Your plan in four answers
Set for December 6, 2026, about 6 weeks out.
- Distances
- 18K
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- November 24, 2026
Course
The Volta da Pampulha course
One full lap of the Lagoa da Pampulha, officially 18.079 km, starting and finishing beside the Mineirão stadium on Avenida Coronel Oscar Paschoal. After the opening kilometres you cross the dam at about km 3, then spend km 4 to 17 on Avenida Otacílio Negrão de Lima, the lakeside avenue that passes Niemeyer's UNESCO-listed Pampulha Modern Ensemble, including the Igreja São Francisco de Assis.
Read the full course notes
The road is wide asphalt and mostly flat, with a few short, gentle rises around the lake shore and near the stadiums. The general field starts in waves from 6:00, and the lake view with the city skyline behind it makes this one of the most scenic races in Brazil.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 18K
- Weather on race day
- Early December is the rainy season in Belo Horizonte: expect about 18–22 °C at the 6:00 start, high humidity and a real chance of rain or a muggy overcast morning. Once the sun comes out the lakeside has little shade, so drink at every station and keep the first half relaxed.
What to train for
At 18 km this sits between a 15K and a half, so train like a half marathoner: long runs of 18 to 22 km and weekly tempo runs of 30 to 40 minutes at a pace you could hold for about 90 minutes.
Add progression runs that finish faster than they start, because the final kilometres around the lake reward runners who held back early.
Practise drinking on the move in warm, humid conditions.
Sample week
A sample Volta da Pampulha 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, 8–10 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 11 km with 6 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–19 km easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Volta da Pampulha
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. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on December 6, 2026, your taper starts around November 24, 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 Volta Internacional da Pampulha (18K) on December 6, 2026. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Volta da Pampulha training questions
How long should I train for the Volta da Pampulha?
Most runners give a 18k 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 Volta da Pampulha course hilly?
Flat. One full lap of the Lagoa da Pampulha, officially 18.079 km, starting and finishing beside the Mineirão stadium on Avenida Coronel Oscar Paschoal.
What is the weather usually like at the Volta da Pampulha?
Early December is the rainy season in Belo Horizonte: expect about 18–22 °C at the 6:00 start, high humidity and a real chance of rain or a muggy overcast morning. Once the sun comes out the lakeside has little shade, so drink at every station and keep the first half relaxed.
When should I start tapering for the Volta da Pampulha?
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. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on December 6, 2026, your taper starts around November 24, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a Volta da Pampulha 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.