10K training plan
The 10K balances threshold and VO2max. The plan alternates between them rather than betting everything on speed or on endurance.
- Minimum weeks
- 6
- Ideal
- 10
- Maximum
- 18
Who it is for
For a runner with a few races behind them, chasing a faster time or stepping up from the 5K.
Who it is not for
Not for someone running fewer than twice a week — at that frequency there is nowhere to put the quality work.
Sessions you will find in the plan
1000 m intervals
Four to eight reps at 5K pace. Longer than for a 5K, because the 10K rewards sustaining intensity rather than finishing sharp.
Tempo run
Up to 30 continuous minutes around threshold. The best-value session at this distance.
Cruise intervals
The same threshold stimulus broken into reps — easier to hold the right pace to the end.
A sample week in the build phase
This is an example with four training days. With a different number of days the plan arranges sessions differently, but the rules stay the same.
What the plan enforces for you
- The long run never grows more than 10% beyond your longest run of the past 30 days.
- Two hard sessions never fall on consecutive days.
- Every fourth week is a deload — volume comes down, not up.
- With contraindications on file the plan drops to a conservative variant: no VO2max intervals, no maximal tests.
- Pain of 6/10 or higher blocks the session regardless of what the plan says.
Common questions
Can I train just three times a week?
Yes. The plan scales quality sessions to the days you have — with three days that means one or two, depending on your level.
Other plans
Generate a plan for your race date
Pick a race from the catalogue or enter your own, tell us the days you have — the plan counts backwards from race day, with phases, deloads and a taper.
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