Running plans for 10 km - 3 levels

Want to finish your first 10 km or set a personal record? This article offers 3 plans for various levels - free! The plans target 3 different time goals:

10 km under 1 hour (3 workouts a week)
10 km under 50 minutes (4 workouts a week)
10 km under 40 minutes (6 workouts a week)

Before starting a plan, read these tips for running the distance and explanations of the plans. Reading thoroughly ensures you get the best training results!

What does it take to run 10 km?

10 km is a long distance but still short enough to run at relatively high intensity. The faster you finish, the higher intensity you can maintain. Elite runners complete it in under 30 minutes, meaning they run at near-interval intensity, close to their 5 km pace.

If it takes an hour to finish, you should start more cautiously.

Depending on your speed, the distance requires different skills, and thus the 3 plans vary in content.

Training volume in the plans

The plans show clear differences in what's needed to run under an hour versus under 40 minutes for 10 km; it generally takes over double the training time per week to run under 40 minutes!

Some might manage with less. Regardless, choose a plan with a training volume you can realistically complete.

Different content in the plans

For runners aiming for under 1 hour, the plan focuses on endurance, while the other plans gradually focus more on improving fitness level and speed, similar to 5 km plans.

Following the running plans

To avoid repetition, I've written a general article on following the plans here. It also explains why the plans are structured this way.

You can find the article "ALL RUNNING PLANS" in our inspiration universe.

Running shoes for your plan

For the best experience with our training plans, we recommend having multiple running shoes. A good option is to have a pair of racing shoes for intervals and a pair of daily trainers for other runs.

Find your everyday running shoes here

Find your competition running shoes here