12-week 10 km plan on 3 sessions — target 1 hour

12 weeks3 sessions a weekTarget 1 h243 km of training, race day aside

A 12-week 10 km plan on three sessions a week for a 1 hour finish: every pace given, two down weeks and a specific block.

This plan is for you if…

Already running three times a week for at least a month, without pain.
Able to run for 45 minutes without stopping, however slowly.
A 10 km under 1:04 within the last six months.
Able to give 2 and a half to 4 hours a week to training, long run included.
Able to spread the three sessions across the week, never on back-to-back days.

If one of these is not true, a longer plan will take you further than a short one followed halfway.

If you have to skip a session

Ill, exhausted or in pain, do not run: a plan absorbs a missed session, it does not absorb an injury. Drop the easy run first — it is the least specific. If it is the quality session or the long run that goes, do not move it to another day of the same week; pick the next week up where the plan is, never where you stopped.

Your paces for 1 h

Pace	min/km	What it feels like
Easy	7:29 – 8:03	The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast.
Long run	7:36	In the firm third of the easy band, never outside it. However long it is, a long run is never run quicker than this.
10 km pace	5:55	10 km race pace. The most reliable marker to recalibrate the others against.
5 km pace	5:40	5 km race pace: strong, never maximal.
2 km pace	5:22	2 km race pace, on short repetitions. The quickest work in the plan: sharp and relaxed, never straining.

All 12 weeks, session by session

Week 1

Base18 km

Set the rhythm: nothing hard, three runs settle in before any intensity is added. One easy run closes with strides — 20 s quick and relaxed, 40 s of jogging, no watch and no target pace.

1
Easy run49 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk. Finish with 4 strides.
2
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run6 km
6 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 2

Base18 km

First meeting with race-day pace: fifteen continuous minutes. Over 10 km that pace is near enough your threshold — close enough that the table publishes a single row for both.

1
10 km pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
2
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run6 km
6 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 3

Base20 km

Speed enters: 400 m repetitions at 2 km pace, the one zone in the plan quicker than 5 km pace. Short and relaxed — this trains running economy, not breathing.

1
Speed52 min
6 × 400 m at 2 km pace, 90 s recovery.
2
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 4

Base16 km

First down week. The plan has two: that is what twelve weeks allow and eight do not.

1
10 km pace40 min
10 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
2
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run6 km
6 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 5

Build24 km

Repetitions stretch to 800 m and step back to 5 km pace: longer, a little less sharp. The two zones answer each other — speed above, aerobic power just below.

1
Aerobic power65 min
5 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
2
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 6

Build22 km

Eighteen continuous minutes at race-day pace, the longest unbroken block in the plan. The rest of the week stays easy.

1
10 km pace48 min
18 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
2
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run9 km
9 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 7

Build19 km

Second down week, and the fast work fits into 200 m. Short, sharp, almost no volume: enough to keep the legs quick while everything else comes down.

1
Speed45 min
6 × 200 m at 2 km pace, 90 s recovery.
2
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 8

Build27 km

Repetitions reach 1,000 m. It is the last work faster than the race: from next week everything converges on race-day pace.

1
Aerobic power71 min
5 × 1000 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
2
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run10 km
10 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 9

Specific25 km

Specific block. Three six-minute blocks at goal pace, and the long run keeps climbing.

1
10 km pace54 min
3 × 6 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
2
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run11 km
11 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 10

Specific27 km

The peak, and it is specific: three eight-minute blocks at race-day pace. That is the most this plan asks outside the day itself.

1
10 km pace60 min
3 × 8 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
2
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run12 km
12 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 11

Taper18 km

Taper. Twelve minutes at goal pace to keep it in the legs, and the volume comes down.

1
10 km pace42 min
12 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
2
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 12

Race9 km

Race week. Maintain, do not build.

1
10 km pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
2
Easy run25 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
10 km10 km
Race day.

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Stibia exports this plan to your watch, on the days you run, with your long session on the day you choose, and the plan ending on your race date.

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This plan is general training material and does not replace medical advice. If it hurts, stop and see someone.