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5K RUNNING PLANS

Written by Andrew Taylor. USATF Level 1 Coach. Coaching runners since 2010.

Four 5K plans, one clear path. Whether this is your first 5K or your fastest, pick the level that matches where you are right now, not where you wish you were.

Every plan below runs 10 weeks, builds gradually, and is delivered through Final Surge so your training lives on your phone and syncs to your watch.

  • 10 week plan
  • $19.99 one-time
  • Lifetime access on Final Surge
Compare 5K Plans
Get Help Choosing a Plan

New to running? Start with a run-walk plan. Ready for more than a 5K? Move up to a 10K plan, or look ahead to half marathon training.

5k running plans - sunrise running company

Choose Your 5K Training Level

All four 5K plans are 10 weeks and $19.99. The difference is where you’re starting from and how many days a week you’ll run.

Run Walk 5K

  • 10 week plan
  • 3 sessions per week
  • 1.25 to 2 hours a week
  • Longest session 40 minutes
Before You Start:
Able to walk briskly for 30 minutes, 3 days per week, covering 2 miles at a time. No running background or speed work experience needed. Suitable as a first race, with no prior racing experience required.

$19.99

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Beginner 5K

  • 10 week plan
  • 4 runs per week
  • 1.5 to 3 hours a week
  • Longest run 48 minutes
Before You Start:
Consistently run 8 to 10 miles a week, 3 to 4 days per week for 20 to 35 minutes on regular runs and 3 miles on a long run. No speed work experience needed. Suitable as a first race, no racing background required.

$19.99

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Intermediate 5K

  • 10 week plan
  • 6 runs per week
  • 14 to 31 miles a week
  • Longest run 8 miles
Before You Start:
Consistently run 20 to 25 miles a week, 5 to 6 days per week for 30 to 50 minutes on regular runs and 5 miles on a long run. Understanding of tempo runs and track repeats. Prior 5K race experience recommended.

$19.99

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Advanced 5K

  • 10 week plan
  • 6 runs per week
  • 15 to 38 miles a week
  • Longest run 9 miles
Before You Start:
Consistently run 28 to 35 miles a week, 6 days per week for 30 to 60 minutes on regular runs and 6 miles on a long run. Understanding of tempo runs and fast track intervals. Prior 5K race experience recommended.

$19.99

View Advanced 5K
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Between two levels? Take the lower one. Ten weeks you actually finish beats ten weeks that break you. Not sure how much you should be running each week before you start? Start there.

Still stuck? Book a free 15-minute call and we’ll pick one together.

A Sunrise Running Company training plan shown in the Final Surge app calendar

What You Get With Every 5K Plan

Every plan is delivered through Final Surge, the training platform that puts your schedule on your phone, syncs it to your watch, and tells you what to run each morning.

  • All 10 weeks of structured training, with each plan ending on race day.
  • RPE guidance, activation routines, coaching cues, and adjustment options for every run.
  • Workout progression by level: run-walk intervals in Run/Walk, strides and steady running in Beginner, 1 quality session a week in Intermediate, and 2 in Advanced.
  • Guidance on when and where to include cross-training, strength work, and mobility sessions based on your experience level and training volume.
  • Daily workout reminders, completed-workout tracking, and a calendar you can adjust when your schedule changes.
  • A printable PDF, plus workout syncing with Garmin, Strava, Polar, and most major devices.
  • Lifetime access, so you buy a plan once and keep it.
Choose Your 5K Plan

Who Writes These Plans

Every Sunrise training plan is written by Coach Andrew Taylor. He’s been running for more than 35 years, has finished over 100 endurance races including the Western States 100, and has crossed the line at eight separate 100-mile ultramarathons.

Andrew holds a USATF Level 1 coaching certification and a CoachUp certification, along with a BS in Exercise Science Education and an MA in Sports Management from The Ohio State University. He has coached runners from a first 5K through a first hundred-miler, and has been doing it from Modesto, California since 2010.

The 5K plans above use the same progressions he builds for the athletes he coaches one-on-one. The workouts don’t get easier because you bought a plan instead of hiring a coach.

Years Running
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Endurance Races Finished
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100-Mile Finisher
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Frequently Asked Questions

Start from your current routine, not your goal. Not running consistently? Take Run-Walk. Running 3 to 4 days a week? Beginner. Running 5 to 6 days a week with a 5K already behind you? Intermediate. Running 6 days a week and chasing a time? Advanced. If you’re still weighing the 5K against a longer race, read which distance to start with first.

All four are 10 weeks, ending with your 5K race.

As soon as you buy. Final Surge lets you set your start date and drag workouts around your week, so you can line week 10 up with your race.

Through Final Surge, free to use on desktop and mobile. Each day’s workout is waiting for you with instructions and target effort, and you can download the whole plan as a PDF.

Yes. Final Surge connects to Garmin, Strava, Apple Watch, Polar and most major devices, so completed runs log automatically.

No. $19.99, one time, with lifetime access to the plan.

Book a free 15-minute consultation with Coach Andrew Taylor before you start. If you’d rather have someone adjusting the plan as you go, here’s how to tell whether you need a running coach, and what online coaching includes.

Want a coach in your corner?

A training plan gives you the schedule. Coaching gives you someone rewriting it every four weeks around your life, your workouts, and your race, plus workout feedback, unlimited messaging, and time on a call with Coach Andrew Taylor.

Learn About Online Coaching
Official finisher of the Tahoe Rim Trail 100, 100 mile running training plan

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