Your plan in four answers
Set for October 16, 2027, about 51 weeks out.
- Distances
- 50K, 25K, 10K, 5K
- Sport
- Running
- Taper starts
- September 28, 2027
Course
The Lake Hodges Trail Fest course
Every distance starts and finishes at the Piedras Pintadas Trailhead on the shore of Lake Hodges in northern San Diego, with staggered Saturday starts from 7:00 a.m. (50K) to 9:30 a.m.
Read the full course notes
(5K). The 50K is billed as a friendly introduction to ultrarunning, the 25K is a newer addition, and a 15K shares the 50K's route in and out of the start area. The Bernardo 10K Challenge is the climber's race: about 1,000 feet of gain to the summit of Bernardo Mountain, where you earn a summit coin. The 5K is an out-and-back along the lakeshore. Courses are marked in colors that match your race wristband, and every course closes at 3:30 p.m.
- Distances
- 50K, 25K, 10K, 5K
- Weather on race day
- October near Lake Hodges is usually dry and sunny, with normal lows in the upper 50s °F and afternoon highs around 80 °F at nearby Escondido. Early starters get the coolest miles, but by late morning exposed trail can feel warm, so drink steadily and protect yourself from the sun.
What to train for
This is a cupless race series, so train with the bottles or hydration vest you will carry and practice refilling quickly on your long runs.
For the 50K, the 7:00 a.m. start and 3:30 p.m. course close give you 8.5 hours (about 16:24 per mile), which suits a run-walk plan: rehearse power-hiking the climbs and running the flats on back-to-back weekend long runs.
Bernardo 10K runners should add weekly hill repeats (6 to 8 x 2 to 3 minutes uphill) and at least one continuous climb of 800 to 1,000 feet. Study and download the course map before race day, and do most long runs on trail so your feet and ankles are ready for the footing.
Sample week
A sample Lake Hodges Trail Fest 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: 10 × 2 min up a steady grade, jog back down
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 8 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 18–20 mi on trail, with as much climbing as you can find
- Sunday Key session
- Second long day, 10–12 mi easy on tired legs
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Lake Hodges Trail Fest
Start the taper two to three weeks 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 October 16, 2027, your taper starts around September 28, 2027.
Also in Claude
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Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Lake Hodges Trail Festival (5K) on October 16, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Lake Hodges Trail Fest training questions
How long should I train for the Lake Hodges Trail Fest?
Most runners give a 50k twenty to twenty-four 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 Lake Hodges Trail Fest course hilly?
Every distance starts and finishes at the Piedras Pintadas Trailhead on the shore of Lake Hodges in northern San Diego, with staggered Saturday starts from 7:00 a.m.
What is the weather usually like at the Lake Hodges Trail Fest?
October near Lake Hodges is usually dry and sunny, with normal lows in the upper 50s °F and afternoon highs around 80 °F at nearby Escondido. Early starters get the coolest miles, but by late morning exposed trail can feel warm, so drink steadily and protect yourself from the sun.
When should I start tapering for the Lake Hodges Trail Fest?
Start the taper two to three weeks 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 October 16, 2027, your taper starts around September 28, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Lake Hodges Trail Fest 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.