Training for a 10K – Participate, Get Better, Win

The 10-km run is a real classic. It is a part of almost every running event – the New Year’s Eve run, fun runs, and charity events – or even major marathon competitions. There is a reason for this: recreational and ambitious runners alike love this long-distance discipline. Compared to other races, the list of participants in the 10-km race is almost always the longest.

It is actually impossible to create a universal training plan for a 10K. Too much depends on the individual performance level and goals, explains David. Nevertheless, there are tips that can help us prepare properly for a 10-km run – according to individual performance levels. The result is a guideline for three running groups.

• The finisher group: Runners in the finisher group have the goal of finishing their first 10K. The goal is not to run the ten kilometers in a certain time, but to cross the finish line at the end. Especially runners who are new to running and have set their first personal goals are part of this group.
  
  

• The get-faster group: The get-faster group includes runners who have already run their first 10Ks. They know the distance and have a first feeling for how long it takes them on average to run ten kilometers. Their goal is to improve their previous performance in a 10-km race.
  
  

• The competitive group: Runners from the competitive group have already participated in several 10Ks. As ambitious runners, they now have the goal of running the next 10-km race with a competitive mindset.

In our guide, David Harmer explains what good 10K-training for these three groups can look like.

Even as rookie runners, we can be ready for our first 10-km run relatively quickly. What ultimately matters is our level of performance, says David. “To start training for a 10‑km run, runners should be able to easily run for 20 minutes at a time twice a week.” It is not about how fast we run – but we should be able to sustain the load well over such a period of time. David adds, “If that’s the case, a runner is ready to prepare for a 10K.”

From this moment on, it is important that our runs do not become too monotonous. If we continue to run our laps consistently, we find the sport harder – and we lose motivation more quickly. “We make running easier for ourselves if we also vary our workouts,” David says. Instead of running constantly, we can train with fartleks, for example.

In this special running training, we look for reference points on our route, such as a tree, a larger rock, or a bench. Once we have found such a point, we can run up to it at a faster pace – and then continue running or even walk at a slower pace. “These short tempo sessions should be about 30 to 60 seconds long,” David explains. “If we intersperse our training with such elements, running feels much easier right away.”

When we are ultimately ready for our first 10-km run also depends a bit on when we feel ready. However, this is usually the case after four to six weeks at the earliest. “If we’ve been running consistently twice a week during that period, steadily increasing our training time, we can think about running a 10K,” David says. “Better, however, would be an 8-week preparation.”

If we succeed, there’s nothing standing in the way of our first 10-km run. But there’s one thing beginners should keep in mind at the start, says David: “We should always start slower than we think – and then gradually increase our pace.”

For those who have already run several 10-km races, at some point it is no longer enough just to finish. Usually, with experience, we also want to increase our performance. “Anyone who regularly runs about 30 to 40 minutes three to four times a week can train for such a goal,” David is certain.

If we want to improve our performance in the 10-km race, we also have to change our training. “The training goal is to be able to run six to eight kilometers at the speed we want to get to,” explains David. With warm-up and cool-down, such a unit will be about ten to twelve kilometers long.

However, not all running sessions during the week need to be trained at this high intensity. “We should go running at least three to four times a week,” says David. One or two units should then consist of fast runs.

“The advantage,” David explains, “is that we can train this threshold well.” We do that best in three different ways:

1. Sustained load: To increase our performance, we can train with sustained load. This works best by running just below our anaerobic threshold for about 20 to 30 minutes.
   
   

2. Longer intervals: Longer intervals also help us improve our threshold pace. To do this, we run near our anaerobic threshold two to three times for eight to ten minutes each time. In between, we take two-minute recovery breaks.
   
   

3. Shorter, fast-paced intervals: Shorter intervals also improve our performance. However, we must run them at a pace that is just above our anaerobic threshold. This requires four to six five-minute intervals, each with a one-and-a-half to two-minute rest.

This is not just about moving at all, but also training intensively. “It would be good if we already ran more than ten kilometers once a week and about five kilometers once a week – and at an intense pace.” If you do that, David says, you can also train for a 10-km run at a high level.

Now, anyone working toward such a high level should run at least eight kilometers per training session at the race pace of the 10-km run. “However, this doesn’t necessarily have to happen in one piece,” David explains. The expert suggests three methods:

• Interval training: to run the eight kilometers at race pace, we can divide the distance into eight intervals, each one kilometer long.
  
  

• Tempo endurance runs: at a constant speed just below our pace of the 10-km run, we run six to eight kilometers.
  
  

• Short tempo runs: if we shorten the intervals, we will have to pick up our pace. In this workout, we run 400-meter intervals 16 to 20 times at a pace we normally run on five kilometers.

“To properly prepare for the 10-km run, we should schedule two of these quality, high-tempo sessions per week,” says David. Then, to train our energy system even better, we should alternate between running below and above our 10-km pace.