Your plan in four answers
Set for September 18, 2027, about 47 weeks out.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 6K
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- September 6, 2027
Course
The Greifenseelauf course
Every course finishes in the Stadtpark in Uster, with bib pickup in the Stadthalle and the race village around the Landihalle. The half marathon is a lap of the Greifensee through the lake's nature reserve, with aid stations in the village of Greifensee (km 2.9), Fällanden (km 7.4), Maur (km 11.5), the Egg lido (km 14.6) and Riedikon (km 17.8) before the run back into Uster.
Read the full course notes
Forest, fields, reed beds and the lakeshore set the scene, on roughly 60% asphalt and 40% gravel and forest roads. The 10 km and 6.3 km courses cover the Uster end of the lake, and the organisers publish GPX files for every route. All courses merge for the final stretch, where the Gadola Extra Mile rewards whoever speeds up most compared with their own race pace.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 6K
- Weather on race day
- Mid-September around Zurich usually brings mornings of about 11 °C and afternoon highs near 19 °C, with fairly humid air and showers on roughly 10 days of the month. Those are close to ideal running temperatures, so dress for the effort rather than the start line and keep a light layer for the wait before your wave.
What to train for
The half is a lakeside lap, so the race is decided by how evenly you can hold goal pace for 21.1 km.
Build to long runs of 18 to 22 km with the final 5 to 8 km at half marathon pace, and run some of them on gravel paths so the unpaved 40% of the course feels normal underfoot.
Add a weekly threshold session such as 3 x 10 minutes at 10K to half marathon effort. Pacers cover finish times from 1:30 to 2:15 (45 to 70 minutes over 10 km), so pick your group in training and practise a strong last kilometre for the Gadola Extra Mile.
Sample week
A sample Greifenseelauf 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, 8–10 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 11 km with 6 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–19 km easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Greifenseelauf
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 flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on September 18, 2027, your taper starts around September 6, 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 Greifenseelauf (Half marathon) on September 18, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Greifenseelauf training questions
How long should I train for the Greifenseelauf?
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 Greifenseelauf course hilly?
Flat. Every course finishes in the Stadtpark in Uster, with bib pickup in the Stadthalle and the race village around the Landihalle.
What is the weather usually like at the Greifenseelauf?
Mid-September around Zurich usually brings mornings of about 11 °C and afternoon highs near 19 °C, with fairly humid air and showers on roughly 10 days of the month. Those are close to ideal running temperatures, so dress for the effort rather than the start line and keep a light layer for the wait before your wave.
When should I start tapering for the Greifenseelauf?
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 flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on September 18, 2027, your taper starts around September 6, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Greifenseelauf 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.