A 5K training plan built from your current time
You give it the 5K you run now. It gives you the one you could run, and the ten weeks between the two: intervals that raise the ceiling, threshold runs that hold it, and easy days that make both possible.
5k · 10 weeks
3 runs a week
Long run climbs to 8.7 km · the plan's own projection for this runner is 27:00
Who it is for
Anyone who can already run 5 km and wants it faster. The plan prices every session from your current time, so it fits a 35-minute parkrunner as well as a 20-minute one; only the paces change.
How the block is shaped
A short base to settle the easy pace, then a build in which one session a week sharpens speed and one holds threshold, a peak that rehearses race pace, and a short taper. The long run stays modest — a 5K is won by speed held, not by distance — and is set by time on feet so it scales with you.
This is the plan the app builds for a 27:00 parkrunner running three days and about 20 km a week, with a longest comfortable run of 8 km. Your own block keeps the same shape; every distance and pace in it is priced from your times, not this runner's.
| Weeks | Phase | Weekly km | Long run |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Base | 20 | 7.6 km |
| Weeks 2–3 | Build | 21–21.8 | 7.6–7.8 km |
| Week 4 | Cutback | 15.5 | 5.5 km |
| Week 5 | Build | 22.6 | 8 km |
| Weeks 6–7 | Peak | 23.2–24.2 | 8.3–8.7 km |
| Week 8 | Cutback | 17.1 | 6.1 km |
| Week 9 | Taper | 16.1 | 5.2 km |
| Week 10 | Race week | Race | — |
A real week from the plan
Not an illustration: this is week 5 of 10, a build week of 22.6 km, exactly as the plan engine wrote it for the runner above, with the paces it set. The coach reads each session's purpose to you before you start it and calls the pace as you run.
| Day | Session | Distance | Pace | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | INTERVALS | 7.2 km · 50 min | 5:18/km | 4 × 800m @ 5:18/km — 90s jog. |
| Thursday | TEMPO | 7.4 km · 52 min | 5:44/km | 2 × 1.7km tempo blocks, a 0.5km easy jog between each. Lactate Threshold session. Training your body to clear metabolic byproducts efficiently. |
| Saturday | LONG RUN | 8 km · 56 min | 7:03/km (7.0km) → 5:24/km — 5K Pace (1.0km) | Long run with a fast finish. Run the first 7.0km fully easy — genuine Zone 2, conversational. Then lift to your current 5K pace for the final 1.0km. Finishing strong on tired legs is what the last kilometre of the race asks for. |
Where the paces come from
From the race time you give the app, through the Daniels & Gilbert VDOT model: easy, threshold and interval paces for your fitness, not a chart's. The same model runs on this site — the parkrun time calculator shows the three paces a plan would be built from, and the goal time calculator scores a target against the weeks you have.
What changes as you run
Race a faster 5K mid-plan and every pace moves up. Rate the hard sessions too hard for three weeks running and the plan offers a step easier. The goal-confidence score says, after every run, whether the target time is still on.
Common questions
How much faster can I expect to get?
It depends where you start and how consistent the ten weeks are. The plan sets a target from your current time using the same projection you can run on the race time predictor, and the confidence score tracks it week to week rather than promising a number up front.
Do I need a track for the intervals?
No. Interval sessions are set by distance and pace and the coach calls each rep by voice, so any flat, measured loop or path works. A track is nice; it is not required.
Can I keep doing parkrun on Saturdays?
Yes, as the session the plan has scheduled that day. Most weeks that is an easy or steady run, not a race; the plan says which. Racing it flat out every week turns a training plan into a weekly time trial.
What if I'm faster or slower than the sample runner?
The shape of the block stays the same; the paces and distances are priced from your time, not the sample's. The week shown is the plan for a 27-minute runner on three days a week.
parkrun® is a registered trade mark of parkrun Limited. Outrunr is not affiliated with or endorsed by parkrun. VDOT is a trade mark of its owner. Outrunr implements the published Daniels & Gilbert formula and is not affiliated with them.