Your plan in four answers
HALF Monkey is on November 15, 2026, under four weeks away, so we have set next year's race in November. Change the date below if you are running this one.
- Distances
- Half marathon
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Field
- About 300 runners, selected by lottery
Course
The HALF Monkey course
The HALF Monkey is run entirely on the paved roads of Percy Warner Park, about 9 miles from downtown Nashville, starting and finishing at the Vaughn's Gap field off Highway 100. The published HALF map takes runners around the park's famous 11.2-mile Main Drive through dense hardwood forest, past the golf clubhouse, the Luke Lea Heights overlook, the Stone Gates entrance and the Deep Well picnic area.
Read the full course notes
The Main Drive alone carries more than 1,500 feet of gain and loss, with grades of 10 to 12% in places and only short flat breathers around the open fields. The course is measured but not certified, the roads stay open to park traffic, and there are no bands or crowds, just woods, hills and like-minded runners. It is the little sibling of the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon, held the following Sunday.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Distances
- Half marathon
- Field
- About 300 runners, selected by lottery
- Weather on race day
- Mid to late November in Nashville usually means an 8 a.m. start around 35–50 °F with highs near 60 °F, and the dense woods keep much of the course shaded. Cold, sunny mornings are typical, though rain is possible, so start in a layer you can shed and remember that the long climbs will warm you up fast.
What to train for
Treat this as a hill race: run 6 to 10 x 2 minutes uphill at half-marathon to 10K effort every week, plus one session of continuous rolling hills.
Build your long run to 11 to 13 miles on the hilliest roads you can find and judge it by effort, since your splits will swing by a minute or more per mile.
Practice relaxed downhill running with quick, short steps, because the steep descents off the ridges punish tired quads late in the race.
Sample week
A sample HALF Monkey 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 × 90 s up a steady grade, jog back down
- 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 on hilly ground, steady effort on the climbs
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the HALF Monkey
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. 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 Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey HALF Marathon in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
HALF Monkey training questions
How long should I train for the HALF Monkey?
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 HALF Monkey course hilly?
Hilly. The HALF Monkey is run entirely on the paved roads of Percy Warner Park, about 9 miles from downtown Nashville, starting and finishing at the Vaughn's Gap field off Highway 100.
What is the weather usually like at the HALF Monkey?
Mid to late November in Nashville usually means an 8 a.m. start around 35–50 °F with highs near 60 °F, and the dense woods keep much of the course shaded. Cold, sunny mornings are typical, though rain is possible, so start in a layer you can shed and remember that the long climbs will warm you up fast.
When should I start tapering for the HALF Monkey?
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. 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 HALF Monkey 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.