Your plan in four answers
Bobcat has not announced its next date, so we have estimated November. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon
- Terrain
- Hilly
Course
The Bobcat course
Bobcat is run entirely inside Burr Oak State Park in the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio, on fully marked trails with a course marker about every 0.1 mile. The marathon is a single loop around Burr Oak Lake that starts and finishes at Burr Oak Lodge, with full aid stations at miles 5 (Lodge Boat Launch), 9.4 (Tom Jenkins Dam), 13.1 (Burr Oak Marina), 18.5 (Sunday Creek) and 21.5 (Dock 3).
Read the full course notes
The half marathon runs point to point on the same trails from Dock 4 Marina to the lodge, with aid at miles 5.4 and 8.4 and hourly shuttles back to the marina from 11 AM. Much of the route follows the Buckeye Trail and the North Country Trail through hemlock ravines and past sandstone ledges, with rocks, roots, creek crossings and frequent hills. Watch for slippery wooden steps and bridges, and know that hikers are welcome.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon
- Weather on race day
- Early November in this part of southeast Ohio averages highs that slide from about 60 °F to the mid 50s °F and lows around 37 to 40 °F, so a cool start often turns into ideal running weather. About one day in four brings some rain, and wet leaves on rocks and wooden bridges make careful footing worthwhile. Winds in the wooded valleys are usually light, around 5 mph. With only about ten and a half hours of daylight, longer finishers should keep a layer handy for the late afternoon chill.
What to train for
Time on feet matters more than pace here, so build your long run by duration on the hilliest trails you can reach and practice power hiking the steep climbs.
Rocks, roots and creek crossings reward quick, light steps, so add short downhill and technical sections to your weekly runs and a little single-leg strength work for your ankles.
Practice carrying water and fueling every 30 to 45 minutes, since the organizers encourage runners to carry water between aid stations. Check the cutoffs (8 hours for the marathon from an 8 AM start, 7 hours for the half from 9 AM) and the aid station close times, then pace the first half of the loop conservatively.
Sample week
A sample Bobcat 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: 10 × 90 s up a steady grade, jog back down
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6–7 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 10 mi with 6 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–18 mi on hilly ground, steady effort on the climbs
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Bobcat
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 hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar.
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 Bobcat Half Marathon & Marathon in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Bobcat training questions
How long should I train for the Bobcat?
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 Bobcat course hilly?
Hilly. Bobcat is run entirely inside Burr Oak State Park in the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio, on fully marked trails with a course marker about every 0.1 mile.
What is the weather usually like at the Bobcat?
Early November in this part of southeast Ohio averages highs that slide from about 60 °F to the mid 50s °F and lows around 37 to 40 °F, so a cool start often turns into ideal running weather. About one day in four brings some rain, and wet leaves on rocks and wooden bridges make careful footing worthwhile. Winds in the wooded valleys are usually light, around 5 mph. With only about ten and a half hours of daylight, longer finishers should keep a layer handy for the late afternoon chill.
When should I start tapering for the Bobcat?
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 hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar.
Do I need an account to get a Bobcat 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.