Sub 20 minute 5K
4:00/km
Going under 20 minutes means holding 4:00/km, or a little faster, for all 5 kilometres. It is short enough that every few seconds a kilometre shows on the clock.
Check this goal against your own timeEven-pace splits
| 1 km | 4:00 |
|---|---|
| 2 km | 8:00 |
| 3 km | 12:00 |
| 4 km | 16:00 |
| 5 km | 20:00 |
To finish under the goal, be a little ahead of these.
Who this goal suits
You have run 5K recently. A time up to 20:37 reads as realistic in the goal check, and up to 21:44 reads as ambitious. Slower than that, a nearer goal first may serve you better.
You can give it four or five running days a week, and you are ready for two harder sessions among them.
Other race times that project to this goal, from the same formula as the goal check:
- 10K
- 41:42
- Half marathon
- 1:32:00
An example week
This is an example from the middle of a block, not a plan for you. Its paces assume you are already at goal fitness, so use the goal check to see yours.
| Day | Run | km | Session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Easy | 8 | Conversational, around 5:07 to 5:48/km |
| Tue | Intervals | 11 | 3 km warm-up, 6 x 800 m at 4:00/km with 90 seconds of jogging between, then easy to finish |
| Thu | Easy | 8 | Conversational, around 5:07 to 5:48/km |
| Fri | Threshold | 11 | 3 km warm-up, 25 minutes at 4:15/km, then easy to finish |
| Sun | Long | 16 | Steady and unhurried, around 5:07 to 5:48/km |
| Week total | 54 | Other days are rest. | |
The key sessions
- 6 x 800 m
- At 4:00/km, which is goal pace. Work towards 5 x 1 km at the same pace with the same short jog.
- 25 minutes at threshold
- At 4:15/km, about what you could hold for an hour. It lifts the pace you can sustain.
- The long run
- Three times race distance at 5:07 to 5:48/km. A 5K is still mostly an aerobic race.
How long it takes
As a rule of thumb, allow 8 to 12 weeks from a recent 5K up to 20:37, and 12 to 20 weeks from one up to 21:44.
These are general guides rather than promises. Your history, sleep and the rest of your life all move them.
Want a plan for this goal?
RacePacer turns a goal time into a training plan, then updates your predicted finish as you log your weeks. We are in private beta and invite runners in waves, so join the waitlist and we'll email you when it's your turn.