Wörthersee Marathon Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

One lake, one lap: the Wörthersee Marathon circles the entire lake in a single loop, starting and finishing at the Strandbad in Klagenfurt. The race debuts in 2026, yet with more than 7,000 registrations it already ranks among Austria's biggest marathon events, complete with a beach-club race village, expo and music at the lakeside.

Don't mistake a lake loop for a flat course. Around 683 metres of climbing are spread across the 42.195 kilometres, and only about a quarter of the distance is genuinely level. The lumpiest stretch comes early: a short ramp at kilometre 5.5 pitches up to 16 percent, and at kilometre 9 the longest climb of the day gains a good 40 metres over roughly 600 metres of road. Further rises follow around kilometres 15, 17.5 and 21.

From there the profile settles down. Between kilometres 21 and 32 the road rolls gently without any climb worth naming, and a final short rise at kilometre 32 is the last obstacle before the run back into the Strandbad. Pace the hilly first half with discipline and the closing ten kilometres offer real scope to bring time back.

Pacing Strategy

The Wörthersee Marathon is won on even pace, not on individual climbs. Almost a quarter of the course is flat, the rest undulates in short, moderate rises and descents; only a few ramps, like the one at kilometre five and a half, briefly touch double-digit gradients, and none is long enough to force a fundamental change of pace. Therein lies the trap: accelerate on every little rise and let the descents carry you, and you pay in the final third.

Run the climbs at constant effort rather than constant pace, let them slow you marginally and use the crests to roll on relaxed. Like every flat marathon, the race is decided in the last ten kilometres: whoever has run disciplined and even until then holds the pace while the pace-chasers fade.

Ration your fuelling across the loop and keep your target pace in check early.

12-Week Preparation

Plan on roughly 3:30 to 4:45 hours for the full lake loop, depending on your level. The effort is steadily aerobic, but the course asks different questions than a flat city marathon: about 35 percent of the distance climbs, another third descends, and genuinely flat ground is rare. Locking onto a single goal pace will cost you on the rolling first half.

The decisive section runs from kilometre 5 to kilometre 21, where the short climbs stack up, including the steep ramp at 5.5 and the longest rise at kilometre 9. Run these by effort rather than pace, give away a few seconds on each climb deliberately, and you keep the reserves to use the calm closing section after kilometre 32.

Translate that into training by moving your long runs onto rolling terrain so the constant rhythm changes feel normal by race day. Add hill repeats for strength on the short ramps, and practise relaxed, economical downhill running: a third of this course descends, and poor downhill mechanics quietly drain the quads you will need late in the race.

In the final weeks, include marathon-pace segments over undulating ground to rehearse running by even effort instead of even splits. Fuel as you would for any race of this duration. The late-September date works in your favour: heat preparation matters less than for midsummer races, and long sessions in mild conditions replicate what you will face on race day.