Your plan in four answers
Set for November 28, 2026, about 5 weeks out.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Sport
- Running
- Taper starts
- November 16, 2026
Course
The Hungry Turkey course
The Chattanooga Hungry Turkey is Run Rhino's Thanksgiving-weekend race, starting and finishing on Tremont Street in front of the Chattanooga Theatre at Coolidge Park on the North Shore. The half marathon goes off at 8:00 a.m. and the 10K and 5K follow at 8:30 a.m., each on its own route.
Read the full course notes
Aid stations and bathrooms come roughly every 1.5 miles. Every registrant gets a long-sleeve tech shirt, every finisher gets a medal, and fresh donuts wait at the finish line. The organizer has announced new routes for this year, so check the course maps on the race page before race day.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Late November in Chattanooga is cool: WeatherSpark shows average highs falling toward 57 °F and lows toward 39 °F by the end of the month. The 8:00 a.m. start will likely feel chilly, so bring gloves and a layer you can drop. The chance of a wet day rises to about 30% late in the month, but humidity is low, which makes for comfortable running once you warm up.
What to train for
A holiday-weekend race fits nicely at the end of a fall training block, so build long runs to 10 to 12 miles through October and early November for the half.
Add a weekly tempo run of 3 to 6 miles at goal pace, and keep one easy run on the day after Thanksgiving to stay loose.
Because the routes are new this year, prepare for some variety in terrain by running a few routes with gentle rolling sections. 5K and 10K runners can sharpen with 6 x 800 meters at goal pace.
Sample week
A sample Hungry Turkey 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 Hungry Turkey
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. With the race on November 28, 2026, your taper starts around November 16, 2026.
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 Chattanooga Hungry Turkey (Half marathon) on November 28, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Hungry Turkey training questions
How long should I train for the Hungry Turkey?
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 Hungry Turkey course hilly?
The Chattanooga Hungry Turkey is Run Rhino's Thanksgiving-weekend race, starting and finishing on Tremont Street in front of the Chattanooga Theatre at Coolidge Park on the North Shore.
What is the weather usually like at the Hungry Turkey?
Late November in Chattanooga is cool: WeatherSpark shows average highs falling toward 57 °F and lows toward 39 °F by the end of the month. The 8:00 a.m. start will likely feel chilly, so bring gloves and a layer you can drop. The chance of a wet day rises to about 30% late in the month, but humidity is low, which makes for comfortable running once you warm up.
When should I start tapering for the Hungry Turkey?
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. With the race on November 28, 2026, your taper starts around November 16, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a Hungry Turkey 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.