Your plan in four answers
Set for August 15, 2027, about 42 weeks out.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 5K
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- August 3, 2027
Course
The AFC Half Marathon course
The half is point to point: buses carry everyone from Balboa Park to the start at Cabrillo National Monument, near the tip of Point Loma, about 400 feet above the bay. The first two miles roll along Cabrillo Memorial Drive past Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery with ocean views, then the course drops roughly 400 feet through Point Loma between miles 2 and 5 to reach the water.
Read the full course notes
Miles 5 to 11 are flat along North Harbor Drive, with an out-and-back on Harbor Island around miles 7 and 8, past the airport and along the Embarcadero by the Star of India into downtown. The big test comes late: from A Street around mile 11 the course climbs about 250 feet up Sixth Avenue to Balboa Park, then crosses the Cabrillo Bridge on El Prado to the finish near Pan American Road. The 5K is a fast loop inside Balboa Park; the half has a 3 hour 15 minute limit (14:53 per mile).
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- Half marathon, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Mid-August in San Diego is usually mild and humid at the 6:15 a.m. start, around 66–70 °F with humidity near 75%, and a morning marine layer often keeps the sun off the early miles. Temperatures climb toward the mid 70s °F by mid-morning, so the exposed Sixth Avenue climb can feel warm: drink early at the aid stations and adjust pace if the sun breaks through.
What to train for
Two features decide this race: a long early descent and a climb in the last two miles.
Practice relaxed downhill running with relaxed, quick steps so miles 2 to 5 do not batter your quads, and include long runs that finish with a 1 to 2 mile hill at steady effort.
Once a week, run 6 to 8 x 2 minutes uphill at 10K effort to build strength for Sixth Avenue. Do tempo runs of 4 to 6 miles on flat ground at goal pace, because the long middle section along the harbor is where a good time is made.
Sample week
A sample AFC Half Marathon training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 5–6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 7 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 10–12 mi easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the AFC Half Marathon
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on August 15, 2027, your taper starts around August 3, 2027.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the America's Finest City Half Marathon & 5K on August 15, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
AFC Half Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the AFC Half Marathon?
Most runners give a half marathon twelve to sixteen weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the AFC Half Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. The half is point to point: buses carry everyone from Balboa Park to the start at Cabrillo National Monument, near the tip of Point Loma, about 400 feet above the bay.
What is the weather usually like at the AFC Half Marathon?
Mid-August in San Diego is usually mild and humid at the 6:15 a.m. start, around 66–70 °F with humidity near 75%, and a morning marine layer often keeps the sun off the early miles. Temperatures climb toward the mid 70s °F by mid-morning, so the exposed Sixth Avenue climb can feel warm: drink early at the aid stations and adjust pace if the sun breaks through.
When should I start tapering for the AFC Half Marathon?
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on August 15, 2027, your taper starts around August 3, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a AFC Half Marathon training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.