7-Week Beginner 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? Built for a first 5k: week 1 is only about 1.4 hours across 2 short runs, the longest 47 minutes. If you can jog 30 minutes without stopping, you can start here.

Wrong level? Same race as a 7-week intermediate plan or a 7-week advanced plan.

weeks

runs / week

workouts

1.7h

peak week (W6)

base · 1wspeed · 3wpeak · 2wtaper · 1w

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:

A race you’ve run recently

Easy & long runsZ1–Z2
7:20/km
Steady & marathon paceZ3
6:43/km
Threshold & tempoZ4
6:16/km
Intervals & repetitionsZ5
5:57/km

At this fitness, a trained-for 5K lands around 30:00 (6:00/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

Free export:

- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~30 min
- Time Trial (15min)~35 min
  Warm-up 10min · 15:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 10min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~39 min
  35:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Easy Run~30 min
- Threshold Run (2 x 12min)~40 min
  Warm-up 10min · 2 × 12:00 @ Z4 (60s jog) · Cool-down 5min
- Easy Run~30 min
- Easy + Strides (4 x 25s)~54 min
  50:00 @ Z2 · 4 × 0:25 @ Z5 (60s jog)
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Progression Run~47 min
  Warm-up 3min · 35:00 @ Z3 · 6:00 @ Z4 · Cool-down 3min
- Easy Run~25 min

How this 5k plan is built

Weekly running time starts around 1.2 hours and peaks at 1.7 in week 6, with 1 recovery weeks spaced through the build. The longest single run is 54 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 beginner version keeps quality gentle and volume conservative: the goal is arriving at the start line healthy, not surviving a pro schedule. 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 runs9
Tempo & threshold3
Race rehearsals & time trials1
Other quality1

Common questions

How many days a week does this 5k plan require?

2 runs per week for 7 weeks — 14 workouts in total. The biggest week is week 6 at about 1.7 hours of running.

What is the longest run in this 5k plan?

54 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 1.2 and 1.7 hours of running, depending on the week — the plan ramps up through the build and drops sharply in the taper and on the 1 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.