5K training plan
A 5K training plan built on the runs you actually do
Masir reads the runs you have already done, works out where your fitness is today and builds your 5K plan from there, with or without a race date or a time goal.
What a week looks like
The number of runs comes from what you already do and the days you say you can train.
| Session | What it is |
|---|---|
| Easy runs | Most of the week, at a pace where you can talk in full sentences. |
| One quality session | Intervals or threshold work, shown block by block, each with its pace and duration. |
| A longer run | Slower than your easy runs. It builds the endurance that makes the last mile of a 5K feel shorter. |
If you run less than about 10 miles a week, the first weeks have no hard session at all: you build the habit and the volume first, and speed work arrives once the base is there. Interval work is kept to around 8% of the week's distance, the proportion Jack Daniels recommends.
The week before the race gets lighter, with nothing long in the last five days.
Paces set by your fitness, not by a table
Every session comes with a pace, calculated with Jack Daniels' VDOT formulas from your recent runs and adjusted for heat and humidity. A single exceptional run does not reset all your paces.
| Your 5K time | Interval pace /mile | /km |
|---|---|---|
| 20:00 | 6:17 – 6:27 | 3:54 – 4:00 |
| 22:30 | 7:02 – 7:12 | 4:22 – 4:29 |
| 25:00 | 7:46 – 7:58 | 4:50 – 4:57 |
| 27:30 | 8:31 – 8:43 | 5:17 – 5:25 |
| 30:00 | 9:15 – 9:29 | 5:45 – 5:53 |
| 35:00 | 10:43 – 10:59 | 6:40 – 6:49 |
Calculated with Jack Daniels' VDOT formulas, for a flat route in cool weather. For any other race time, use the pace calculator.
When the week does not go to plan
A printed plan assumes you run every session on the day it says. Masir asks what happened instead.
Missed a session: you choose to move it, lighten it or skip it, and the week is reorganized around that choice. There is nothing to catch up.
Sick, injured or on vacation: you pause the plan. The sessions of the break are removed, and training restarts at a reduced volume.
Tired: when your runs feel harder than they should, the load stops climbing until you are back on track.
Runs you do outside the plan count toward the week's load, weighted by how hard they were, so an extra race or a group run does not get stacked on top of a full week.
A plan that starts from your real runs
Masir reads up to twelve months of runs from Apple Health, sets your paces from your current fitness and reorganizes the plan when you miss a run, get sick or go on vacation. Each time, it tells you what changed.
Build my 5K planiPhone, iOS 17 or later · no account, no ads · free beginner program · full plans with Masir Plus, two-week free trial
Questions
How long is the 5K plan?
It depends on your race date, if you set one, and on where you start. A plan can run up to 24 weeks.
Can I follow it if I have never run?
Start with the free eight-week walk-run program, which takes you to 30 minutes of continuous running, then move on to the 5K plan.
Do I need an Apple Watch?
No. Masir reads runs from Apple Health, so any watch that writes there works, including Garmin, COROS and Polar. You can also enter runs by hand or record them with your iPhone's GPS. There is no Apple Watch app.
Is the plan written by a human coach?
No. The plan is calculated by the app from your runs, and it explains every change it makes.