St. Jude Memphis Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Memphis, TNDecember 5, 2026
The St. Jude Memphis Marathon exists to raise money, and it does it at a scale that reframes the whole weekend: more than $15.8 million in the last edition, with over 22,000 participants and supporters across the weekend's events. The marathon itself is the smaller piece of that, with 1,973 finishers in 2025.
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The course is described as rolling, and the numbers back that up in an unusual way. It gains about 700 feet across 26.2 miles while never getting more than 87 feet above its lowest point. That's a great many small climbs and no big ones, which is the specific kind of terrain that ruins even splits.
72 days to race day
St. Jude Memphis Marathon · December 5, 2026 · about 10 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 St. Jude Memphis Marathon 2026
Race day is December 5, 2026, which is 72 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 10 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.
St. Jude Memphis Marathon course facts
- Course
- Mostly Loop · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 703 ft gain, 706 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 306 ft / 219 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,973 in 2025 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 4.9% in 2025
- Typical race morning
- 48°F at the start, 78% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 55°F / 37°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 St. Jude Memphis 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 St. Jude Memphis 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: low relief, constant undulation, an early December start
The St. Jude Memphis Marathon runs a mostly-loop road course in Memphis, Tennessee, gaining roughly 700 feet and losing roughly the same across 26.2 miles inside an elevation band only 87 feet tall. Nothing on it qualifies as a hill. What you get instead is undulation that never quite stops.
That profile runs slower than an elevation chart makes it look. The share of finishers running Boston qualifying times has sat between 4.3% and 6.1% across recent years, which for a course with no significant climb is a signal worth reading. Constant small changes in gradient cost more than one named hill does, because you never get to lock into a rhythm and stay there.
The race is a December Saturday event and 2026 marks its 25th year. The organizer publishes course maps and a participant event guide each cycle rather than a permanent course description, so confirm the routing, the start time and the current time limit from that guide before race weekend.
How to train for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon
Train for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon on gently rolling ground and get comfortable holding effort while your pace wanders fifteen or twenty seconds a mile. With about 700 feet of climbing spread across a course that never rises more than 87 feet above its low point, this is a race decided by rhythm rather than by any single climb.
The bigger training problem is the calendar. A December race means your long runs happen from August through October, which across most of the country is the hottest, most humid stretch of the year, and then you race in the cold. Your body will be heat-adapted for a race morning near 48F.
Plan for that gap. Make sure the last three or four long runs happen in genuinely cold conditions so your pacing, clothing and fueling get calibrated to the day you'll actually get. Gels behave differently at 48F than they do at 88F, and so do you.
Practically: pick a rolling route instead of a flat one, run the long runs by effort, and add two or three sessions of hilly progression work in the final six weeks so late-race undulation meets legs that have seen it. The rises here are small enough that hill repeats aren't the answer. Continuous rolling is.
Getting in
Registration opens through the official event site well ahead of the December date, and general entry has stayed available rather than disappearing in a morning, with marathon finisher counts holding between roughly 1,500 and 2,000 in recent years. The distinctive route in is St. Jude Heroes, the event's fundraising program, which trades a fundraising commitment for entry. If raising money is part of why you're running this one, look at that first, and check the current minimum on the official site because it isn't published on the main event pages.
Where does the St. Jude Memphis Marathon get hard?
The closing miles, where a course that never handed you a real hill has still taken about 700 feet out of your legs in pieces small enough that you never counted them.
What is the weather like at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon?
Early December in Memphis usually means a cool, clear start near 48F with humidity around 78% and a north-northeasterly wind near 9 mph, warming only to an average high near 55F. That's fast weather if you're dressed for it and genuinely cold if you're standing around beforehand. The wind matters more than the number does, so plan a throwaway layer and get a few long runs done in cold, breezy conditions.
Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
St. Jude Memphis is a Boston eligible course, but not a fast one for qualifying: 4.9% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2025, 4.3% in 2024 and 5.9% in 2023. The constant rolling is why, since the course has essentially no net drop and the BAA's net downhill adjustment does not apply. December weather in Memphis is on your side; the terrain isn't.
Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon a good first marathon?
It's a good first marathon, for reasons that have little to do with the course. The weekend is built around fundraising and the atmosphere reflects that, so the field is full of people running for something other than a time. December weather in Memphis is about as forgiving as American marathon weather gets. Confirm the current course time limit from the participant guide, since it isn't published on the main event pages.
St. Jude Memphis Marathon questions, answered.
Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon flat?
Not quite. The course is low relief but constantly rolling, gaining about 700 feet across 26.2 miles while staying inside an 87 foot elevation band. There are no real hills, but there aren't many stretches of true flat either, and that undulation is why finishing times run slower than the profile suggests.
Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Only modestly. 4.9% of finishers ran a Boston qualifying time in 2025, 4.3% in 2024 and 5.9% in 2023. Cool December weather helps, but the constant rolling costs more than the small elevation numbers imply. The course has no net drop, so the BAA's downhill adjustment does not apply to times run here.
What is the weather like at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon?
Early December in Memphis typically starts near 48F with humidity around 78% and a north-northeasterly wind near 9 mph, with the day averaging a high around 55F. That's genuinely good racing weather. The catch is the wait beforehand, when a stiff breeze at 48F gets cold fast, so bring a layer you can discard.
How big is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon?
The marathon drew 1,973 finishers in 2025, up from 1,499 in 2021, and it sits inside a weekend that drew more than 22,000 participants and supporters overall. So the marathon field is mid-sized while the surrounding event is large, which means real crowd support without a crowded start corral.
Where does the St. Jude Memphis Marathon get hard?
The closing miles, where a course that never handed you a real hill has still taken about 700 feet out of your legs in pieces small enough that you never counted them.
What is the weather like at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon?
Early December in Memphis usually means a cool, clear start near 48F with humidity around 78% and a north-northeasterly wind near 9 mph, warming only to an average high near 55F. That's fast weather if you're dressed for it and genuinely cold if you're standing around beforehand. The wind matters more than the number does, so plan a throwaway layer and get a few long runs done in cold, breezy conditions.
Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
St. Jude Memphis is a Boston eligible course, but not a fast one for qualifying: 4.9% of finishers ran a qualifying time in 2025, 4.3% in 2024 and 5.9% in 2023. The constant rolling is why, since the course has essentially no net drop and the BAA's net downhill adjustment does not apply. December weather in Memphis is on your side; the terrain isn't.
Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon a good first marathon?
It's a good first marathon, for reasons that have little to do with the course. The weekend is built around fundraising and the atmosphere reflects that, so the field is full of people running for something other than a time. December weather in Memphis is about as forgiving as American marathon weather gets. Confirm the current course time limit from the participant guide, since it isn't published on the main event pages.
When should I start training for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon 2026?
Race day is December 5, 2026. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around July 18, 2026, a 16-week build around August 15, 2026, and a 12-week build around September 12, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's St. Jude Memphis Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the St. Jude Memphis 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 December 5, 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 St. Jude Memphis 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.