Wels Business Run Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The Welser Businessrun is Upper Austria's largest corporate run, held in Wels in the evening. The loop covers just over five kilometres, starting in the Volksgarten park, tracing the river Traun and returning to the grounds of the Messe Wels exhibition centre, where the finish area rounds off the evening with company pavilions, an award ceremony and a party. The elevation profile is essentially flat: the whole loop adds up to only around 19 metres of climbing, and not a single section turns into a hill. Close to three quarters of the route runs level, with the rest made up of barely noticeable rises of a few metres. That makes this one of the fastest opportunities to race five kilometres on tarmac.

The field starts in waves grouped by expected finish time, so it thins out early and lets you settle into your own pace from the first kilometre. Alongside the classic corporate run there is a separate walking category, Nordic walking, and a Future Run for younger athletes. Throughout, the character stays that of a team evening: companies enter together, with reserved tables and pavilions at the fairgrounds. The racing is still to be taken seriously, since a flat course, a short distance and plenty of ambitious teams make the front waves quick.

Pacing Strategy

Five flat kilometres are run almost entirely in the upper intensity range — 73 percent of the course is level and the nineteen metres of climbing barely register. That means the course gives you no recovery phase; you have to meter the intensity yourself. The most common trap over such a short, flat distance is a first kilometre run too fast — in the bustle of a company run the crowd easily carries you past your own pace, and the bill arrives at kilometres 3 and 4.

Run the first kilometre deliberately controlled, settle into a hard but sustainable rhythm, and only open up over the final kilometre and a half. Because the course is a loop returning flat to the finish, there is no closing climb to slow you — the last kilometre belongs entirely to your speed tolerance. The race is decided in the middle section, where you must turn the opening adrenaline into steady, even effort.

12-Week Preparation

Depending on your start wave, the Welser Businessrun lasts somewhere between roughly 15 and 45 minutes. Because the loop is completely flat and no climb slows your pace from the outside, the effort is steady and mostly aerobic: you run at or just below threshold and have to meter that intensity yourself. On a course this level, what counts most is knowing your realistic pace and holding it from the Volksgarten to the fairgrounds.

Ambitious runners in the fast wave can prepare with two quality sessions a week: short intervals of 400 to 1,000 metres at planned race pace with easy jog recoveries, and a 15-to-20-minute tempo run at threshold. Since the surface stays flat and fast throughout, running drills and cadence work pay off, because an economical stride on level tarmac translates directly into time saved. One easy longer run keeps the aerobic base in place.

If you are new to running or starting with your company team in a later wave, the goal is different: covering the full five kilometres without a walking break. Eight to ten weeks of three relaxed sessions, beginning with alternating walking and running and gradually lengthening the running segments, are enough. In both cases, plan the opening minute deliberately. In a crowded start wave it is smarter to slot in briefly and then build steadily than to sprint between teams and burn energy early. Every well-judged second is one the flat course hands back to you at the finish.