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Running training plans: which one do you need?

A training plan is a timetable that builds your running gradually so that race day feels like the next step, not a leap. This page explains how to pick the right plan for your distance and experience, and how every sensible plan is put together.

Choose by distance and experience

Pick the plan that matches where you are now, not where you hope to be in a month. Starting one level too high is the most common reason plans are abandoned in week three.

  • New to running, or returning after a long break: the Couch to 5K plan takes nine weeks and starts with one-minute runs broken up by walking.
  • Can run 5K without stopping: the 10K training plan doubles your distance over eight weeks.
  • Comfortable at 10K, running three times a week: the half marathon training plan builds to 13.1 miles over twelve weeks.
  • Have run a half marathon, or regularly run 15 to 20 miles a week: the marathon training plan takes sixteen weeks to reach 26.2 miles.

If you fall between two plans, choose the easier one and repeat a week or two at the end if you finish it with energy to spare. See a GP before starting if you have a health condition or have been inactive.

Count back from race day

Find your event date, then count back the length of the plan and add one or two spare weeks for illness, holidays and bad weather. If you have not yet chosen a race, choose one far enough ahead to fit the whole plan in without rushing the early weeks.

How a training week is built

Almost every plan, from 5K to marathon, is made from the same four ingredients. Only the amounts change.

The easy run

Most of your running should be at a pace where you can hold a conversation in full sentences. Easy running builds the endurance that every distance depends on, and it is gentle enough to repeat several times a week. If you are out of breath, slow down. Walking breaks are fine.

The long run

Once a week, usually at the weekend, you run further than on any other day. It is run at easy pace or slower. The long run grows by a small amount most weeks and is the single most important session for a half marathon or marathon.

The faster session

One run a week includes some harder effort: short intervals with recoveries, or a sustained tempo run at a pace you could hold for about an hour. One such session is plenty for most people. Always start with ten minutes of easy running and finish the same way. Work out your target pace per kilometre or mile before you set off, so you are not guessing mid-run.

Rest

Fitness improves while you recover, not while you run. Every plan here includes at least two days a week with no running. Gentle walking, swimming or cycling on those days is fine if you enjoy it. Avoid placing your two hardest days, the faster session and the long run, back to back.

The 10% rule

A long-standing guideline is to increase your total weekly distance by no more than about 10% from one week to the next. Someone running 20 miles a week would add roughly 2 miles the following week, not 6. It is a rule of thumb, not a law: at very low mileage a slightly bigger step is reasonable, and at high mileage even 10% can be a lot. The principle is what matters. Build slowly, and take an easier cutback week every third or fourth week so your body can absorb the work.

If you miss a week

Missed training is normal and rarely decides how a race goes. Use these guidelines:

  • One or two missed runs: carry on with the plan as written. Do not try to squeeze the missed runs into the following days.
  • A full week missed: repeat the last week you completed, then continue. If time is short, rejoin the plan but shorten the long run slightly for a week.
  • Two weeks or more: step back two or three weeks in the plan and rebuild. If that leaves too little time, consider adjusting your goal to finishing comfortably.
  • Returning after illness: start with easy runs only and add the faster session back last.

Before race day

Every plan ends with a taper, a short period of reduced running that lets you arrive fresh. The tapering guide explains how it works, and the race day checklist covers what to pack and when to arrive.