10k Running Plan for Beginners

With preparation and consistency, anyone can conquer a 10K race, no matter their pace. This beginner-friendly 10K training program builds up gradually, but before diving in, we recommend getting comfortable with a few easy runs of at least 5K first.

Are you looking to improve your 10K personal best? If you're an advanced runner, it's time to level up.

10k Training Plan Intermediate Level

Week 1

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	10-15min easy run. Zone 1-2.
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Easy jog 20min. Zone 2
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Long run 4-6km. Zone 2

Week 2

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	20-30min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Easy jog 20-30min. Zone 2
Saturday	5km race, time trial. Zone 4-5.
Sunday	Easy cross train 30-50min

Week 3

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	30min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Interval session: 3-5 x 1min efforts with 2min slow jog recovery. Start first rep @ 5km pace (so use the pace from your race or parkrun last Sat) and aim to get faster with each rep Zone 3-4.
Saturday	Easy walk or cross train 30-50min
Sunday	Long run: 6km. Zone 2.

Week 4

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	30min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy x train 30-40min
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Interval session: 4min, 3min, 2min, 1min efforts with 2min very slow jog recovery after each. Start slower then 5km pace for the 4min effort (at least 15sec/km) and get faster as the interval duration gets shorter. Zone 3-4.
Saturday	Easy walk or cross train 30-50min
Sunday	Long run 8km. Zone 2

Week 5

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	30-40min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Easy jog 20min zone 2 then stop briefly (quick stretch) then 4-6 x 80m strides a little faster then 5km pace (but not flat out sprinting) zone 3-4. Walk back after each. Easy jog 5min at the end
Saturday	5km race or parkrun (do this @ about 10km pace feel so not going as hard as you can) zone 4 or long run 10km zone 2-3 (if you do a Park Run, do a longer warm down so all up this totals up to 10km)
Sunday	Rest day or easy walk / hike 50-70min

Week 6

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	30-40min run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Interval session: 1km effort @ 10km pace feel (2min jog) zone 3-4; 4-5 x 400m efforts faster as you feel zone 4 (1min jog after each); 1km effort back to your starting pace.
Saturday	Rest day or easy walk 45-60min. Zone 1
Sunday	Long run 10km. Zone 2

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Week 7

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Tempo run: 30-40min run including a tempo run within your 40min run. For a 10min section during this run, push the pace so you’re puffing steadily and can’t maintain a conversation zone 3-4 . Rest of run is easy jogging zone 2
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min OR easy jog 20-30min zone 2
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Hills: 6-8 x 50sec hills aiming for about 5km pace “feel” (so not actual pace as you’re running uphill, actual pace will be slower so important we aim for effort here) zone 4. Very slow jog down recovery. Try to make your last hill, your fastest.
Saturday	Rest day or easy walk or cross train 50-70min
Sunday	Long run 12km. Zone 2-3

Week 8

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Strides/ tempo run/ strides. 40-50min run where somewhere within your run you run 6min @ half marathon pace feel (zone 3) then 1min easy then 4min of 15sec fast stride (5km pace feel)/15sec slow jog (zone 3-4) then 1min easy then 6min tempo run (zone 3-4) (similar pace as first part). Rest of your run is slow jogging zone 2.
Wednesday	Easy cross train 30-40min OR jog 20-30min zone 2.
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Hills: 8-10 x 30-40sec hills hard zone 4-5 (slow jog down recovery)
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Long run 12-15km. Zone 2-3

Week 9

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	40-50min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy jog 20-40min. Zone 2
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Interval session: 2 sets of (3min, 2min, 1min, 30sec efforts with 90sec very slow jog recovery after each) zone 3-4. Start at 5km pace for 3min efforts and get faster as reps get shorter. Take 3min rest between sets (standing recovery or slow jog).
Saturday	Rest day or easy walk or cross train 50-70min
Sunday	Long run 14-16km (this will be your longest run of the program). Zone 2-3

Week 10

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Tempo run: 40min run including (3 x 5min tempo run efforts zone 3-4 with 1min very slow jog recovery after each). Aiming to run each 5min tempo run @ about a pace you might do a 10km at. Puffing steadily and not flat out but working well within your run. Rest of run easy jogging zone 2.
Wednesday	Easy jog 30min. Zone 2
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Easy jog 20-30min zone 2. At the end of your run do 4-6 x 80m strides at 5km pace feel zone 3-4. Walk back after each.
Saturday	Park Run. Aim to run this at about 10km pace feel first 1km zone 3 then very hard after zone 4-5. Can do a longer warm down zone 2 to total 10-12km all up for today
Sunday	Rest

Week 11

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	40min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy jog 30min. Zone 2
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Interval session: 4 x 3min efforts zone 4 with 90sec slow jog recovery after each. Even 3min efforts @ 5km pace with other reps marginally slower. The “faster” 3min efforts can be quite hard but keep the slower efforts the same.
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Long run: 8km. Zone 2-3

Week 12 Taper week

Day	Workout
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	20-30min easy run. Zone 2
Wednesday	Easy jog 20min. Zone 2
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Easy jog 20min zone 2 + 4 x 80m efforts @ 10km pace (zone 3) so nice and relaxed. Walk back after each.
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	10km race

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