7-Week Advanced 5K Training Plan
The complete schedule — every workout, every recovery week, the taper — generated by the same open-source engine that powers the RunPlan app.
Is this the right plan? For experienced runners: 4 runs a week from day one, week 1 already at 3.3 hours with a 60-minute long run. Pick it if that first week reads like a normal week, not a stretch.
Wrong level? Same race as a 7-week beginner plan or a 7-week intermediate plan.
5K training paces
The workouts below carry zones (Z2, Z4…) instead of fixed paces, because pace is personal — it should come from a race you’ve run, not a table. Enter one and the whole plan gets paces:
- Easy & long runsZ1–Z25:15/km
- Steady & marathon paceZ34:45/km
- Threshold & tempoZ44:28/km
- Intervals & repetitionsZ54:09/km
At this fitness, a trained-for 5K lands around 21:00 (4:12/km) — that is the race this plan is building you toward.
Prefilled with a typical result — enter your own race above.
Repetition paces, mile splits and equivalent times for every distance live in the full training pace calculator.
The full 7-week schedule
- Time Trial (15min)~35 minWarm-up 10min · 15:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 10min
- Progression Run~47 minWarm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Long Run~60 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~54 min50:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Hill Repeats (12 x 90s)~62 minWarm-up 10min · 12 × 1:30 @ Z4 (2:00 jog) · Cool-down 10min
- Threshold Run (3 x 10min)~47 minWarm-up 10min · 3 × 10:00 @ Z4 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Progressive Long Run~60 min45:00 @ Z2 · 15:00 @ Z3
- Easy Run~80 min
- 5K Pace (5 × 240s)~55 minWarm-up 10min · 5 × 4:00 @ Z5 (3:00 jog) · Cool-down 10min
- Threshold Run (3 x 10min)~47 minWarm-up 10min · 3 × 10:00 @ Z4 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~54 min50:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~55 min
- Ladder Intervals (12 segments)~61 minWarm-up 5min · 1:30/1:45/2:00/2:15/2:30/2:45/3:00/3:15/3:30/3:45/4:00/4:15 @ Z5 (90s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Easy Run~80 min
- Easy Run~55 min
- Easy Run~55 min
- Easy Run~45 min
- Threshold Run (3 x 12min)~55 minWarm-up 10min · 3 × 12:00 @ Z4 (2:00 jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Progression Run~47 minWarm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~54 min50:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Ladder Intervals (12 segments)~61 minWarm-up 5min · 1:30/1:45/2:00/2:15/2:30/2:45/3:00/3:15/3:30/3:45/4:00/4:15 @ Z5 (90s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Threshold Run (3 x 10min)~47 minWarm-up 10min · 3 × 10:00 @ Z4 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Medium-Long Run~95 min
- Medium-Long Run~85 min
- Progression Run~47 minWarm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy Run~45 min
- Easy Run~25 min
How this 5k plan is built
Weekly running time starts around 2 hours and peaks at 4.8 in week 6, with 3 recovery weeks spaced through the build. The longest single run is 95 minutes, in week 6 — then the taper brings you to the start line fresh.
This plan is generated by RunPlan's open-source training engine, which encodes the classic coaching canon: Jack Daniels' pacing and intensity distribution, Pete Pfitzinger's long-run progressions, and Hal Higdon's instinct for plans a normal person can finish. The structure is periodized — base, sharpening, peak, taper — with deload weeks on a regular cadence and weekly load ramps kept inside safe bounds. The advanced version trains close to the classic book schedules: higher volume, regular quality, race rehearsals, and long runs that respect Pfitzinger more than your calendar. For the 5K specifically, the emphasis is speed: interval work appears early and the long run stays modest — this race is won at VO2max, not at mile 20.
You can read the actual generator on GitHub — this exact schedule is its output, not an editor’s spreadsheet. The deeper story is in how the plans actually work.
What you’ll be running
- Easy runs11
- Other quality5
- Long runs4
- Tempo & threshold3
- Intervals & hills3
- Race rehearsals & time trials1
Common questions
How many days a week does this 5k plan require?
4 runs per week for 7 weeks — 27 workouts in total. The biggest week is week 6 at about 4.8 hours of running.
What is the longest run in this 5k plan?
95 minutes, in week 6. The long run builds gradually and is cut back on recovery weeks — you never jump to the peak, you arrive at it.
How many hours a week does it take?
Between about 2 and 4.8 hours of running, depending on the week — the plan ramps up through the build and drops sharply in the taper and on the 3 built-in recovery weeks.
Can I download this plan as a PDF or add it to my calendar?
Yes, free: print or save the full schedule as a PDF, download it as a .ics calendar file anchored to your start date, or export a CSV — the buttons are right above the schedule. The app runs the same plan from your Apple Watch, with your paces and haptic cues.
What paces should I run these workouts at?
Enter a recent race result in the paces block on this page — every zone in the plan gets a pace, plus a projected 5k time. Deriving paces from a result you have actually run (Daniels' VDOT method) beats copying a table; the app does the same automatically and re-derives them as you get fitter.
Is this plan really free?
Yes. This page shows the real plan, generated by the same open-source engine the RunPlan app uses. The app itself is also free — no subscription, no locked weeks — and runs every workout from your Apple Watch with live intervals and pace targets.
What if I miss a week?
Do not try to make missed volume up — that is how injuries happen. Rejoin the plan where the calendar says you are, and treat the first week back as easier than written. Recovery weeks are built in on a regular cadence, which absorbs most real-life interruptions.
