Your plan in four answers
Set for May 2, 2027, about 27 weeks out.
- Distances
- 12K
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Field
- More than 40,000 runners
- Taper starts
- April 23, 2027
Course
The Bloomsday course
A 12K through Spokane with one of the largest timed fields of any road race in the country. Doomsday Hill, the long climb in the second half, is the landmark of the course.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Distances
- 12K
- Field
- More than 40,000 runners
- Weather on race day
- Early May in Spokane is usually cool and good for racing, with the occasional warm year.
What to train for
One long climb late in a 12K.
Train sustained uphill running at threshold effort, and save something for the section after the hill rather than for the hill itself.
Sample week
A sample Bloomsday 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
- Hill repeats: 8 × 60 s up a steady grade, jog back down
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 5 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Tempo run, 5 mi with 2 mi comfortably hard
- Friday
- Recovery run, 3 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 7–8 mi on hilly ground, steady effort on the climbs
- Sunday
- Easy run, 3 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Bloomsday
Start the taper seven to ten 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 is hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on May 2, 2027, your taper starts around April 23, 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 Lilac Bloomsday Run (12K) on May 2, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Bloomsday training questions
How long should I train for the Bloomsday?
Most runners give a 12k 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 Bloomsday course hilly?
Hilly. A 12K through Spokane with one of the largest timed fields of any road race in the country.
What is the weather usually like at the Bloomsday?
Early May in Spokane is usually cool and good for racing, with the occasional warm year.
When should I start tapering for the Bloomsday?
Start the taper seven to ten 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 is hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on May 2, 2027, your taper starts around April 23, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Bloomsday 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.