Tempo
3:36–4:06
min/km
Long / Slow
4:32–5:20
min/km
Intervals
3:10–3:31
min/km
This plan runs over 8 weeks. You can start at any point — do all 8 weeks or jump in wherever feels right.
Try our Sub 18 minutes 5km plan.Looking for something a little shorter? This 8 week 5k plan is super versatile. If it's your off season and you want to bring down your mileage without losing fitness, this is ideal. If you want to focus on your speed rather than mileage then this is also a good place to be. And of course if you want to smash your 5K PB or get up the ParkRun leaderboard, it's perfect. That being said, this shouldn't be easy. Speed is the focus and that is to be embraced with the interval and tempo sessions. The long runs can be double or nearly treble race distance, but you can modify these to suit your needs. 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.
Easy 8km
4:53 - 5:23 / km
Reverse Ladder Intervals
3:33 - 3:50 / km
Easy 9km
4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tempo
4:01 - 4:31 / km
Rest
Easy 5km
4:53 - 5:23 / km
Progression
5:08 - 5:48 / km
Easy 8km
4:53 - 5:23 / km
Pyramid Intervals
3:33 - 3:50 / km
Easy 10km
4:53 - 5:23 / km
Progression
4:01 - 4:31 / km
Rest
Easy 5km
4:53 - 5:23 / km
Progession
5:08 - 5:48 / km