The Phoenix Marathon: a flat point-to-point course in Phoenix. Pacing by section, fueling, and race-day tips.
Use TrainPace to plan a simple, repeatable strategy for Phoenix Marathon: pacing targets, fueling basics, and course/elevation awareness.
Plan pacing, fueling, and course strategy for Phoenix Marathon using free calculators and GPX elevation analysis.
The Phoenix Marathon is held in December and is USATF certified. It starts at the base of South Mountain Park and runs north through Phoenix to a finish inside Steele Indian School Park. About 11 miles of the route are on the paved Salt River trail.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
| Distance | 42.195 km (marathon) |
| Usually held | December |
| Course | flat, point-to-point |
| Typical weather | Average high of about 65 °F (18 °C), with lows in the 40s °F at the start (race site) |
| Official site | https://phxmarathon.com/ |
The race site does not list elevation numbers in its course text, so use the official profile on the course page. The route is mostly city streets and a paved river path, with one short climb onto the Hance Park deck.
| Section | Terrain | Advice |
|---|---|---|
| mile 1–5 | Quiet residential streets on Central Avenue | Start at goal pace or slightly slower and settle in. |
| mile 5–16 | Paved Salt River trail, out and back | Hold an even pace on the open path and use other runners for shelter. |
| mile 16–24 | Downtown streets, Capitol, ASU Downtown, short climb onto the Hance Park deck | Run the short climb by effort and recover on the other side. |
| mile 24–26.2 | North on 3rd Street, then a loop in Steele Indian School Park | Hold your pace to the finish inside the park. |
The race site lists about 12 aid stations on the marathon course, roughly every 2 miles. They offer Gatorade Endurance and water, and some also have Carbs Fuel energy gels. Check the aid station map on the site.
The route is mostly city streets and a paved river trail. The race site does not state an elevation figure in its text, and it mentions one short climb onto the Hance Park deck.
It is held on a Saturday in December.
It finishes inside Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix.
Facts checked 2026-10 against the sources below. Race details change from year to year — confirm with the official site before race day.
Every public page on this site has a Markdown mirror at the same path with a .md suffix (for example /calculator.md), and honors an Accept: text/markdown request header on the HTML URL. The calculations here are also available as callable tools through a free public MCP server — no account or API key.