How to get faster at 5K
Three types of running sessions move a 5K time: intervals, a tempo run, and a long easy run, layered on top of regular easy running. Hal Higdon's published intermediate 5K plan builds exactly these three into an eight-week schedule, laid out with real numbers in the table below. That plan assumes a runner who can already finish a continuous 5K. For a runner who can't yet, Higdon's own beginner 5K plan is built from easy running and walking alone, with intervals and tempo added later, once his intermediate plan begins.
"How do I get faster at 5K" gets asked by two different runners: one who hasn't broken 30 minutes yet, and one who's stuck at a plateau after months of training. The answer differs for each, which is why this page separates what actually moves the number by stage instead of handing over one workout. For what counts as a good time in the first place, good 5K time has the age and sex breakdowns. This page covers the training.
The three sessions, with a concrete example each
These aren't the only workouts that exist. Running workouts catalogues the full range, easy runs, hills, fartlek and more. But for a 5K specifically, intervals, a tempo run and a long run are the three session types Hal Higdon's intermediate plan is built around. Published for runners who've already finished a 5K race and want to move their time, it's a clean, dated example of how the three fit together across eight weeks.
| Session | What it targets | Higdon's example |
|---|---|---|
| Interval | 400m repeats at roughly one-mile race pace, with a jog or walk recovery between reps | 5×400m in week 1, building to 8×400m by week 7 |
| Tempo run | A continuous run that builds to near 10K pace in the middle, then eases off | 30-minute tempo in week 2, building to 40 minutes by week 6 (back to 30 in week 8, a taper before the closing 5K race) |
| Long run | The week's single longest run, at an easy, conversational pace | 5 miles in week 1, building to 7 miles by week 6 |
Source: Hal Higdon's Intermediate 5K training plan, verified against the live page on August 25, 2026.
Why these three sessions
Each one stresses a different system. Per Dr. Jack Daniels' training-pace definitions, published on VDOTO2.com, threshold work, the tempo-run intensity, is run "at an intensity that could be raced at for almost 1-hour under ideal racing conditions," and its purpose is "to increase endurance (your body's ability to clear blood lactate)." Interval pace is faster: Daniels describes it as "hard" work broken into repeats with recovery, and states that interval training "challenges, and improves, both central (oxygen delivery) and peripheral (use of delivered oxygen) factors to provide energy for the exercising muscles." The long run sits underneath both. It builds the aerobic base that a tempo run and interval work get layered onto, which is why Higdon's plan keeps it as the week's single longest session throughout.
How to fit them into a week
Higdon's intermediate 5K plan runs five days a week across its eight-week build: two easy runs (Tuesday and Thursday), one tempo-or-interval session (Wednesday), a Saturday run that alternates between easy and faster effort week to week, and Sunday's long run, with Monday and Friday as rest days. The Wednesday workout and the Sunday long run are the two that change most from week to week; the easy days stay roughly flat, filling the space and recovery around them.
For a beginner, consistency comes first
The plan above assumes a runner who can already finish a continuous 5K. A runner who can't yet has a different problem, and Higdon's own beginner 5K plan reflects that directly: it's built entirely from easy running and walking across its eight weeks, adds zero tempo runs or interval sessions, and peaks at a 3-mile longest run in week 7. Greg McMillan of McMillan Running makes a related point about runners generally: he cares "less about one big training week or one great workout and more about stringing together multiple weeks of training," because the adaptations running depends on accumulate slowly, across months of steady training. For the day-by-day structure that gets someone from no running to a continuous 5K, couch to 5K guide walks through NHS's own week-by-week plan.
Common mistakes
- Adding intervals before the habit is solid. In Higdon's own plans, tempo and interval work don't appear until the intermediate stage, once continuous 5K running is already established.
- Running every easy day at tempo effort. If daily runs sit near threshold pace, the actual tempo session and the actual easy days blend into the same medium effort, and neither one trains what it's supposed to.
- Treating the long run as optional filler. In Higdon's plan it stays the week's single longest run in every week that isn't a test race.
- Chasing a table instead of training toward it. The bands on good 5K time show where a time sits; the sessions above are what actually change it.
What to do next
Runked's 5K training plan sequences easy running, tempo and interval work automatically, so the mix above doesn't have to be built by hand. The race-time predictor estimates a current 5K from recent training between races, and fitness and fatigue tracking flags when a hard week is about to backfire instead of build fitness. Compare to yourself, not to others: in Runked, the rank starts everyone at Bronze and only moves on your own runs. See how the rank works.
Find out where you stand
Runked is free on the App Store. Connect your watch or track 3 runs, and meet your Runk.
Download on App StoreFrequently asked questions
How long does it take to get faster at 5K?
There's no single number, but RunnersConnect coach Jeff Gaudette puts a range on it: beginners "can improve pace by 10 to 15 percent in a single year," against "5 to 8 percent pace improvement" for a second or third year of training and "2 to 4 percent" once a runner has trained for three years or more. He adds that a beginner targeting 5K races "often sees their biggest time drops in the first four to six months." These are one coach's estimates from his own coaching practice. RunnersConnect introduces the 10 to 15 percent figure with "research has shown" but names no specific study; the other two percentages appear with no research framing at all.
Should I do intervals?
If you haven't yet run a continuous 5K, Hal Higdon's own beginner 5K plan answers this directly: it's built entirely from easy running and walking across its eight weeks, with zero tempo runs or interval sessions, and its longest run peaks at 3 miles in week 7. Higdon adds intervals and tempo work only in his intermediate plan, which assumes a runner has already finished a 5K race. Once that's true, sessions like the ones in the table above are what move a plateaued time again.
How many times a week?
Higdon's intermediate 5K plan runs five days a week: two easy runs, one weekly tempo-or-interval session, a Saturday run that alternates easy and faster effort, and Sunday's long run, with Monday and Friday as rest days. That assumes a runner already has a base. For how many days actually suit a newer runner, and the injury data behind that number, see how often should a beginner run.
What's a realistic goal?
That depends on current fitness and experience more than any single figure this page could hand you. Good 5K time's bands (first-timer, recreational, good, very good) are honest reference points for where a given time actually sits, built from published race-result data rather than a guess. Runked's PRO race-time predictor estimates a current 5K from recent training, so a goal gets set against your own numbers instead of someone else's.