12-week 5 km plan on 3 sessions — target 20 minutes

12 weeks3 sessions a weekTarget 20 min327 km of training, race day aside

A 12-week 5 km plan on three sessions a week for a 20-minute finish: every pace given, from threshold to 1 km pace.

This plan is for you if…

Already running three times a week for at least a month, without pain.
Able to run for 35 minutes without stopping, however slowly.
A 5 km under 21:05, or a 10 km under 44 minutes.
Able to give 2 to 3 and a half 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 20 min

Pace	min/km	What it feels like
Easy	5:12 – 5:36	The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast.
Long run	5:17	In the firm third of the easy band, never outside it. However long it is, a long run is never run quicker than this.
Threshold pace	4:12	The pace you could hold for about an hour in a race.
5 km pace	3:56	5 km race pace: strong, never maximal.
1 km pace	3:35	1 km race pace, on very short repetitions. The quickest work in the plan: sharp and relaxed, never straining.

All 12 weeks, session by session

Week 1

Base25 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 run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 2

Base27 km

Threshold enters, fifteen continuous minutes. Over 5 km it is slower than race pace: it is the floor the race rests on, not the target.

1
Threshold45 min
15 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
2
Easy run45 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 3

Base28 km

Speed enters: 400 m repetitions at 1,000 m pace. Short and relaxed — this trains running economy, not breathing.

1
Speed48 min
6 × 400 m at 1 km pace, 90 s recovery.
2
Easy run45 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 4

Base23 km

First down week. The plan has two, and on a distance where everything is intense they are not optional.

1
Threshold42 min
12 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
2
Easy run35 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 5

Build31 km

First session at race-day pace, in 800 m repetitions. This is the pace twelve weeks exist to make bearable.

1
Aerobic power56 min
5 × 800 m at 5 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 6

Build32 km

Threshold stretches to twenty minutes, the longest unbroken block in the plan. The rest of the week stays easy.

1
Threshold50 min
20 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
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 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
Speed48 min
8 × 200 m at 1 km pace, 90 s recovery.
2
Easy run40 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 8

Build35 km

Repetitions reach 1,000 m at race-day pace: the race distance, in five pieces.

1
Aerobic power62 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 run13 km
13 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 9

Specific33 km

Specific block: two 2 km blocks at goal pace. Fewer breaks, longer to hold — the session closest to the race itself.

1
5 km pace52 min
2 × 2 km at 5 km pace, 3 min recovery.
2
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
Long run13 km
13 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 10

Specific30 km

Fifteen continuous minutes at race-day pace, the last big piece before the taper.

1
5 km pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at 5 km pace.
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 11

Taper24 km

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

1
5 km pace40 min
10 continuous minutes at 5 km pace.
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 12

Race13 km

Race week. Maintain, do not build.

1
5 km pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at 5 km pace, 2 min recovery.
2
Easy run25 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
3
5 km5 km
Race day.

Put this plan in your calendar

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 account

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