Can I plan for multiple races or intermediate goals?

Every Trait plan is built around one goal: one race, one distance, one date. The plan is worked out backwards from that goal. Adding another race to a running plan with a different goal isn't possible. We know a lot of you would like this, and we're happy to take the request on board.

The best approach depends on how important the second race is to you.

The second race matters to you – you want to perform well there

• First create a plan for the first race (or your intermediate goal, e.g. 10 km in four months).
• Once that race is done, create the next plan for your main goal. Trait will ask about your current level again – so the new plan starts exactly where you are right now.
• Creating a plan is free and can be done as often as you like, see Can I create my plan again?

This is the only way to prepare properly for both goals. An important race in the middle of a plan – with tapering beforehand and recovery afterwards – would compromise your preparation for the main goal. That's why we deliberately don't build this into a single plan.

Especially for big jumps (e.g. from under 5 km to a marathon), intermediate goals aren't just a workaround – they're the smarter route. You can read why under Trait says my goal is unrealistic. And since plans longer than a year aren't supported, longer projects always run across several plans anyway.

The second race is a training race you're just "taking along"

• Treat it like a normal training session: pick a session from that week with a similar load – e.g. run the half marathon instead of Sunday's long run.
• The load will be a bit higher than planned. Over the following days, the Readiness Score may suggest easing off a little – whether you take that up is entirely your call.
• The plan itself stays focused on your main goal.