Your plan in four answers
Set for December 26, 2026, about 9 weeks out.
- Distances
- 10K
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- More than 161,000 runners across its first 18 editions since 2008
- Taper starts
- December 17, 2026
Course
The São Silvestre de Lisboa course
A 9:30 pm race through the Christmas-lit Baixa, starting on Avenida da Liberdade and finishing at Praça dos Restauradores. The opening kilometres run downhill through Restauradores, Rossio and Rua do Ouro to the river, then out along Cais do Sodré and Avenida 24 de Julho to a turnaround and back.
Read the full course notes
You return along the Ribeira das Naus, cross Praça do Comércio and head back up Rua da Prata to Rossio before the defining stretch: the long, steady drag up Avenida da Liberdade to the turnaround at Marquês de Pombal. From there it is downhill to the finish at Restauradores, with crowds lining the avenue.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 10K
- Field
- More than 161,000 runners across its first 18 editions since 2008
- Weather on race day
- Late December nights in Lisbon are usually 9–13 °C, and December is the city's wettest month, so a damp evening is common. Runners start in waves and the pens close at 9:30 pm, so keep a throwaway layer on if you are in a later wave and dress to run at around 10 °C. Tram rails and painted road markings in the Baixa get slippery when wet, so take the corners with care.
What to train for
The race is decided in the last 3 km, when you climb Avenida da Liberdade to Marquês de Pombal and then need to turn your legs over fast on the way back down.
Rehearse it once a week: finish a tempo run with 8–12 minutes uphill at threshold effort, then a quick, relaxed downhill.
Run a few sessions around 9 pm so eating, warming up and racing at night feel normal. In the final month, add 6–8 × 1 km at goal 10K pace with 90 seconds easy.
Sample week
A sample São Silvestre de Lisboa 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 São Silvestre de Lisboa
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 26, 2026, your taper starts around December 17, 2026.
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Build me a training plan for the LIDL São Silvestre de Lisboa (10K) on December 26, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
São Silvestre de Lisboa training questions
How long should I train for the São Silvestre de Lisboa?
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 São Silvestre de Lisboa course hilly?
Rolling. A 9:30 pm race through the Christmas-lit Baixa, starting on Avenida da Liberdade and finishing at Praça dos Restauradores.
What is the weather usually like at the São Silvestre de Lisboa?
Late December nights in Lisbon are usually 9–13 °C, and December is the city's wettest month, so a damp evening is common. Runners start in waves and the pens close at 9:30 pm, so keep a throwaway layer on if you are in a later wave and dress to run at around 10 °C. Tram rails and painted road markings in the Baixa get slippery when wet, so take the corners with care.
When should I start tapering for the São Silvestre de Lisboa?
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 26, 2026, your taper starts around December 17, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a São Silvestre de Lisboa 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.