Dash for the Derby 5K

Dash for the Derby 5K takes place in Portland, Maine, on May 1, 2027. A single format is on offer: a 5K (3.1 miles) road race starting at 9:00 AM. No elevation gain is listed for the route.

The 5K is short enough to sit at the end of almost any training block, which makes this a handy spring tune-up. If you are building toward a longer race this summer, run it as a hard effort and use the result to set your training paces for the months ahead. If it is your first one, the plan is simpler still: three or four runs a week for six to eight weeks, one of them a little longer than the rest, and a mid-9:00 AM start that leaves the rest of the day free.