Recently, if you are an avid road racer, you’ve probably had to scramble to come up with a virtual race course (or two) due to the pandemic. And if you have run a few already, you might be getting bored of the same old route. If that sounds like you – or if you are just looking for a fun new course to run – here are my 5k and 10k course recommendations this week. I really like both courses. I hope that going somewhere different with a set course might help you feel like your run was a little bit closer to the “real” race experience.
Indy Runners Rocky Ripple 5k (Segment available on Strava & Garmin Connect)
This is an extended version of a tempo loop that my friend Jordan Kyle showed me a while back. The first mile is really fast and will get you into a good rhythm. There is a little hill that you have to deal with twice before you make your way onto the Canal Towpath, but overall it’s a really fast and fun course. To get a detailed course profile, click on the link provided under the map above.
Indy Runners Bulldog 10k (Segment available on Strava & Garmin Connect)
This course includes the Rocky Ripple 5k – so if you use Strava and Garmin Connect you can get extra segment credit. This is a nice run on Butler’s campus where you will love me on mile 2 and hate me on mile 5. I’ve only jogged this course but plan on racing it as a fitness check this Friday. Quick note: the finish listed on the map above is slightly different than the segments on Strava and Garmin Connect. Click on the link under the map to get more detailed information on the route.
I’m hoping to make this a regular thing, so if you have any route suggestions send them my way in the comments and they might make it into the next blog post. If you end up running one of my routes let me know what you think!