Your plan in four answers
Set for July 31, 2027, about 40 weeks out.
- Distances
- 100 miles, Marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- July 13, 2027
Course
The Burning River course
Burning River runs through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Summit Metro Parks in northeast Ohio. The 100 Mile is an out-and-back from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park and back, starting and finishing near the Sheraton Suites Akron Cuyahoga Falls, and the 8-person relay uses the same course.
Read the full course notes
The 50 Mile runs point to point from Cuyahoga Falls to Silver Springs Park, the Back Half 50 Mile runs the reverse direction, and the marathon goes from Oak Hill to Silver Springs Park. The organizers list about 8,000 feet of climbing for the 100, 4,000 for the 50 and 2,000 for the marathon, and every 100-mile finisher earns a Western States lottery qualifier.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 100 miles, Marathon
- Weather on race day
- Late July in Cuyahoga Falls averages highs around 82 °F and lows around 65 °F, and more than a third of days are muggy, so heat and humidity are the main challenge. There is about a 35% chance of rain on a given day in July, which can turn trails muddy, so plan for spare socks. The sun rises around 6:20 AM and sets around 8:43 PM, so 100-mile runners spend several hours in the dark and should plan their lights and layers.
What to train for
Climbing adds up slowly here, about 80 feet per mile, so build legs that hold up late with long runs on rolling trail and practice power-hiking the short climbs.
Back-to-back long runs on weekends prepare you for the time on feet, and night runs with a headlamp are essential for the 100, which has 30-hour and 32-hour cutoffs.
Rehearse your race-day fueling and hydration on every long run, and train in the heat of the day to prepare for a midsummer race. For the marathon, the 12-hour and 14-hour cutoffs are generous, so this is a welcoming first trail marathon.
Sample week
A sample Burning River 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 × 2 min up a steady grade, jog back down
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 8 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 18–20 mi on trail, with as much climbing as you can find
- Sunday Key session
- Second long day, 10–12 mi easy on tired legs
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Burning River
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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on July 31, 2027, your taper starts around July 13, 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 Burning River Endurance Run & Relay (Marathon) on July 31, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Burning River training questions
How long should I train for the Burning River?
Most runners give a 100-mile twenty to twenty-four 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 Burning River course hilly?
Rolling. Burning River runs through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Summit Metro Parks in northeast Ohio.
What is the weather usually like at the Burning River?
Late July in Cuyahoga Falls averages highs around 82 °F and lows around 65 °F, and more than a third of days are muggy, so heat and humidity are the main challenge. There is about a 35% chance of rain on a given day in July, which can turn trails muddy, so plan for spare socks. The sun rises around 6:20 AM and sets around 8:43 PM, so 100-mile runners spend several hours in the dark and should plan their lights and layers.
When should I start tapering for the Burning River?
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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on July 31, 2027, your taper starts around July 13, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Burning River 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.