Ashenfelter 8K Training: A 6-Week Strength Plan
By The Char Fitness Club team
Every Thanksgiving morning, thousands of runners line up on Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge for the Ashenfelter 8K Classic, about a mile from our gym on Hartley Street. If it's on your list this year, you have about six weeks. Here's how to use them so you arrive stronger, not just fitter, and finish without the usual aches.
The race at a glance
When: Thursday, November 26, 2026. The Tom Fleming 2K starts at 8:15 AM and the 8K at 9:00 AM.
Where: Glen Ridge High School, 200 Ridgewood Avenue, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028.
Course: a USATF-certified, "relatively flat" road course through historic Glen Ridge, with two water stops.
Entry: $40 for the 8K and $30 for the 2K. Prices go up after November 14 at 11:59 PM.
Packet pickup: Glen Ridge High School gym, Wednesday, November 25 from 4 to 7 PM, or race morning from 7:00 AM.
Parking: the organizers say there's no parking on Ridgewood Avenue. Parking on Bloomfield Avenue is OK.
The race benefits the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation. Check the official details and register at RunSignup or the Ashenfelter 8K site, because the organizers have the final word.
Why strength training helps runners
An 8K is about five miles. Most people's legs give out on race day not because their lungs quit but because their hips, glutes and core get tired, and their form falls apart. Running is a string of single-leg landings, so strength work that builds your hips, legs and trunk helps you hold your form when you're tired. It also helps protect the knees, shins and Achilles tendons that take a beating when you add mileage fast.
You don't need to lift heavy or train like a sprinter. Two coached classes a week next to your runs is enough to make a difference.
How Char's classes fit in
Strength: weight training with a focus on form. This is where you build the legs and hips that carry you through mile four.
Sweat: cardio and high-intensity intervals. A good stand-in for a speed session, and easier on your joints than more pavement.
The Trilogy: strength, conditioning and recovery in one session. Our most popular class, and ideal when you only have time for one class that week.
Stretch: guided mobility and flexibility work. Use it to recover from your long run and keep your hips and ankles moving.
Classes are capped at 12, so the coach can watch your form and adjust any exercise to your level. Tell them you're training for the race and they'll suggest what to change.
The 6-week plan
This plan assumes you can already run a couple of miles comfortably. If you can't yet, aim to finish the 8K with walk breaks, or think about the 2K. Count every run below at an easy, chatty pace unless it says otherwise.
Weeks 1–2 (Oct 12–25): build the base
2–3 easy runs a week, one a little longer than the rest
1 Strength class and 1 Trilogy class
1 Stretch class, ideally the day after your longest run
Focus on learning the movements well. Soreness is normal in the first week, so keep the runs easy.
Weeks 3–4 (Oct 26–Nov 8): build up
3 runs a week. Make your long run a bit longer each week, working toward 4–5 miles
1 Strength class and 1 Sweat class, which counts as your harder day
1 Stretch class
Don't put Sweat and a hard run on back-to-back days. Leave an easy day between them.
Week 5 (Nov 9–15): your peak week
3 runs, with your longest run of the plan, around race distance
1 Strength class and 1 Trilogy class
1 Stretch class
Register before prices go up after November 14.
Week 6 (Nov 16–26): taper
2–3 shorter easy runs
1 Strength or Trilogy class early in the week, going lighter than usual
1 Stretch class 2–3 days before the race
No new or hard exercises in the last few days. You want fresh legs on Thursday.
Race-week tips
Pick up your packet Wednesday evening if you can, so race morning is calm.
Plan your parking. There's none on Ridgewood Avenue.
Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging and a few leg swings and lunges, not static stretching.
Start slower than you think you should. The first mile always feels easy.
After the race, walk, eat, and enjoy your Thanksgiving. A Stretch class later that week will help with the stiffness.
Train with us for six weeks: start with a free week
If you've never been to Char, the free week is an easy way to try it during your first two weeks of training. Book in Mindbody, then find us at 8 Hartley St., Unit A + B, Montclair, behind the auto shop on one-way Hartley Street. We have a step-free entrance, lockers and changing rooms, and street parking on Hartley St., Washington St. and Bloomfield Ave. New to classes? Read getting back into fitness after time off first.
