Some people could be 10K-ready in a little as six weeks, others might take three months. If you've been running consistently, you should be able to get race-ready in eight weeks, says Andrew Simmons, USATF-certified running coach, TrainingPeaks ambassador, and co-founder of Lifelong Endurance.
8 weeks is enough time to train for a 10K, but it does mean you'll need to train with focus and intensity. Make sure you can run for 3.5km/20 minutes without stopping – you can build from there. You'll notice that our suggested plan below doesn't dictate pace or speed – just distance.
Average 10K time for beginners
For beginners, you can expect to cross the finish line of a 10K somewhere between 60-80 minutes. If training is new to you, you can start out by doing a combination of running and walking to build up your fitness and avoid injury.
You will want to add 1-2 miles a week to your training to build up to running a 6-mile run two weeks before your 10K race. If you are currently running 3 miles for your farthest distance, for instance, you will be able to run a 10K in a month, which gives you time to build up your long runs.
Therefore, if you are running 10k every day, you will burn 4,200 calories a week running. There are 3,500 calories in a pound. Therefore, you will burn more than a pound a week running 10k every day.
A 10K is 6.2 miles. If you can currently run or run and walk a 5K, you can train to run a strong 10K in six weeks. This training schedule includes three running days per week, one or two runner-specific strength training days, and of course, rest days.
A good 10k time for a woman is 54:13. This is the average 10k time across women of all ages. The fastest 10k time ran by a woman is 29:43.
Online, you can use the Runner's World Race Time Predictor tool, but in general, your 10K pace will be around 45 to 60 seconds per mile slower than your best mile time or somewhere between 10 and 30 seconds slower than your 5K pace, says Knighton.
If you are trying to hit a certain pace, aim to run your goal pace to 10 seconds slower for the first mile, at your goal pace for the middle 4 miles, and as hard as you can to the finish line. If you are running the 10K to complete it, you can do some dynamic stretches such as leg swings and arm swings to warm up.
Set yourself a routine
Try to run two to three times a week, slowly building up the length or intensity. Activities such as yoga can also help with core strength and balance. It may be at a slower pace but it's still a workout!
Overall, training for your first 10k can be challenging, especially if you are trying to jump up to the distance from the 5k in just a couple of weeks. However, as long as you are open to taking walking breaks during the race, it should be tenable to get in good enough shape to finish a 10k in two weeks.
For example, if you're training for a competitive 10k time and running at least an hour a day, you might only need to run 4-5 days per week, but if you only have time to run 30-45 minutes most days, you should probably run 5-6 days per week.
At a minimum, you need to run three times a week to prepare for a 10K. Do two 30-minute runs on, say, Tuesday and Thursday, and a long run on the weekend. When possible, add an additional 20-minute easy run to your schedule to increase time on your feet. Every other weekend, increase your long run by one to 1.5 miles.
Start off by heading out for at least an hour and run at a conversational pace or 6/10 effort. Gradually this will build to 75% of WHR as you start to practice periods of marathon or race pace running. These runs improve your muscular endurance and condition your body to burn fat as its primary fuel source.
The effort at the beginning of a 5K or 10K race should feel similar to a tempo run, says Rosario. 'You're very amped up, so even though the pace will probably be faster than your tempo run pace, the feeling is pretty similar,' he says.
Start with intervals at your 5k pace.
A good initial session is to run 6-8 repetitions of 600m with a 90-second recovery. As you get stronger, you can try longer intervals such as 800 and 1k at the same pace with a 2-minute recovery. Then you should incorporate sessions at your target 3k pace.
There were about 1.8 million global participants in 10K (6.2 miles) races in 2019, according to the IIRM.
If you can walk/run a 5k in less than 40 minutes you will be able to complete a 10k. Ideally you should be able to run 35 minutes non-stop relatively comfortably in order to start 'racing' a 10k.
3 days before your 10K race should be your final run. Stick to interval efforts to get your body ready for racing at a faster pace and pushing through discomfort. Your intervals should be 100-200m and significantly faster than your normal running pace. You have 2 full days to rest and recover.
If it's your first half marathon: Estimate 12-16 weeks. You'll increase your distance gradually while making room for that essential cross-training. If you're getting back to running after a break: You can definitely get from a 10K to half marathon in 8 weeks.