Nagoya Women's Marathon 2027: 12 weeks to March 14, every workout on your Garmin

Your training, timed for March 14

The plan lasts 12 weeks, starting on Mon, December 21. With more time, it can start on November 23 with 4 lead-in weeks.

1. Weeks 1–3

   Base

   Dec 21 → Jan 10

   Settle volume, wake threshold up

2. Weeks 4–7

   Development

   Jan 11 → Feb 7

   Marathon pace comes in, long runs get longer

3. Weeks 8–10

   Specific

   Feb 8 → Feb 28

   Long blocks at marathon pace, 2-hour-plus runs

4. Weeks 11–12

   Taper

   Mar 1 → Mar 14

   Two weeks to arrive fresh

A flat course that starts and finishes under a dome

The Nagoya Women's Marathon starts and finishes inside Vantelin Dome Nagoya, a covered baseball stadium, so you warm up and finish out of the weather. The course is flat: on the official profile, less than 20 m (65 ft) separates the lowest and highest points, with two turnarounds, at Horita around mile 5.8 and at Kosei-dori around mile 19.

The route runs twice along Sakura-dori, past the Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER (just after km 19 and 36, miles 11.8 and 22.4), passes Nagoya Castle around km 26 and 35 (miles 16 and 22), then the Aichi Prefectural Government Office and City Hall. Time limit: 7 hours from the gun, with intermediate closure points (tentative: km 21.5 at 12:52 p.m., km 35 at 2:59 p.m.). The organizer reports a 96.6% finish rate in 2026.

Three workouts for a flat course with two turnarounds

On a flat course, everything comes down to an even pace, including after the turnarounds, where you have to get going again. Ask your assistant to build these workouts and send them to your watch; it sets the paces from your MAS (maximal aerobic speed).

• — Marathon-pace blocks: 15 min warm-up, 2 × 5 miles at marathon pace (about 77 to 79% of MAS), 3 min jog recovery, 10 min cool-down.
• — Restarting after a turn: 20 min warm-up, 6 × 0.6 mile at marathon pace, turning around halfway through each rep, 1 min recovery, 10 min cool-down.
• — Long run with an even finish: 2 hours easy, the last 30 minutes at marathon pace, like the final miles along Sakura-dori back to the dome.

A winter build that starts with the holidays

With the 12-week plan, week 1 starts on Monday, December 21, 2026: Christmas falls in week 1, New Year in week 2, then January and February are run in the depths of the northern winter. Japan is 9 hours ahead of London in mid-March: arriving a few days early leaves time to settle in and visit the three-day Expo at Vantelin Dome.

A week lost to the holidays doesn't mean catching up on everything: your assistant reviews it (sessions done or missed, training load), decides by the plan's rules whether to repeat the week or move on, and sends the next one to your watch. It can also move a workout in your Garmin Connect calendar.

Entering from abroad

Runners who do not live in Japan enter online, first come, first served, until Friday, December 25, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Japan time, or until the 3,500 places are taken; packages with accommodation are available. The other categories, apart from the elite field, are for Japan residents only. A visually impaired runner may run with a guide of any gender.

Frequently asked questions