Santiago Marathon 2027: a 12-week plan from February 22, ready on your Garmin

Your training, timed for May 16

The plan lasts 12 weeks, starting on Mon, February 22. With more time, it can start on January 25 with 4 lead-in weeks.

1. Weeks 1–3

   Base

   Feb 22 → Mar 14

   Settle volume, wake threshold up

2. Weeks 4–7

   Development

   Mar 15 → Apr 11

   Marathon pace comes in, long runs get longer

3. Weeks 8–10

   Specific

   Apr 12 → May 2

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

4. Weeks 11–12

   Taper

   May 3 → May 16

   Two weeks to arrive fresh

A loop that climbs to mile 20, then drops back to La Moneda

The race starts in front of La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Chile. The 2027 route, certified by World Athletics and AIMS, will be published with its profile in the runner's manual; the 2026 route gives a good idea of the terrain: a big loop that leaves the Alameda, circles O'Higgins Park, heads east through Ñuñoa and Avenida Ossa, climbs to Vitacura around mile 20, then returns along Avenida Andrés Bello by the Mapocho River and Avenida Providencia.

On the official 2026 profile, the start sits at 550 m (1,800 ft) and the low point around 510 m (1,670 ft), in the first 3 miles; the race then climbs in stages to 670 m (2,200 ft) at km 32 (mile 20), gaining about 100 m (330 ft) between miles 12 and 20. The last 6 miles drop 120 m (390 ft) to the finish. Time limit: 6 hours; aid at least every 5 km (3 miles).

Three workouts for the climb from mile 12 to 20 and the final descent

This profile asks you to hold your pace on a gentle climb for more than an hour, then keep some legs for the descent. Ask your assistant to build these workouts and send them to your watch; it sets the paces from your MAS (maximal aerobic speed).

• — Gentle climb at marathon pace: 15 min warm-up, 3 × 12 min at marathon pace (about 77 to 79% of MAS) on a road that rises slightly, 3 min jog recovery, 10 min cool-down.
• — Long hills: 20 min warm-up, 6 × 3 min uphill at half-marathon pace, jog back down to recover, 10 min cool-down.
• — Long run that finishes downhill: 2 hours easy, the last 30 minutes at marathon pace on a gently descending route, like the final 6 miles back to the Alameda.

A February-to-May build, through the Chilean summer

The 12-week plan starts on Monday, February 22, 2027. In Chile, it begins in late summer, at the end of the summer holidays, and ends in autumn; in the northern hemisphere, it runs from late winter into spring. In mid-May, Santiago is on the same time as New York and 5 hours behind London: if you're coming from far away, arriving a few days early leaves time to settle in and collect your kit at the Running Expo, at the Estación Mapocho Cultural Center.

Missed a week to holidays or travel? 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 through Garmin Connect. If your available days change, tell it: it records the constraint and takes it into account from then on.

Entry and kit pickup

General sale opened on October 15, 2026 and runs until April 16, 2027, or until places run out: 11,000 for the marathon at launch. You must be 18 on race day. Entry is online through the official site, which has a separate path for foreign runners.

When you register, you can attach an official time from the last two years, over any distance: it places you in the right start wave. Without one, you start in the last wave. Collecting your kit in person, on the scheduled dates, is part of taking part.

Frequently asked questions