An 8-week 5 km plan on three sessions a week for a 25-minute finish: every pace given, from race pace to 1 km pace.
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 | 6:30 – 7:00 | The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast. |
| Long run | 6:36 | In the firm third of the easy band, never outside it. However long it is, a long run is never run quicker than this. |
| 5 km pace | 4:56 | 5 km race pace: strong, never maximal. |
| 1 km pace | 4:28 | 1 km race pace, on very short repetitions. The quickest work in the plan: sharp and relaxed, never straining. |
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 run49 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk. Finish with 4 strides.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
First meeting with race-day pace: fifteen continuous minutes. Eight weeks have no time for a threshold block — everything happens at race pace and above it.
5 km pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at 5 km pace.
Easy run45 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.
Speed enters: 400 m repetitions at 1,000 m pace. Short and relaxed — this trains running economy, not breathing.
Speed50 min
6 × 400 m at 1 km pace, 90 s recovery.
Easy run45 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.
A down week, and the fast work fits into 200 m. On eight weeks it is the only one, and it is not optional.
Speed49 min
8 × 200 m at 1 km pace, 90 s recovery.
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
First long session at race-day pace, in 800 m repetitions.
Aerobic power60 min
5 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 2 min recovery.
Easy run50 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.
The peak: 1,000 m repetitions at goal pace, the race distance in five pieces. That is the most a plan this length should ask outside the day itself.
Aerobic power67 min
5 × 1000 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run10 km
10 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.
5 km pace40 min
10 continuous minutes at 5 km pace.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run7 km
7 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Race week. Maintain, do not build.
5 km pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at 5 km pace, 2 min recovery.
Easy run25 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
5 km5 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.