Your plan in four answers
Set for December 31, 2026, about 9 weeks out.
- Distances
- 8 miles
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- About 1,100 runners registered for the first edition (2025)
- Taper starts
- December 19, 2026
Course
The Milhas da Virada course
The second edition starts and finishes at Pontal Shopping on the Guaíba waterfront at 6:30 on New Year's Eve, which is why it calls itself the São Silvestre of the Pampas. The 8 mile (12.9 km) route runs north from the Pontal along the Orla do Guaíba, past the Beira-Rio stadium and Parque Marinha do Brasil, toward the Usina do Gasômetro end of the waterfront, then turns and retraces the same path back.
Read the full course notes
The published route stays between about 1 and 16 m above sea level, so it is flat, with a short section of loops around the northern turnaround. There are also 5 mile and 2 mile options, so it is a good morning to bring friends of every level.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 8 miles
- Field
- About 1,100 runners registered for the first edition (2025)
- Weather on race day
- Porto Alegre on the last morning of the year is usually 20–25 °C at the 6:30 start and warms quickly, with high humidity and strong summer sun once it climbs. The waterfront offers little shade, so drink at every station and start a touch slower than goal pace.
What to train for
8 miles is a strong tempo-endurance effort, run somewhere between half marathon and 10K pace for most people.
Build long runs of 15 to 18 km and add a weekly tempo of 5 to 7 km at goal pace.
As a flat, exposed waterfront course in summer, it rewards getting used to the heat, so do some runs in the warm early hours and practise drinking on the move. Use the turnaround to check your effort and save something for the final 3 km back toward the Pontal.
Sample week
A sample Milhas da Virada 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 Milhas da Virada
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 December 31, 2026, your taper starts around December 19, 2026.
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 Corrida Internacional Milhas da Virada (8 miles) on December 31, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Milhas da Virada training questions
How long should I train for the Milhas da Virada?
Most runners give a 8-mile 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 Milhas da Virada course hilly?
Flat. The second edition starts and finishes at Pontal Shopping on the Guaíba waterfront at 6:30 on New Year's Eve, which is why it calls itself the São Silvestre of the Pampas.
What is the weather usually like at the Milhas da Virada?
Porto Alegre on the last morning of the year is usually 20–25 °C at the 6:30 start and warms quickly, with high humidity and strong summer sun once it climbs. The waterfront offers little shade, so drink at every station and start a touch slower than goal pace.
When should I start tapering for the Milhas da Virada?
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 December 31, 2026, your taper starts around December 19, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a Milhas da Virada 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.