Your plan in four answers
Set for August 29, 2027, about 44 weeks out.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- August 17, 2027
Course
The Nottingham Running Festival course
Everything is based at Nottingham Racecourse in Colwick Park (NG2 4BE), one of the oldest racecourses in the UK, a few kilometres east of the city centre. The course is a 5 km loop on flat tarmac paths inside the racecourse and gravel paths in Colwick Country Park, past the park's lakes: the half marathon is a mini lap plus 4 laps (9:30 start), the 10K is 2 laps (10:15) and the 5K is 1 lap (10:25).
Read the full course notes
It is about as flat as racing gets, with only around 20 m of climbing over the whole half marathon and 10 m on the 10K. Water is roughly every 5 km (the 5K has none on course), and the grandstand toilets are a short detour at the end of each lap. Fast, flat and lapped, it is a great place to chase a personal best.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Late August in Nottingham is usually mild to warm: around 14–18 °C at the morning starts, with highs near 21 °C on Met Office averages. The racecourse and lakeside are open, so a breeze on part of each lap is common, and sunny mornings warm up quickly with little shade. Start at your goal pace rather than faster, and take water on every lap.
What to train for
This is a pacing course: the flat laps reward even splits, so practise locking into goal pace.
Run 3 x 5 km at half marathon pace with 2 minutes easy between, which mirrors the four laps, or 5 x 2 km at 10K pace for the shorter race.
Build long runs to 18 to 20 km with the last 6 km at goal pace on flat ground. Use the lap structure on race day: check your split each lap and aim to run the last one slightly faster.
Sample week
A sample Nottingham Running Festival 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 Nottingham Running Festival
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 August 29, 2027, your taper starts around August 17, 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 Nottingham Running Festival (Half marathon) on August 29, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Nottingham Running Festival training questions
How long should I train for the Nottingham Running Festival?
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 Nottingham Running Festival course hilly?
Flat. Everything is based at Nottingham Racecourse in Colwick Park (NG2 4BE), one of the oldest racecourses in the UK, a few kilometres east of the city centre.
What is the weather usually like at the Nottingham Running Festival?
Late August in Nottingham is usually mild to warm: around 14–18 °C at the morning starts, with highs near 21 °C on Met Office averages. The racecourse and lakeside are open, so a breeze on part of each lap is common, and sunny mornings warm up quickly with little shade. Start at your goal pace rather than faster, and take water on every lap.
When should I start tapering for the Nottingham Running Festival?
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 August 29, 2027, your taper starts around August 17, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Nottingham Running Festival 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.