THE PLAN

Couch to 5K plan, week by week

Nine weeks, three workouts a week, 27 sessions in total. Every session starts with a 5-minute warm-up walk and ends with a 5-minute cool-down walk. Here is exactly what each week asks for.

Run Walk Warm-up / cool-down
  1. Week 1 28.5 min

    60s run / 90s walk × 8

    Eight 60-second runs, each followed by a 90-second walk.

    All 3 sessions identical · 28.5 min each

    See week 1 →
  2. Week 2 29 min

    90s run / 2 min walk × 6

    Runs stretch to 90 seconds with two-minute walks, six rounds.

    All 3 sessions identical · 29 min each

    See week 2 →
  3. Week 3 25 min

    90s run / 90s walk / 3 min run / 3 min walk × 2

    A repeating pattern that doubles your longest run to 3 minutes.

    All 3 sessions identical · 25 min each

    See week 3 →
  4. Week 4 31.5 min

    3 / 5 / 3 / 5 with short walks

    Two 5-minute runs appear, with short walks between.

    All 3 sessions identical · 31.5 min each

    See week 4 →
  5. Week 5 30–31 min

    First continuous run: 20 minutes

    Three different sessions, ending in 20 minutes continuous.

    3 different sessions · bar shows Day 1

    See week 5 →
  6. Week 6 32–34 min

    Walk breaks return, then 22 minutes continuous

    Interval sessions bookend a 22-minute continuous run.

    3 different sessions · bar shows Day 1

    See week 6 →
  7. Week 7 35 min

    25 min continuous run

    Three identical 25-minute continuous runs.

    All 3 sessions identical · 35 min each

    See week 7 →
  8. Week 8 38 min

    28 min continuous run

    Three identical 28-minute continuous runs.

    All 3 sessions identical · 38 min each

    See week 8 →
  9. Week 9 40 min

    Race week: 30 min continuous run

    Three 30-minute runs, the last one your first 5K.

    All 3 sessions identical · 40 min each

    See week 9 →

How the plan is built

The first four weeks are run/walk intervals, and all three sessions in a week are identical. Runs grow from 60 seconds in week 1 to five minutes by week 4, while walking time gradually shrinks. Nothing in those four weeks asks you to run continuously.

Week 5 is where that changes. It is the first week whose three sessions differ from each other, and its final session drops the walk breaks entirely for a 20-minute continuous run. Week 6 brings walk breaks back for two sessions before finishing with 22 minutes continuous, and from week 7 onward every session is a single continuous run: 25 minutes, then 28, then 30 in the final week, where the last workout is called Your first 5K.

Three sessions a week with rest days between them is the whole structure. If a week doesn't go to plan, repeating it is a normal thing to do rather than a setback: you can repeat a week and pick up where you left off.