Your plan in four answers
Set for December 12, 2026, about 7 weeks out.
- Distances
- 10K, 5K
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- A capped field in each wave, kept small by design
- Taper starts
- December 3, 2026
Course
The Sunrise Run Memphis course
This is a small, relaxed morning run on the Memphis Riverwalk beside the Mississippi, with the exact start point and course map emailed to registered runners by the Wednesday before race day. The organiser's courses are out-and-back loops that come back past the start area, which doubles as the water and snack table about every 1.5 miles.
Read the full course notes
Runners go off in capped waves at 7:30, 8:00 and 8:30 a.m., so it never feels crowded, and coordinators stay on site for three hours after the first wave. The riverside path is flat and paved, and there are no timing chips: you time yourself on a watch or phone and submit it for the online results. In-person entries are for the 5K and 10K; the 13.1 is offered only as a virtual run for this date.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 10K, 5K
- Field
- A capped field in each wave, kept small by design
- Weather on race day
- Mid-December mornings in Memphis are usually cold at the 7:30 a.m. wave, around 35–45 °F, often grey and damp with a breeze off the river. Wear layers you can shed after the first mile, and since water is only at the start area, carry a small bottle if you like to drink more often.
What to train for
A flat loop course and self-timing make this a great chance to run an honest 10K or 5K time.
Build two key sessions a week: intervals such as 5 x 1 km at 10K pace with 2 minutes easy, and a tempo run of 20 to 30 minutes at comfortably hard effort.
Out-and-back loops mean tight turnarounds, so practise slowing, turning and accelerating smoothly back to pace. Keep one longer easy run each week (6 to 8 miles for the 10K, 4 to 5 miles for the 5K) to support that speed.
Sample week
A sample Sunrise Run Memphis 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 Sunrise Run Memphis
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 December 12, 2026, your taper starts around December 3, 2026.
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 Sunrise Marathon 5K/10K/13.1 MEMPHIS on December 12, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Sunrise Run Memphis training questions
How long should I train for the Sunrise Run Memphis?
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 Sunrise Run Memphis course hilly?
Flat. This is a small, relaxed morning run on the Memphis Riverwalk beside the Mississippi, with the exact start point and course map emailed to registered runners by the Wednesday before race day.
What is the weather usually like at the Sunrise Run Memphis?
Mid-December mornings in Memphis are usually cold at the 7:30 a.m. wave, around 35–45 °F, often grey and damp with a breeze off the river. Wear layers you can shed after the first mile, and since water is only at the start area, carry a small bottle if you like to drink more often.
When should I start tapering for the Sunrise Run Memphis?
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 December 12, 2026, your taper starts around December 3, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a Sunrise Run Memphis 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.