Is it helpful to run a race route in advance?

Its not unhelpful. You have to train anyways, might as well be on the course.

I once ran a race without running the course beforehand. I had just moved to the area, and was not very familiar with the roads. I was leading with less than a mile to go. The lead car stopped for some reason. I kept going, and missed a turn. I had to double back, and was in fourth place. From then on, I always previewed the race course before the actual race.

This is not a humble brag. All the best racers were in a race about 30 miles from there, so I was racing C teamers, not the A list.

I have probably run well over 500 races over the last 50+ years (plus a bunch of Parkruns)

For a 5k whenever possible (no trails, one way streets, and sufficient time to do so) I try to at least drive the course. To me driving the course is most helpful in 10k-Full Mary. However running beforehand certain segments in longer races has its advantages.

You can then figure out where the hills, if any, turns, blind spots, uneven areas, etc. are located.

For a 5k and your warm-up is usually three miles, you can probably get away with doing it the day of the race.

For me I am now only warming up about a mile to 1 1/2 and doing it before race day allows me to do some visualization preparation.

The fewer surprises on race day the better.

Good luck!

I used to do this and found it helpful, especially walking the last part in reverse but that's just me.

I definitely think it helps to know the route, especially if you're new to racing and pacing. Then you won't be thinking oh God how long have I got left or leaving too much in the tank either. Have fun.

I also lost a race because missed a turn. It would not have happened if I had jogged the course.

Doing so also gives you knowledge of the course features to use to your advantage. Maybe there’s a hill that you can use to surge.

Since the course is accessible, then why not? With GPS now it might be less of an issue, but in the olden days I would want to know about where the 800m mark was (estimated) just to give me a sense of when I could pick things up.

Knowing where hills might be and just what they are like can help.

I could see where it could help with anxiety about "what is the next mile like".

To me it would take away one thing I might be thinking about.

As above, it's "not unhelpful" unless the logistics of doing so are costly.

The value is relatively greater if the course has significant hills or other features that affect pacing, if it has finish that isn't visible from where you might want to start winding up your finishing kick, or in the case of a trail or cross country course where passing may be difficult in some sections.

Courses always seem longer if you don't know how much is left.

Why do you think at olympics the home nation wins way more medals than usual. It's because they get to train on the same place the races will be for 3 years prior

I'd say running the course ahead of time can't possibly be a bad idea and could be helpful. Making a wrong turn is really unlikely in a 5K unless you are either very fast or very, very slow--in a race that short, you will almost always be able to see a bunch of people ahead of you and follow them. But it can be nice to make a note of any unusual features of the course (big potholes or speed bumps, places where you have to run on the sidewalk, etc.) so they don't surprise you.

Back when I was reasonably fast I would normally jog about 5K as a warmup for a 5K, and whenever possible I'd just jog the whole course before the race.

I'm running the 100m in a week at my local track. Think I'm going to go jog the home straight a few times today. Just don't want to make a wrong turn at 50m, you know.

here's the basic deal. if it's a street course it's not going to be roped off like on race day so you'll be on the sidewalk and waiting for lights. and it will not be obvious where to turn. you would need to take the course map with you.

if this is race week, IMO i wouldn't bother. you're better off sticking to routine and getting your prep work in. and definitely as a noob don't go burn your energy doing it the day before or morning of the race. and if you're new likely reality is you will have a roped course and a pack to follow.

if you have a few weeks, yeah, it's useful to know the course. and i'd do it a decent amount ahead of the race, like weeks ahead. super fit XC kids usually jog a loop of the course. i'd just look for basic landmarks where you have an idea where you're headed and how long you have left that portion of the course. ok, we run to chestnut street then take a left. when you see the baseball park you have a couple blocks to go that part. left onto market. it's useful for navigation and for motivation. "ok, not far to go now." i would note if there are serious elevation changes, ok, we're downhill here, we're uphill there. as a noob if you have to do some hills maybe save energy for after the hills are done. and know when you're about to have to go to work.

also try and note if there are potential pinch points. the road narrows to one lane here. but you'll be on the sidewalk.

and then if you have the legs for it at all, to me it was figure out how far out from the finish to drop the hammer from. long streets and straight lines kind of fool you. you're like, i can see the line, time to kick. and then it's a half mile or full mile away. find like a landmark or cross street where you're almost done. even if you have no energy left it's motivational to tell yourself, "almost there."

last, if you normally train on a track or on grass i'd do the last week or two on the roads. it's different pounding and you want to be used to it.

Not if the roads only closed on raceday

If it's just a flat, simple course I probably wouldn't, but if the course is hilly with multiple turns, I do like to practice on it if it's a race I care about.

to clarify the surface comment, i personally advise training on grass which is softer on your legs. but road races are held on, ummm, roads. in which case it's advisable to do some road running before your road race so your body is used to concrete. to me if you're not used to concrete sometimes knees, ankles get tender or calves get tight.

but if you do road work all the time you're used to it.

Several years ago, I ran the Las Vegas half marathon. I was on PR pace and toward the end, turning off the road, was the entrance to the park and the finish line was only 200 or so meters away, but it came out of nowhere. I could see the clock but it was already too late. 1:11:40 something and ticking....

Had I knew were the finish line was ahead of time, my PR would have been under 1:12, easily. I sprinted as hard as I could but finished in 1:12:06 for a PR. Too little, too late.

Lesson learned. To this day, it is my biggest PR disappointment.

So yes, run the course ahead of time and get familiar where the finish line is located.

running in a group doesn't mean you won't go the wrong way. you'll all follow each other. it's also happened 3-4 times with me where the bike or car at the front has gone the wrong way or doesn't know the way to go, and everybody has followed it. i remember one time at a 10k or 21k, i cant remember, there was no lead bike but a ordinary guy on a bicycle with red flashing lights just happened to join the race route very close to the start, and we all thought it was part of the race, so we followed this poor guy on a bike completely the wrong way for about 1km before he stopped for a coffee at a dead end and we were left scratching our heads.

another time in a full marathon i was 2nd about 30 seconds behind the 1st guy who was slowing but i couldn't see him because we'd joined up with the 21km and 10km runners. the finish was inside a stadium, but there was what looked like a finish line outside the stadium, but actually it was just some sponsor boarding. i pretty much stopped at this fake finish line before i realised i had to go into the stadium. if i'd known exactly where the finish line was and that that guy was so close in front I reckon I'd have beaten him.

Planning your attack.