A trail runner on a grassy ridge above a sea of clouds

Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent

The Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent is a mountain race starting in Manitou Springs, Colorado. 4 km for the uphill-only Ascent.

Prepare for Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

The Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent follows Barr Trail from Manitou Springs to the 4,302 m summit of Pikes Peak. The trail climbs steadily through forest, crosses treeline and finishes on rocky, wind-exposed ground with wide views over the Colorado plains. Altitude changes the feel of the effort completely on the upper section.

2 km covering the same climb plus the full descent. It is the oldest continuously run marathon in the United States, first held in 1956.

The formats

2 formats on the program.

Format	Distance	Vertical gain
Marathon	26.2 mi	2,378 m
Ascent	13.3 mi	2,378 m

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · pikespeakmarathon.org

When to start

At this distance, a build usually runs 12 to 24 weeks. The 2027 date is not published, so counting back from September puts the start around March 29, 2027.

These ranges are working conventions, not a research finding — no trial has compared plan lengths against each other. What matters more is that the plan was built for the weeks you actually have, rather than shrunk down from a longer one.

How to choose your start date

When to start

March 29, 2027

→ June 21, 2027

Worth reading before you enter

Races and distances Trail distances: what changes off the road Distance stops being the useful number. What decides a trail race is how long you are out, how much you climb, and how much the descents have wrecked your legs by the end. Read Training Eating and drinking: what’s proven, what isn’t This is where confident advice most often runs ahead of the evidence. Some of it is well tested. Some is opinion wearing a number. And one common habit can kill you. Read Races and distances When to start preparing your race Most plans fail before the first session, because the block started too late and everything had to be squeezed. Counting back from the date is the dullest and most useful thing you will do. Read

Questions

What is the date of Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent in 2027?

The organizer has not published the 2027 date for Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent yet. The race is usually held in September, in Manitou Springs.

What is the difference between the Marathon and the Ascent?

4 km uphill only to the summit, with 2,378 m of vertical gain. 2 km, adding the full descent back down to Manitou Springs.

How fit do you need to be for Pikes Peak?

You need to be comfortable with a continuous 2,378 m climb and with altitude up to 4,302 m. Prior acclimatization and experience on long trail races make the day considerably more manageable.

Other races

This list keeps growing; it draws no line. A race that is missing is prepared for in exactly the same way.

Cool · United StatesTrail Way Too Cool 50K Mar 6 The Way Too Cool 50K is a 50 km trail race with 1,210 m of vertical gain held in Cool, California. It run Bellingham · United StatesTrail Chuckanut 50K Mar 20 The Chuckanut 50K is a 50 km trail race with 1,567 m of climbing, held in Bellingham, Washington State. F Mill Valley / Stinson Beach · United StatesTrail Dipsea Race June 9 km trail race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, California. First run in 1905, it is the oldest trail Your race is not here? Tell us about your race You can prepare for it all the same. Any race, anywhere, and even a goal without a race.

Your race is on the calendar. Your plan should be too.

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