While going from a 5K to a 10K is fully doubling your distance—3.1 miles to 6.2 miles—there are definite similarities between the two races. In fact, as Andrew Kastor, head coach of the Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth Lakes, California, tells Runner’s World, “if you can run a mile, you can run a marathon—and the same goes for distances in between.”
Have you already raced a 5K or do you regularly run that distance when you train? If so, you have the tools to train for a 10K.
That’s because, “metabolically—in terms of pace, intensity, and heart rate—the 5K and 10K are similar,” says Kastor. Here’s why: It’s likely that you will run a 10K in 90 minutes or less, and that means you will use carbohydrates as your primarily fuel source without needing more food during your race. Of course, as with all runs, you need to hydrate during this distance, and then refuel and rehydrate afterward.
Keep reading for the tweaks you need in your training to bump up from a 5K to a 10K, plus a coach-approved eight-week plan to build on your current 5K fitness and get to the 10K start line.
How a 10K Training Plan Differs From a 5K Plan
If you used a 5K training plan, such as Couch to 5K, walk/run, or a plan designed to increase your pace, then you have already made running a habit, and that’s great! Now, here are some of the details to adapt your current training schedule for a 10K.
1. Increase Run Distance
Each week of training leading up to your 10K should include runs of various intensities, including one long run, which will gradually build in distance each week. While long runs for a 5K might have topped out at four or five miles, they will extend to at least six with a 10K. However, if you want to also increase your pace and run a fast 10K—whatever that means to you—you might also want to add even longer runs.
Dave Berdan, two-time winner of the Baltimore Marathon, former collegiate coach, and current coach with Run Doyen, prefers working up to at least 10-mile runs for his athletes running 10Ks—but it depends on the person, their fitness, and their goals.
“The pace on the long run should be easy and manageable at first—but then, if you’re able to handle consistent long runs, you can throw in some pickups throughout the run or pick it up a little bit over the last quarter of the run,” Berdan tells Runner’s World. But keep in mind that increasing the pace is completely up to you: “It’s important to listen to your body and communicate with your coach if you have one.”
2. Follow an Effective Strength Routine
Supplementing your weekly runs with two to three strength sessions will support you over the 10K distance. Good news: Quickie workouts can still be effective, says Berdan. “Most of the clients I work with don’t have a ton of extra time to strength train, so I schedule strength routines to be done right after they finish running—and they only take five to 15 minutes,” he says.
He recommends core work and bodyweight moves focused on your lower half (like squats and lunges in every plane) and to keep working through them continuously. “Doing these moves as continuous circuits challenges the muscles to work while they’re fatigued and should help with the later stages of the 10K,” he explains.
Runners also need to strengthen their legs for higher weekly training volume, since they are increasing weekly long runs by two to four miles, and adding up to 50 percent more volume to their 5K-specific workouts, Kastor explains.
Dialing those workouts into the right place during your training plan is also important, so they are included in the plan.
3. Sprinkle in Speed Workouts
You don’t have to do speed workouts if you just want to finish the 10K, but to run your strongest race, sessions that are speedier than easy runs are key. “Speedwork during 10K training can range from 400-meter reps to one-mile reps and should be done once a week,” says Kastor, who calls mile repeats in particular the “bread and butter of 10K training.”
Similar to your long runs, your speed workouts would likely increase in duration. For example, if during your 5K training you did six reps of 400 meters at 5K pace with a two-minute recovery, you can build to 10 reps of 400 meters at 10K pace with a two-minute recovery.
Download Your 8-Week 10K Training Plan
Now that you know the three biggest shifts in race prep for a 10K versus a 5K, here’s a plan Kastor designed to get you there. Aim to do easy runs at a conversational pace. Strides should be 10 to 15 seconds (or 60 to 80 yards) and done at about 80 percent of your max effort, with a minute or two rest between each.
The plan also includes core work and strength training to support your running, as well as cross-training sessions to help your body bounce back from your week of running. Cross-training efforts should be easy, and the activities, such as swimming and cycling, should be low-impact.
