Training plans / Trail running
Free trail running training plans
Pick a race by distance and climbing. Each plan is written out session by session; import it and the targets turn into your own paces and heart rates on your Garmin, COROS or Suunto.
Pick your race
Plans for 80 km and longer are being written. Until then, ask Claude or ChatGPT to plan your block through the MCP server, straight into your calendar.
Plan with Claude or ChatGPTWhat the plans work on
- 01
Hill repeats
Uphill reps of 1' to 2'30 at 88–95% of max heart rate, jogging back down. They build the strength to keep running where others start walking.
- 02
Long uphill tempo
5 to 12 minutes of steady climbing at 82–87% of max heart rate: the effort you will hold on the long climbs of the race, rehearsed.
- 03
Power hiking with poles
Above 15%, most runners walk on race day. Walking fast with poles is a skill: short steps, hands pushing down, then running again as soon as the slope eases.
- 04
Downhill technique
Short reps on a technical descent at controlled effort. Quick steps, eyes a few metres ahead, arms out. Descents are where quads give up and where time is lost.
- 05
Long runs in time and D+
Long runs grow in duration and climbing together, with a lighter week every 3–4 weeks. In the 50 km plan, weekends become back-to-back long runs to train tired legs.
- 06
Strength for quads and ankles
Optional, 30 minutes at home: step-ups, slow single-leg squats, calf raises, balance on one leg. Then a 2-week taper so you start fresh.
Targets that become your own numbers
The plan never gives a pace in minutes per kilometre, because it does not know you. Flat and rolling sessions are written as a share of your VMA; climbs as a share of your max heart rate, because pace on a 12% slope tells you nothing; descents as effort. Once you import the plan, OpenAthlete reads the VMA and max heart rate in your profile and sends each structured session to your Garmin, COROS or Suunto with your own paces and heart rates.
- 62–95% VMA
- 65–95% max HR
- RPE 1–10
Fill in your VMA and max heart rate in OpenAthlete before the first session goes to your watch.
Try it with your numbers
| Easy run62–70% VMA | 6:55–6:07 /km |
| Tempo on the flat82–87% VMA | 5:14–4:56 /km |
| VMA intervals90–95% VMA | 4:46–4:31 /km |
| Long run with D+65–75% max HR | 120–139 bpm |
| Long uphill tempo82–87% max HR | 152–161 bpm |
| Hill repeats88–95% max HR | 163–176 bpm |
What your watch would show. Change the numbers to yours.
Before you start
Get a time range for your race, see what your flat pace is worth on a climb, and check the VMA and max heart rate the targets are based on.
From this page to your watch
- 01
Pick a plan and read it through. Nothing to sign up for.
- 02
Click import, create a free account, choose your start date.
- 03
Move sessions around your week; structured ones reach your Garmin, Suunto or COROS.
A plan is a draft. Your calendar is the real thing.
Import a plan, then move, shorten or swap sessions as your weeks happen. Fitness and fatigue follow.
Free forever. No credit card.