Distance: 5km
Target pace: 4:00 per km
Our Sub 20 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.
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.
Ready to get started on your journey?
Week 1 -
Distance: 49.0 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 5 x 1km (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 6km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 10km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 2 -
Distance: 51.4 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 8 x 600m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 6km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 12km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 3 -
Distance: 53.0 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 6 x 800m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 9km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 7km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 12km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 4 -
Distance: 53.0 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 5 x 1km (F) x 400m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 9km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 8km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 10km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 5 -
Distance: 51.0 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 10 x 200m (F) x 100m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 8km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 14km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 6 -
Distance: 55.0 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 6 x 800m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 10km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 6km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 14km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 7 -
Distance: 53.4 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 6 x 1km (F) x 400m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 10km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Tempo - 1.5km WU, 6km (T), 1.5km CD
Pace: 4:01 - 4:31 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Long run - 10km
Pace: 5:08 - 5:48 / km
Week 8 -
Distance: 40.0 km -
Number of runs: 6
Monday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Tuesday
Intervals - 1.5km WU, 5 x 800m (F) x 200m (S), 1.5km CD
Pace: 3:33 - 3:50 / km
Wednesday
Easy - 8km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Thursday
Easy - 6km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Recovery - 5km
Pace: 4:53 - 5:23 / km
Sunday
Race pace - 5km
Pace: 4:00 / km
