How long should a 10K training plan be?

Eight to twelve weeks from a base of three or four runs a week and a 5 mile long run.

What weekly mileage for a 10K?

20 to 30 for a first 10K, 30 to 45 for a competitive time. The 10K rewards volume more than most runners expect for a race that lasts under an hour.

How far should my long run be for a 10K?

8 to 12 miles. Well past race distance, and it is the aerobic base that stops the last 3km falling apart.

Should I race 5Ks while training for a 10K?

One or two as fitness checks is useful and they double as VO2max sessions. Weekly racing stops the block progressing.

Guide

How a 10K block is built

The 10K is the most balanced race on the calendar. It is long enough that aerobic capacity decides it and short enough that top-end speed still matters, which means a 10K block cannot skip either.

The balance

A 10K is run at roughly 92 to 95 percent of VO2max for most trained runners, and sits just above threshold pace. That puts it at the intersection of the two qualities: you need a high ceiling and you need to be able to sit close to it for half an hour.

A block that trains only intervals produces a runner who goes out fast and dies at 7km. A block that trains only threshold produces a runner who never has another gear. The 10K needs both, roughly evenly.

Eight to twelve weeks

1
Weeks 1 to 3
Easy volume plus strides. One threshold session of 20 minutes. Long run 7 to 9 miles. No hard intervals yet.
2
Weeks 4 to 7
Two quality sessions: one threshold of 25 to 30 minutes, one VO2max session of 5 x 1000m or 6 x 800m. Long run to 10 miles. This is the core of the block.
3
Weeks 8 to 10
Race-specific. 5 x 1200m at 10K pace, or 3 x 2km at goal pace. Enough intensity to make race pace familiar, and threshold maintained once a week.
4
Final week
Volume down about 40 percent. One short session with a few reps at race pace early in the week. Two easy days before.

The sessions that define it

5 x 1000m at 10K pace. With 2 minutes jog. Race-specific and the best predictor of what you will run.
2 x 20 minutes at threshold. With 3 minutes easy. Raises the pace you can sustain when the race gets long.
6 x 800m at 5K pace. With 2 minutes jog. Keeps the ceiling above race pace so 10K pace feels controlled.
Long run, 8 to 12 miles easy. The base that everything else draws on. Feels irrelevant to a 40 minute race and is not.

Racing it

The 10K punishes an aggressive start more than the half and less than the 5K. The reliable approach is to run the first kilometre 3 to 5 seconds slower than goal pace, settle into rhythm through 5km, and start working at 6 or 7km.

The middle third is where 10K races are decided. It is far enough in that fatigue is real and far enough from the end that there is no adrenaline to draw on. Runners who hold pace through 6 and 7km run the times their training says they should.

Frequently asked

How long should a 10K training plan be?: Eight to twelve weeks from a base of three or four runs a week and a 5 mile long run.
What weekly mileage for a 10K?: 20 to 30 for a first 10K, 30 to 45 for a competitive time. The 10K rewards volume more than most runners expect for a race that lasts under an hour.
How far should my long run be for a 10K?: 8 to 12 miles. Well past race distance, and it is the aerobic base that stops the last 3km falling apart.
Should I race 5Ks while training for a 10K?: One or two as fitness checks is useful and they double as VO2max sessions. Weekly racing stops the block progressing.

Stop reading. Start training.

This is the theory. Shed is the schedule.

Knowing what a threshold run is for does not tell you which Tuesday to run one, or how fast, or what to do when you miss it. Shed writes every session of your race block and adjusts it as you train. Ask it where a number came from and it will tell you.

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