12-week 5 km plan on 4 sessions — target 20 minutes

12 weeks4 sessions a weekTarget 20 min423 km of training, race day aside

A 12-week 5 km plan on four 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 and a half to 4 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 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

Base33 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 run8 km
8 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 2

Base35 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
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Threshold45 min
15 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
3
Easy run45 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 3

Base36 km

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

1
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Speed48 min
6 × 400 m at 1 km pace, 90 s recovery.
3
Easy run45 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 4

Base30 km

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

1
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Threshold42 min
12 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
3
Easy run35 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 5

Build41 km

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

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power56 min
5 × 800 m at 5 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 6

Build41 km

Threshold stretches to twenty minutes, 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
Threshold50 min
20 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
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 7

Build34 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
Speed48 min
8 × 200 m at 1 km pace, 90 s recovery.
3
Easy run40 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 8

Build44 km

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

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power62 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 run13 km
13 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 9

Specific42 km

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

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
5 km pace52 min
2 × 2 km at 5 km pace, 3 min recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run13 km
13 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 10

Specific39 km

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

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
5 km pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at 5 km pace.
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 11

Taper30 km

Taper. Ten 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
5 km pace40 min
10 continuous minutes at 5 km pace.
3
Easy run35 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 12

Race18 km

Race week. Maintain, do not build.

1
Easy run30 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
5 km pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at 5 km pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run20 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
5 km5 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.