Want to complete your first 5km or aiming for a personal best? In this article, you can find 3 different programs targeted at different levels – completely free! The programs aim at 3 different time goals:
- 5 km under 30 minutes (3 sessions per week)
- 5 km under 25 minutes (4-5 sessions per week)
- 5 km under 20 minutes (5 sessions per week)
Before starting a program, here are some good tips on running the distance and detailed explanations of the programs. It's important to read the article thoroughly to get the most out of your training!
What does it take to run 5 km?
5 km is an exciting distance – it's on the 'short' side of the long-distance category, meaning several elements can be trained to run well over this distance.
The faster you complete the run, the higher intensity you can maintain (since you'll be active for less time). For the elite, the distance is completed in under 15 minutes, allowing for an incredibly high intensity. This means elite runners will have heavy breathing quite quickly.
If your goal is under 30 minutes, you need to pace yourself more carefully, so the intensity should be lower.
Whether the goal is 15 or 30 minutes, 5 km is still under the long-distance category, requiring foremost great endurance. The faster a runner you are, the more demands on factors like speed and ability to stay close to max oxygen uptake for extended periods. Additionally, your max oxygen uptake itself is an important factor to work on to run well.
From 3 to 5 workouts per week
The program for 5 km under 25 minutes includes 5 workouts per week. Many sessions are short runs, and if it suits you better to combine two short sessions into one, you can do so and keep it to 4 workouts per week.
Some may manage with fewer than 4 weekly sessions to get under 25 min on 5 km. However, I generally recommend training at least 3 times a week to improve as a runner, regardless of distance or desired time goal.
How to follow the running programs
To avoid too many repetitions, I've written a general article describing how to follow the programs here. In this article, you can also learn why the programs are structured the way they are.
Find the article here: ALL RUNNING PROGRAMS
Running shoes for your program
To get the best experience with our training programs, we recommend having multiple running shoes. An ideal choice could be a pair of race shoes for intervals and a pair of mileage shoes for other runs.
Find your daily running shoes
Find your race running shoes
Download the running programs here
Download your preferred 5 km running program by clicking on the level you wish to follow.
- 5 km under 30 minutes (3 sessions per week)
- 5 km under 25 minutes (4-5 sessions per week)
- 5 km under 20 minutes (5 sessions per week)
