Your plan in four answers
Franklin Classic has not announced its next date, so we have estimated September. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- 5K, 10K, 15K
- Terrain
- Rolling
Course
The Franklin Classic course
A Labor Day morning race that starts and finishes on the historic public square in downtown Franklin, with the 5K, 10K, and 15K sharing combined courses through the town's streets. It benefits Mercy Community Healthcare and has been running for more than twenty-five years.
Read the full course notes
The terrain is Williamson County rolling rather than flat.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 5K, 10K, 15K
- Weather on race day
- Early September in Middle Tennessee is still summer. Expect a warm, humid start even early in the morning.
What to train for
Heat and humidity will cost you more than the terrain will.
Train in the same conditions you will race in, and set a goal pace that accounts for the weather rather than your spring fitness.
Sample week
A sample Franklin Classic 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: 6 × 800 m at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 5 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Tempo run on a rolling route, 5 mi with 2 mi comfortably hard
- Friday
- Recovery run, 3 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 7–8 mi easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 3 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Franklin Classic
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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
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 Mercy Franklin Classic (10K) in September. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Franklin Classic training questions
How long should I train for the Franklin Classic?
Most runners give a 10k ten to twelve 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 Franklin Classic course hilly?
Rolling. A Labor Day morning race that starts and finishes on the historic public square in downtown Franklin, with the 5K, 10K, and 15K sharing combined courses through the town's streets.
What is the weather usually like at the Franklin Classic?
Early September in Middle Tennessee is still summer. Expect a warm, humid start even early in the morning.
When should I start tapering for the Franklin Classic?
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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
Do I need an account to get a Franklin Classic 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.