An 8-week 10 km plan on three sessions a week for a 50-minute finish: every pace given, race pace and 5 km pace alternating.
If one of these is not true, a longer plan will take you further than a short one followed halfway.
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.
| Pace | min/km | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 6:14 – 6:43 | The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast. |
| Long run | 6:20 | 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 | 4:56 | 10 km race pace. The most reliable marker to recalibrate the others against. |
| 5 km pace | 4:44 | 5 km race pace: strong, never maximal. |
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.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Easy run49 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk. Finish with 4 strides.
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
First meeting with race-day pace: fifteen continuous minutes, no more. Over 10 km that pace is near enough your threshold — close enough that the table publishes a single row for both.
10 km pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
Easy run55 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run9 km
9 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
5 km pace enters, in 800 m repetitions. It is the only work faster than the race in this plan.
Aerobic power55 min
4 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run11 km
11 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
A down week. On eight weeks it is the only one, and it is not optional.
10 km pace42 min
12 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Repetitions stretch to 1,000 m, still at 5 km pace — strong, never all-out.
Aerobic power59 min
4 × 1000 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run12 km
12 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
The peak, and it is specific: three six-minute blocks at race-day pace, about a third of the race. That is the most a plan this length should ask outside the day itself.
10 km pace54 min
3 × 6 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run13 km
13 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Taper, one week only. Ten minutes at goal pace to keep it in the legs, nothing more.
10 km pace40 min
10 continuous minutes at 10 km pace.
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Race week. Maintain, do not build.
10 km pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at 10 km pace, 2 min recovery.
Easy run25 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
10 km10 km
Race day.
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.
Create a free accountThis plan is general training material and does not replace medical advice. If it hurts, stop and see someone.