How to Include Tune-Up Races in Your Training

In many training plans, you may notice one particular type of run programmed for about four to eight weeks before the goal race: a tune-up race. You may be wondering how hard you should race the tune-up event, or why you should even run one at all. This article will examine the rationale for including tune-up races in your training, as well as how hard to race them, whether you should taper, and how to recover.

The Benefits of Running Tune-up Races

A tune-up race is a race run in preparation for a goal race. You may also see it referred to as a “practice race” or a “dress rehearsal race.” This is not a goal race; rather, it’s a race incorporated into training for the bigger race.

A tune-up race is not a necessary part of training. If you don’t want to run one or it doesn’t work out for your schedule, you do not need to include one in your training. However, many runners find that a practice race offers physical and mental benefits.

The benefits of a tune-up race include:

• The opportunity to practice your nutrition strategy and gear in a race setting.
• A fitness assessment to aid in setting a realistic goal pace.
• Exposure to a race setting, which can help reduce pre-race nerves.
• The opportunity to practice racing tactics and to remind yourself how to dig deep before your goal race.
• A break from the monotony of training.

What Distance Should A Tune-Up Race Be?

The distance of a practice race depends on the distance of your goal race. Generally speaking, a practice race is shorter than the goal race.

Tune-up Race Before a 5K

Since you can recover quickly from a mile or 5K race, you can race one every few weeks. Plan your last practice run two to four weeks before your goal event. This approach allows you time to recover, sharpen with a few more workouts, and be mentally ready to push hard again on race day.

Tune-up Race Before a 10K

Running a 5K before a 10K can provide an assessment of your fitness. Since you recover quickly from a 5K, the event doubles as a hard workout to boost fitness before the 10K. Ideally, you want to run a 5K two to five weeks before a 5K race.

Tune-up Race Before a Half Marathon

If you want to run a practice race before a half marathon, aim to do a 10K or 15K approximately three to six weeks before your half. You can either all-out race the distance, or treat it as a long tempo at half marathon pace. Either way, ensure you recover appropriately in the following week of training.

Tune-up Race Before a Marathon

A tune-up race before a marathon will typically be a half marathon. However, even a 10K or 15K race can provide an accurate assessment of your fitness before the marathon.

If racing a half marathon in marathon training, you can approach it as a race effort (running it as hard as you can), as a hard workout (13.1 miles at marathon pace), or as a supported long run. The specific approach depends on the runner’s fitness, recovery rate, and the proximity of the practice race to the marathon.

A tune-up race should occur four to eight weeks before your goal marathon. Any closer, and you may not recover fully in time for your goal marathon. Whether you race it or treat it as a workout, the practice race often serves as both the long run and hardest workout of that training week.

Tune-up Race Before an Ultra

When training for a 50K to 100 mile race, a tune-up race can serve as a long training run on technical terrain. Most ultra runners do not run longer than marathon distances in normal training runs. A tune-up racer provides a harder training stimulus. For example, when training for a 100K, you might run one 50K race as your longest run in ultra training.

Since a tune-up race for an ultra marathon is a long distance, you want to ensure adequate recovery before your goal race. Ideally, you want to allow at least three weeks – likely four to eight weeks – between your practice race and your goal ultra marathon.

Should You Taper Before a Practice Race?

Unlike a goal race, a tune-up race does not involve a multi-week taper. However, you also don’t want to be totally fatigued when you go into a practice event. Before a tune-up race, most runners will benefit from a modest cutback in training.

For my athletes, I generally reduce intensity and volume approximately three to four days before a tune-up race. The reduction is typically by 15-20% (similar to a cutback week), rather than the 35-650% reduction of a full taper. I program the tune-up race as the main hard workout of the week, with a smaller workout earlier in the week.

Related: How to Taper for a Marathon

How to Recover After a Tune-Up Race

The recovery protocol following a practice race depends on how you approached it. The harder you ran and the longer the distance, the more recovery you need in the days following. If you recover appropriately from a tune-up race, you will be fitter going into your goal race. Conversely, if you inadequately recover, you risk carrying excessive fatigue into your peak weeks.

Broadly speaking, you want to allow 2-5 days of easy running after a 5K or 10K race. For a longer practice race (such as a half marathon), you might schedule 4-7 days of easy runs following.

How to Pace Tune-up Races

Depending on the timing of your tune-up race, your fitness level, and your recovery rate, you can take one of multiple approaches:

• Race it: If you are feeling good and have enough time to recover, you can run a practice race all-out. The shorter the tune-up race, the safer this approach.
• Approach it was a workout. Got a long run workout on your schedule? Motivate yourself by doing it as part of a race! This approach does require discipline. However, you also get the psychological boost of doing a harder long run in an uplifting setting.
• Run it at goal race pace for your upcoming race. A tune-up race at goal race pace typically doubles as a peak workout, so this approach should be done shortly before the taper. If you can hold marathon pace for 13.1 miles, you are likely ready for your marathon!
• Run it by as an easy run. If you enjoy running lots of races, you can include that in your training! Over-racing can lead to overtraining. However, if you have the discipline to keep most races chill, you can use them often to make training more social and exciting.

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