Lufa

Your printable 5K training plan

Updated 1 October 2026

Pick where you are starting from and how many days a week you can train. You'll get a complete week-by-week plan to 5K without stopping, ready to print and stick on the fridge.

Plan: 8 weeks

  1. Week 1

    • Session 1: 8 × run 1:00 / walk 1:30
    • Session 2: 8 × run 1:00 / walk 1:30
    • Session 3: 8 × run 1:00 / walk 1:30

  2. Week 2

    • Session 1: 6 × run 1:30 / walk 2:00
    • Session 2: 6 × run 1:30 / walk 2:00
    • Session 3: 6 × run 1:30 / walk 2:00

  3. Week 3

    • Session 1: 5 × run 2:00 / walk 2:00
    • Session 2: 5 × run 2:00 / walk 2:00
    • Session 3: 5 × run 2:00 / walk 2:00

  4. Week 4

    • Session 1: 4 × run 3:00 / walk 2:00
    • Session 2: 4 × run 3:00 / walk 2:00
    • Session 3: 4 × run 3:00 / walk 2:00

  5. Week 5

    • Session 1: 3 × run 5:00 / walk 2:30
    • Session 2: 2 × run 8:00 / walk 3:00
    • Session 3: run 10:00 · walk 3:00 · run 8:00

  6. Week 6

    • Session 1: 2 × run 10:00 / walk 3:00
    • Session 2: run 12:00 · walk 3:00 · run 8:00
    • Session 3: run 20:00

  7. Week 7

    • Session 1: run 22:00
    • Session 2: run 25:00
    • Session 3: run 25:00

  8. Week 8

    • Session 1: run 28:00
    • Session 2: run 28:00
    • Session 3: 5 km without stopping

Every session starts with a 5-minute brisk walk and ends with a 5-minute walk.

How to follow the plan

  • Every session: five minutes of brisk walking first, five minutes of walking at the end. Don't skip either — the warm-up is what makes the first running interval feel manageable.
  • Leave a day between sessions. Monday, Wednesday, Friday works; so does Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
  • Run slowly. Slow enough that you could talk in short sentences. If you finish a session wrecked, you ran too fast, not too far.
  • Repeat a week whenever you need to. If you can't finish the running parts, do the week again. That is part of the plan, not a failure of it.

Can I train for a 5K in 3, 4 or 5 weeks?

Only if you can already run. Someone who can run for 15 to 20 minutes can usually stretch that to 30 in three or four weeks. Starting from zero, it takes most people eight weeks — trying to do it in four mostly produces shin splints, not a 5K. That's why the plan above never goes shorter than six weeks.

What about 12 weeks?

If eight weeks feels too quick, slow it down: repeat any week you like, or train twice a week instead of three times. Both stretch the plan without changing what's in it.

Rather not print it?

The Lufa app runs this plan for you with spoken cues — "run now", "walk now" — so you don't have to watch the clock, and it adjusts the next session after every run.

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