Your plan in four answers
Set for May 8, 2027, about 28 weeks out.
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- April 26, 2027
Course
The Indy Mini course
One of the largest half marathons in the country, and the only one that takes you around a full lap of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including a crossing of the yard of bricks. Flat throughout.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 5K, Half marathon
- Weather on race day
- Early May in Indianapolis is usually pleasant, with the chance of a warm morning.
What to train for
Flat and fast, with a mid-race lap of the Speedway that is slower than it feels because of the surface and the crowd.
Even pacing and threshold work are the priorities.
Sample week
A sample Indy Mini 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 Indy Mini
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 May 8, 2027, your taper starts around April 26, 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 IU Health 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (Half marathon) on May 8, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Indy Mini training questions
How long should I train for the Indy Mini?
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 Indy Mini course hilly?
Flat. One of the largest half marathons in the country, and the only one that takes you around a full lap of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including a crossing of the yard of bricks.
What is the weather usually like at the Indy Mini?
Early May in Indianapolis is usually pleasant, with the chance of a warm morning.
When should I start tapering for the Indy Mini?
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 May 8, 2027, your taper starts around April 26, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Indy Mini 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.