Your plan in four answers
Set for September 5, 2027, about 45 weeks out.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- August 24, 2027
Course
The River Torrens Running Festival course
The festival is based at Drage Reserve on Riverside Drive in Felixstow, about 10–15 minutes from the Adelaide CBD. Every distance follows the shared paths beside the River Torrens, through a green corridor of gum trees, parkland and riverbank.
Read the full course notes
The course is flat and fast, so it suits a first half marathon as well as a 10 km or 5 km personal best. The 10 km starts at 8:00, the half marathon at 8:25 and the 5 km at 9:30, and the half has a 3.5 hour cut-off. Walkers, cyclists and dogs share the paths, so keep to the left and stay alert.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Half marathon, 10K, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Early September is the end of winter in Adelaide: mornings are usually crisp, around 8–13 °C at the start, with highs in the high teens. Showers are possible and the river corridor can feel cool in the shade, so wear a layer to the start and warm up properly. Cool air is ideal for pushing the pace in the second half.
What to train for
On a flat river path, the race is decided by how evenly you run.
For the half, build long runs to 18–22 km on similar paths with the last 5 km at goal pace, plus a weekly tempo such as 3 x 10 minutes at half marathon pace.
For the 10 km and 5 km, run 6 x 800 m at 5 km pace with 400 m jogs. Practise starting a touch slower than goal pace for the first kilometre, since a winter morning start and a busy path both reward patience.
Sample week
A sample River Torrens 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 River Torrens 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 September 5, 2027, your taper starts around August 24, 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 River Torrens Running Festival (Half marathon) on September 5, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
River Torrens Running Festival training questions
How long should I train for the River Torrens 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 River Torrens Running Festival course hilly?
Flat. The festival is based at Drage Reserve on Riverside Drive in Felixstow, about 10–15 minutes from the Adelaide CBD.
What is the weather usually like at the River Torrens Running Festival?
Early September is the end of winter in Adelaide: mornings are usually crisp, around 8–13 °C at the start, with highs in the high teens. Showers are possible and the river corridor can feel cool in the shade, so wear a layer to the start and warm up properly. Cool air is ideal for pushing the pace in the second half.
When should I start tapering for the River Torrens 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 September 5, 2027, your taper starts around August 24, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a River Torrens 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.