Athens Marathon 2026: your final days to November 8, workout by workout on your Garmin

A course that climbs from Nea Makri to mile 19

The marathon starts in the town of Marathon and finishes in the Panathenaic Stadium in central Athens, with the last 170 m (185 yards) on the track. According to the official course description, the first 2.5 miles drift slightly downhill along Marathonos Avenue, then the route loops around the Marathon Tomb. It is flat to Nea Makri (around mile 6), then climbs in stages: uphill to mile 12.4, a long climb around mile 15.5, Pallini around mile 17, then the climb to the Stavros junction (km 30 to 31, around mile 19), which the organizer calls the hardest part of the route.

After Stavros, a steep descent leads to Agia Paraskevi, then Messogeion Avenue alternates flat and downhill sections toward the center. The sharpest descent comes at km 37.5 (mile 23.3), past the Ministry of National Defence; Vasilissis Sofias Avenue keeps dropping from mile 24 to mile 25.5, before Syntagma and the National Garden. The time limit is 8 hours, with cut-offs every 2.5 km (1.5 miles) listed on the official race page.

Three workouts for this profile, ten days out

At this point you are no longer building hill strength: you rehearse the movement and lock in your race plan. Ask your assistant to create these three workouts and send them to your watch:

• — This week, hills by effort: 20 min easy, then 3 × 6 min on a steady climb at marathon-pace effort (the pace drops, the effort stays the same), jog back down to recover, 10 min cool-down.
• — Six to eight days out, controlled downhill: 45 min easy including 4 × 2 min on a gentle descent at marathon pace, so your legs know the final stretch that drops from mile 19 to mile 25.
• — On November 8, the race on your watch: 26.2 miles in segments, target pace to mile 6, a slower range from mile 6 to mile 19 where you run by effort, then target pace or slightly faster on the final descent.

The assistant sets the paces from your MAS or your goal time, and the watch shows the range for each segment.

The final stretch on the calendar

Early-November race: a 12-week plan started in mid-August, so most of the training happened over the summer. If you missed sessions, don't try to make them up: your assistant reviews your recent weeks on Garmin Connect (sessions done, sessions missed, training load) and adjusts the remaining ones, with less volume each week until race day.

If you're traveling, plan to arrive a few days early: in November, Athens is two hours ahead of London. Tell the assistant your travel days and it moves the affected workouts in your Garmin calendar. For the 2027 edition, Running Workout will set the full plan to the date as soon as it is announced.

Race day: start, cut-offs, finish

Marathon registration is closed. The start is at 8:30 a.m. in the Marathon start area, in waves: the last runner crosses the line at around 10:15 a.m. All finishers must be in by 6:15 p.m., in the Panathenaic Stadium. The same weekend, the organizer also holds 5K races on Saturday, November 7, and a 10K on Sunday, November 8.

After the race, ask your assistant to analyze the activity: lap splits, heart rate, and what the climb to Stavros cost you. It keeps a note of this review for your next build-up.

Frequently asked questions