Your plan in four answers
Set for March 13, 2027, about 20 weeks out.
- Distances
- 5 miles
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- March 4, 2027
Course
The St. Malachi Run course
Cleveland's original St. Patrick's Day race starts on the Veterans Memorial Bridge beside St.
Read the full course notes
Malachi Church on West 25th Street, with the 5 mile race at 10 a.m., an hour after the 2 mile. The 5 mile course heads west on the Shoreway, takes the West Boulevard exit just past 2 miles, then turns back east on the lakefront trail through Edgewater Park, with Lake Erie on your left and a water stop near 3.35 miles. At about 3.7 miles you rejoin the eastbound Shoreway, and at 4.8 miles the West 25th Street exit brings you up to the finish by the church. The course is flat apart from the ramps on and off the Shoreway, and the final ramp is the one to save something for. New for 2027, an elite 5 mile division starts first for women under 7:00 and men under 6:00 per mile, followed by the open start.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 5 miles
- Weather on race day
- Mid-March in Cleveland is usually 30–45 °F at the start, and the Shoreway and Edgewater sections are exposed to wind off Lake Erie. Snow or sleet is possible, so dress for the wind chill and expect the lakefront miles to feel colder than the start line.
What to train for
The first 2 miles westbound are wide and fast, so practise holding back with progression runs that finish faster than they start.
Lakefront wind can stall the middle miles: do some tempo work into a headwind and hold effort, not pace.
Finish a few harder runs with a short hill so the West 25th Street ramp feels familiar, and if you are doing the 2 + 5 Combo, rehearse a 2 mile effort, a long break and then 5 more miles.
Sample week
A sample St. Malachi Run 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, 5 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Tempo run, 5 mi with 2 mi comfortably hard
- Friday
- Recovery run, 3 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 7–8 mi easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 3 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the St. Malachi Run
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 is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on March 13, 2027, your taper starts around March 4, 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 St. Malachi Church Run/Walk (5 miles) on March 13, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
St. Malachi Run training questions
How long should I train for the St. Malachi Run?
Most runners give a 5-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 St. Malachi Run course hilly?
Flat. Cleveland's original St.
What is the weather usually like at the St. Malachi Run?
Mid-March in Cleveland is usually 30–45 °F at the start, and the Shoreway and Edgewater sections are exposed to wind off Lake Erie. Snow or sleet is possible, so dress for the wind chill and expect the lakefront miles to feel colder than the start line.
When should I start tapering for the St. Malachi Run?
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 is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on March 13, 2027, your taper starts around March 4, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a St. Malachi Run 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.