Your plan in four answers
Set for December 31, 2026, about 9 weeks out.
- Distances
- 10K
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- Up to 42,000 runners in the popular race
- Taper starts
- December 22, 2026
Course
The San Silvestre Vallecana course
Madrid's New Year's Eve tradition is a fully urban 10 km on asphalt, starting in waves from 16:50 on Calle Concha Espina at Plaza Sagrados Corazones. The route runs down Serrano, through the Puerta de Alcalá, past Cibeles and down the Paseo del Prado to Neptuno and Atocha, with stretches of Alcalá and the Prado run against the usual traffic direction.
Read the full course notes
Most of the first 8 km trend gently downhill, then the race turns up the Avenida de la Albufera into Vallecas for a climb of roughly a kilometre, the part everyone remembers. The last few hundred metres wind through narrow neighbourhood streets to the finish on Calle Candilejas by the Estadio de Vallecas, with costumes and crowds all the way.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 10K
- Field
- Up to 42,000 runners in the popular race
- Weather on race day
- Late December afternoons in Madrid usually sit around 5–10 °C, and the temperature drops quickly once the sun sets during the race. It is usually dry, so the main job is dressing warmly in the start pen without overheating once you are moving.
What to train for
The downhill first half tempts everyone to go out too fast, so rehearse patient pacing: run your first 5 km of tempo sessions at goal pace and no quicker.
Practise the Albufera climb with weekly hill repeats of 3–4 minutes at 10K effort, then run the flat after the crest, because the race does not end at the top.
Add a few long runs that finish with 2–3 km uphill to train strength when tired. Most of the field is out to enjoy the party, so it is also a great first 10K.
Sample week
A sample San Silvestre Vallecana 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: 6 × 800 m at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 8 km
- Thursday Key session
- Tempo run on a rolling route, 8 km with 3 km comfortably hard
- Friday
- Recovery run, 5 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 11–13 km easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 5 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the San Silvestre Vallecana
Start the taper seven to ten 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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on December 31, 2026, your taper starts around December 22, 2026.
Also in Claude
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Build me a training plan for the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana (10K) on December 31, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
San Silvestre Vallecana training questions
How long should I train for the San Silvestre Vallecana?
Most runners give a 10k ten to twelve 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 San Silvestre Vallecana course hilly?
Rolling. Madrid's New Year's Eve tradition is a fully urban 10 km on asphalt, starting in waves from 16:50 on Calle Concha Espina at Plaza Sagrados Corazones.
What is the weather usually like at the San Silvestre Vallecana?
Late December afternoons in Madrid usually sit around 5–10 °C, and the temperature drops quickly once the sun sets during the race. It is usually dry, so the main job is dressing warmly in the start pen without overheating once you are moving.
When should I start tapering for the San Silvestre Vallecana?
Start the taper seven to ten 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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on December 31, 2026, your taper starts around December 22, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a San Silvestre Vallecana 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.