Should I Run the Exact Route of My Upcoming 5k?

Hello Dominique, my first ever 5k will be in 3.5 months' time. I now know the specific route of the race. I've run it twice and it has a particularly killer hill. I was dismayed that my time slowed down. Should I stop running that route until race day? I'm worried I'm getting my mental game off balance. Would it be better to keep training with your tempo/base/interval suggestions and not run the route until race day?

– Tom, Delhi NY

Answer by Dom: Tom, run that route — don't avoid it. Finding out about that hill in training is one of the best things that could have happened to you. Here's why that matters, and exactly how to make it work for you.

Let me cover this from three angles:

1. The principle of specificity — why training on the route matters
2. How many times to run it, and what to focus on each time
3. Turning course knowledge into race strategy — my own experiences

The Principle of Specificity: Train for What You'll Race

The principle of specificity is one of the most reliable ideas in all of training: your body adapts precisely to the demands you place on it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Your race has a significant hill. That hill recruits your glutes and hamstrings differently from flat running. It demands more from your cardiovascular system at a specific moment in the race. And it challenges your mental resolve — especially if you've never confronted it before. Training on flat roads does not prepare you for that hill. Training on that hill does.

I'd recommend adding hill-specific work alongside your regular sessions. Short, hard uphill efforts — 60 to 90 seconds of firm running uphill, then walk or jog back down, repeat 6–8 times — build exactly the kind of leg strength and aerobic capacity you'll need on race day. Do this once a week over the next two months and that "killer hill" will feel noticeably more manageable.

The runner who has trained on hills arrives at a hilly course with confidence. The runner who has avoided them arrives hoping for the best. You want to be the first one.

How Many Times to Run the Route — and What to Focus on Each Time

You've already run it twice — that's a decent start. I'd suggest running it another 3–4 times before race day, each with a different focus.

Run 3 (your next one): Go at easy, relaxed pace. Forget about time completely. Instead, study the course. Where exactly does the hill start? Where does it peak? What does the terrain look like coming off it? Are there landmarks that tell you how far you've gone? You're gathering intelligence, not training your fitness.

Run 4: Simulate race conditions — start at your goal pace, hold it through the first kilometre, then attack the hill with a plan. Note what's left in the tank after the hill. This is the most important session. It tells you how to pace the race.

Run 5 (2–3 weeks out): A dress rehearsal. Run the whole route at your intended race effort. Then taper. You'll arrive on race day having already "raced" the course in your head multiple times.

Keep the route as one option among several in your training rotation — don't run it every single session. Variety keeps training enjoyable and stops any single route from becoming something you dread. Mix in flat routes, different hills, off-road. But don't hide from your race course.

Turning Course Knowledge into Race Strategy

Here's where knowing the course pays off most — on race day itself, when you're tired and your brain is looking for reasons to slow down.

The most common tactical error on a hilly course: running too fast in the first kilometre, then suffering over the hill and losing all momentum after it. Don't let that happen. Plan to hold slightly back in the opening kilometre — it'll feel frustratingly easy, but you'll thank yourself at the top of the hill. Control the climb; don't sprint it. Use the downhill section to recover your breathing and gradually accelerate. By the final kilometre, knowing the finish line is close is itself a performance boost — and you'll know exactly where it is.

I once went into a 10k PB attempt having assumed a flat, fast course — only to discover hills I hadn't accounted for. A PB was impossible, and I had only myself to blame. I'd done no hill training, I had no mental plan for climbing, and the whole race unravelled when the first hill appeared. Don't make my mistake.

Contrast that with years of racing "The Tan" in Melbourne — a 3.82km loop with a 600m hill that always hurts. Racing it every fortnight, I got smarter each time: the first race I attacked the hill too early and blew up. The second I was too conservative and lost time on the climb. It took 3–4 races to get my hill strategy right. That repeated familiarity turned a weakness into a genuine strength — I knew exactly when to push and when to hold, and that knowledge was worth minutes over the course of a season.

Know your course, Tom. It's not working against you — it's information. Put in the hill training, run the route a few more times with purpose, and you'll handle that hill just fine on race day.

Kind regards,
Dom

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