12-week 10 km plan on 4 sessions — target 1 hour

12 weeks4 sessions a weekTarget 1 h317 km of training, race day aside

A 12-week 10 km plan on four 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 3 to 4 and a half hours a week to training, long run included.

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

Base23 km

Set the rhythm: nothing hard, four 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 run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Easy run49 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk. Finish with 4 strides.
3
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run6 km
6 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 2

Base24 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
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
3
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run6 km
6 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 3

Base27 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
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Speed59 min
8 × 400 m at 2 km pace, 90 s recovery.
3
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 4

Base21 km

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

1
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace40 min
10 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
3
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run6 km
6 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 5

Build31 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
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power65 min
5 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 6

Build29 km

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

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace48 min
18 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run9 km
9 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 7

Build26 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
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Speed51 min
8 × 200 m at 2 km pace, 90 s recovery.
3
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 8

Build34 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
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power71 min
5 × 1000 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run10 km
10 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 9

Specific32 km

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

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace54 min
3 × 6 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run11 km
11 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 10

Specific34 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
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace60 min
3 × 8 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run12 km
12 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 11

Taper23 km

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

1
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace42 min
12 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
3
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 12

Race13 km

Race week. Maintain, do not build.

1
Easy run30 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
10 km pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run20 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
10 km10 km
Race day.

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