Up to 25K training plans
Four up to 25K races in the library, a 12-week build behind each one. Every one is written two weeks at a time, phased for how far out you are, and rebuilt the moment you travel, get sick or something starts hurting.
On Pro, the hours, the experience level and the date you give shape every block, and the plan is rewritten when your week changes.
On Pro, a beginner's trail week holds 5 to 12 hours and an advanced runner's 11 to 20, with part of it on hiking and strength, so the same 50K gives two different plans.
The races on this page are examples. In the app you choose a distance and set your own date, so a race we have not listed works the same way.
Free plan available · Paid from $7.50/mo billed annually · iOS, Android & web
UP TO 25K AT A GLANCE
- Races covered4
- Typical build12 weeks
- Race monthsFeb · Jun · Jul
- True of all 4Trail · Open
- Next upLakeland Trails Ambleside 23K · Jul 10, 2027
- SportTrail running
WHO AN UP TO 25K PLAN IS FOR
A first trail race does not need an ultra build
This goal covers trail races up to about 25 kilometers. It suits a first trail race, a runner moving off the road, or anyone who wants the hills without the hours of an ultra.
A trail plan counts climbing, descent and time on feet along with mileage, and about three quarters of the week is running. Part of the rest is hiking and strength, which prepares the legs for the downhills.
The races below are examples. Choose Up to 25K in the app, set your date, and the build is written for your course.
THE UP TO 25K FIELD
What a up to 25K build has to cope with
Counted off the four up to 25K races on this page. It is not a general claim about the distance.
HOW LONG THE BUILD RUNS
Every plan at this distance runs to twelve weeks.
That is the shortest of the six trail running distances on this site. 25K to 50K (14 weeks), 50K (14 weeks), 50 mile (18 weeks), 100K (20 weeks) and 100 mile (24 weeks) run longer.
Whatever the length, the plan is written two weeks at a time and phased for how far out you are, so up to 25K races that start in a hole and up to 25K races that start fit do not get the same first block.
WHAT YOU BUILD THROUGH
Three of the four put the bulk of the build in spring; the rest split one in summer.
A build that runs through spring starts in the dark and finishes in the light, with the weather changing underneath it.
One of them (Tarawera Ultra-Trail T21) is south of the equator, where the calendar runs the other way round.
Race dates land in three different months of the year.
WHAT THE COURSES DO
Two of the four are mountainous; the rest split one hilly and one rolling.
All four are on trail.
We hold a total-climb figure for three of the four. They run 400 m to 1,680 m. For the rest the table leaves the cell empty, because we hold no figure for them.
WHAT THE WEATHER DOES
Two of the four are unpredictable; the rest split one cool and one warm.
HOW YOU GET IN
All four go by open entry.
Field size, in starters: three at 1,000 to 10,000 and one at 10,000 to 40,000.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DATES
We hold a confirmed date for one of the four. The other three carry a season instead, and the table says so rather than inventing a day.
Dates are checked against each race’s own announcement before they go in, and a date we cannot stand behind is left out.
ALL FOUR UP TO 25K RACES
Every up to 25K race we have a plan for
Four of the seven things we track vary between these races, so those are the columns. The ones that do not vary are in the card above. Every name links to its own plan.
| Race | When | Course | Climb | Conditions | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Trails Ambleside 23KAmbleside, UK | Hilly | -not known | Cool | 1,000-10,000 | |
| Broken Arrow Skyrace 23KOlympic Valley, CA | Summer 2027 | Mountainous | 1,400 m | Unpredictable | 1,000-10,000 |
| Marathon du Mont-Blanc 23KChamonix, France | Summer 2027 | Mountainous | 1,680 m | Unpredictable | 10,000-40,000 |
| Tarawera Ultra-Trail T21Rotorua, New Zealand | Summer 2027 | Rolling | 400 m | Warm | 1,000-10,000 |