Training program
Walk-to-run 5 km plan
Nine weeks from walking to running five kilometres without stopping. Three sessions a week of alternating jog and walk intervals, with the jogging share growing each week until the walking disappears. Free, no sign-up.
- Days / week
- 3
- Block length
- 9 weeks
- Cost
- Free
Your numbers
This program is prescribed by effort rather than percentages, so there is nothing to calculate — the week below is ready to run.
The week
Session 1
- Brisk walk5 minwarm-up
- Jog / walk intervals8×60 s jog / 90 s walk
- Brisk walk5 mincool-down
Rest
Session 2
- Brisk walk5 minwarm-up
- Jog / walk intervals8×60 s jog / 90 s walk
- Brisk walk5 mincool-down
Rest
Session 3
- Brisk walk5 minwarm-up
- Jog / walk intervals8×60 s jog / 90 s walk
- Brisk walk5 mincool-down
Rest
Optional easy walk
The week adds up to
- Sessions
- 3
- Working sets
- 24
- Rest days
- 4
Most sets
- Jog / walk intervals24
Choose your start day
The coach advances your intervals week by week, and repeats a week instead of pushing you on when your logged sessions say you are not ready.
Who is this walk-to-run 5K plan for?
Anyone who cannot currently run five kilometres continuously — whether that is from a standing start, after an injury, or after years away. The interval structure exists because the limit early on is almost never your lungs; it is the load your tendons and joints will accept per week. Walking breaks let you accumulate time on your feet at a rate your connective tissue can keep up with.
How does the plan work?
Every session is a five-minute brisk walk to warm up, then alternating jog and walk intervals, then a five-minute walk to cool down. Week one is sixty seconds of jogging against ninety seconds of walking, repeated eight times. Each week the jog interval lengthens and the walk shortens until, around week eight, the intervals merge into a continuous run. The week shown here is week one — the coach advances the intervals for you.
How do you progress?
Progress by time, never by pace. The jog should be slow enough to hold a conversation; if you cannot, you are running your intervals too fast and the plan will break down around week five. Do not add a fourth session — three is the number the nine-week progression is calculated for, and the rest days are the part that adapts you.
What if a week is too hard?
Repeat the week. Nobody has ever been harmed by spending ten weeks on a nine-week plan, and it is far more common to need an extra week around weeks five and six, where the jog intervals lengthen fastest. Sharp or localised pain — as opposed to general fatigue and muscle soreness — means stop and get it looked at rather than pushing through.
What surfaces and shoes should you use?
Softer surfaces are kinder while your legs adapt: grass, a track or a treadmill over pavement where you have the choice. Shoes matter less than most marketing suggests, but shoes that have already done several hundred kilometres matter a lot — if yours are old, replace them before starting rather than halfway through.
This is a training template, not medical advice. Loads are starting points, not prescriptions — scale them to your own experience, and talk to a qualified clinician before starting a new program if you have an injury or a health condition.