Your plan in four answers
Battersea Running Festival has not announced its next date, so we have estimated October. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
Course
The Battersea Running Festival course
The Battersea Running Festival starts and finishes on the athletics track at the Millennium Arena in Battersea Park, beside the Thames in south-west London. The course is a flat lapped loop on the park's tree-lined paths: 5 laps for the half marathon and 11 laps for the marathon, with only about 10 m of climbing over the half and around 23 m over the full distance on RunThrough's route data.
Read the full course notes
There is a water station with water and gels on every lap, and you count your own laps using colour-coded distance signs. The marathon starts at 9:00 on a Saturday and the half at 10:00, so faster half runners will pass marathoners; keep left unless overtaking. Spectators can see you several times, which makes the later laps far easier.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon
- Weather on race day
- Late October in London usually brings 8–13 °C at the 9:00 marathon start, with highs around 15–16 °C and a fair chance of showers on the Met Office's Heathrow record. Cool, sheltered conditions in the park suit fast running; bring a throwaway layer for the start and take drinks and gels on the laps you planned, not only when you feel thirsty.
What to train for
A pancake-flat lapped course is ideal for an even-paced personal best, so the main job is holding goal pace for a long time.
Marathoners should build to 30–32 km long runs with 12–16 km at goal marathon pace in the final third, and half marathoners to 18–20 km with the last 6–8 km at goal pace.
Practise lap discipline by running long runs on a 4 km park loop and taking a gel and water at the same point each lap, as you will on race day. Rehearse the mental side too: break 11 laps into chunks of three or four rather than counting down from the start.
Sample week
A sample Battersea Running Festival 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 × 1.5 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 10–11 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 16 km with 10 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 26–29 km, the last 6 km at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Battersea Running Festival
Start the taper two to three weeks 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 is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
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Build me a training plan for the Battersea Running Festival presented by Science in Sport (Marathon) in October. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Battersea Running Festival training questions
How long should I train for the Battersea Running Festival?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty 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 Battersea Running Festival course hilly?
Flat. The Battersea Running Festival starts and finishes on the athletics track at the Millennium Arena in Battersea Park, beside the Thames in south-west London.
What is the weather usually like at the Battersea Running Festival?
Late October in London usually brings 8–13 °C at the 9:00 marathon start, with highs around 15–16 °C and a fair chance of showers on the Met Office's Heathrow record. Cool, sheltered conditions in the park suit fast running; bring a throwaway layer for the start and take drinks and gels on the laps you planned, not only when you feel thirsty.
When should I start tapering for the Battersea Running Festival?
Start the taper two to three weeks 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 is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Do I need an account to get a Battersea Running Festival 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.