Distance: 5km
Target pace: 6:00 per km
Our Sub 30 minute 5km training plan is over 8 weeks and is completely free to use.
You can decide if you want to do all 8 weeks or start at any point during the training plan, it's completely up to you.
So, you've just completed your Couch to 5km and now want to start smashing PBs? This 8 week plan is designed to have you shaving seconds from your PB every week, culminating with a challenging target of 30 minutes to finish. Try to focus on our range of tempo and intervals sessions to train the lungs and gain strength in the legs, all designed to lift your overall race pace. The weekend long runs will take you over race distance, so take them slow and soon 5k will seem like nothing. The beauty of this plan is that you can run a 5k every weekend. Either take it easy as a recovery or if you're feeling strong, head down to your local parkrun and see if you can beat last week's time.
Ready to get started on your journey?
Week 1 -
Distance: 25.6 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 3 x 1km (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 4km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 7km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 2 -
Distance: 24.6 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 6 x 400m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 3km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 7km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 3 -
Distance: 26.0 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 10 x 200m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 4km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 7km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 4 -
Distance: 28.6 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 4 x 1km (F) x 400m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 4km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 8km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 5 -
Distance: 27.0 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 10 x 200m (F) x 100m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 5km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 8km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 6 -
Distance: 29.8 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 8 x 400m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 6km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 8km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 7 -
Distance: 31.0 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 10 x 300m (F) x 300m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 6km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 6:00 - 6:30 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Long run - 8km
Pace: 7:28 - 7:58 / km
Week 8 -
Distance: 21.6 km -
Number of runs: 4
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 12 x 200m (F) x 100m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 5:15 - 5:39 / km
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Easy - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 7:13 - 7:43 / km
Sunday
Race pace - 5km
Pace: 6:00 / km
