Your plan in four answers
Haunted Half has not announced its next date, so we have estimated October. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 5K
- Sport
- Running
Course
The Haunted Half course
The half marathon starts and finishes on the Tennessee Tech campus near North Dixie Avenue and B Street and runs a clockwise loop through Cookeville. The first miles follow city streets and retail areas through downtown, then the course heads out into the more rural countryside in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains before coming back through residential neighborhoods.
Read the full course notes
The 5K shares the start, the finish and the first mile of the half, and the three-person relay splits the course into legs of 4, 4.7 and 4.4 miles. The course closes after 3 hours, and every finisher earns a haunted-themed medal, with Best Costume awards for the boldest runners and relay teams.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Late October in Cookeville is usually crisp and pleasant: October averages a high of 72 °F and a low of 46 °F. With a 7:00 AM start you will race on the cool side of that range, so arm sleeves, gloves or a costume layer can help in the first miles. October brings about 3.4 inches of rain on average, so pack a dry change of clothes for after the finish. Cool fall mornings like these are a great setting for a strong half.
What to train for
The loop leaves town for country roads in the Appalachian foothills, so include some rolling routes in your long runs to be ready for whatever the countryside brings.
Build your long run to 10 to 12 miles over 10 to 12 weeks, with an easier week every third or fourth week.
If you plan to race in costume, test it on a long run first to check for chafing and overheating. Relay runners can focus on their 4 to 4.7 mile leg with a weekly tempo run. Walkers and run-walkers are welcome, so plan a pace that keeps you comfortably inside the 3-hour course limit, about 13.7 minutes per mile.
Sample week
A sample Haunted Half 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, 5–6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 7 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 10–12 mi easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Haunted Half
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.
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 Upper Cumberland Haunted Half Marathon, Relay & 5K in October. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Haunted Half training questions
How long should I train for the Haunted Half?
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 Haunted Half course hilly?
The half marathon starts and finishes on the Tennessee Tech campus near North Dixie Avenue and B Street and runs a clockwise loop through Cookeville.
What is the weather usually like at the Haunted Half?
Late October in Cookeville is usually crisp and pleasant: October averages a high of 72 °F and a low of 46 °F. With a 7:00 AM start you will race on the cool side of that range, so arm sleeves, gloves or a costume layer can help in the first miles. October brings about 3.4 inches of rain on average, so pack a dry change of clothes for after the finish. Cool fall mornings like these are a great setting for a strong half.
When should I start tapering for the Haunted Half?
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.
Do I need an account to get a Haunted Half 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.