, steeper than the course average, onto quads that have been braking since mile 9.
What is the weather like at the REVEL Big Bear Marathon?
The start sits at 6,630 feet, thousands of feet above the nearest weather station, so any published start-line temperature is measuring the wrong place. Expect a genuinely cold, dark wait on the mountain before the 6:00 a.m. gun and a much warmer finish down in Redlands, where November days average a high near 78F. Bring a throwaway layer you're happy to lose, and train some runs that begin cold and finish warm so your clothing plan is rehearsed rather than improvised.
Is the REVEL Big Bear Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
REVEL Big Bear is a USATF certified Boston qualifying course with an exceptional strike rate: 40.5% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2023, 38.7% in 2022 and 37.6% in 2021. One thing to know before you enter: the BAA's net downhill index applies to a course this steep, and for Boston registration from 2027 onward a time run here is treated as ten minutes slower than the clock. Run it for the personal best, and build that ten minutes into your qualifying margin.
Is the REVEL Big Bear Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a poor choice for a first marathon, and it's worth saying plainly. Downhill running does damage that untrained legs simply cannot absorb, and a first-timer without a base of descent-specific work will spend the last eight miles in real pain. If your heart is set on it, give yourself a full cycle with weekly downhill work, and treat the 6 hour 33 minute limit as tighter than it sounds once your quads go.
REVEL Big Bear Marathon questions, answered.
How much does REVEL Big Bear drop?
5,081 feet net, from 6,630 feet near Sugarloaf Mountain down to Redlands, California. About 4,200 feet of that comes after mile 9, an average grade near 4.7% across the final seventeen miles, and the last three miles alone drop 443 feet. There's only about 330 feet of climbing in the whole race.
Is REVEL Big Bear a good Boston qualifier?
It has an unusually high qualifying rate: 40.5% of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2023. But the BAA's net downhill index applies to courses this steep, and for Boston registration from 2027 onward a time here is treated as ten minutes slower than the clock. Factor that into your margin.
How do you train for a downhill marathon like REVEL Big Bear?
Weekly downhill repeats starting at least twelve weeks out, built up gradually on a 4% to 6% grade, plus eccentric strength work for the quads. Focus on short quick steps with your foot landing under you, not ahead of you. Braking on descents is what damages muscle, and that damage is what ends races here.
Is REVEL Big Bear hard on your legs?
Yes, far more than the finishing times suggest. Nearly a vertical mile of descent loads the quads eccentrically for over two hours, and untrained legs typically fail between miles 18 and 20. Sore quads for several days afterward are normal even for well-prepared runners, and ill-fitting shoes reliably cost toenails.
Where does the REVEL Big Bear Marathon get hard?
The final three miles into Redlands, which drop 443 feet, steeper than the course average, onto quads that have been braking since mile 9.
What is the weather like at the REVEL Big Bear Marathon?
The start sits at 6,630 feet, thousands of feet above the nearest weather station, so any published start-line temperature is measuring the wrong place. Expect a genuinely cold, dark wait on the mountain before the 6:00 a.m. gun and a much warmer finish down in Redlands, where November days average a high near 78F. Bring a throwaway layer you're happy to lose, and train some runs that begin cold and finish warm so your clothing plan is rehearsed rather than improvised.
Is the REVEL Big Bear Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
REVEL Big Bear is a USATF certified Boston qualifying course with an exceptional strike rate: 40.5% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2023, 38.7% in 2022 and 37.6% in 2021. One thing to know before you enter: the BAA's net downhill index applies to a course this steep, and for Boston registration from 2027 onward a time run here is treated as ten minutes slower than the clock. Run it for the personal best, and build that ten minutes into your qualifying margin.
Is the REVEL Big Bear Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a poor choice for a first marathon, and it's worth saying plainly. Downhill running does damage that untrained legs simply cannot absorb, and a first-timer without a base of descent-specific work will spend the last eight miles in real pain. If your heart is set on it, give yourself a full cycle with weekly downhill work, and treat the 6 hour 33 minute limit as tighter than it sounds once your quads go.
When should I start training for the REVEL Big Bear Marathon 2026?
Race day is November 8, 2026. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around June 21, 2026, a 16-week build around July 19, 2026, and a 12-week build around August 16, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's REVEL Big Bear Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the REVEL Big Bear 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 8, 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 REVEL Big Bear Marathon buildup is months of your life. See how Stride compares before you commit it to an app.
Training for a different race?
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.