To consider following this 40 minute 10k plan you should already be able to run at a target race pace of 06:26 for at least a mile (4:00p/km) and/or have a PB under 45 minutes.
If you are not quite ready then take a look at the 45 minute 10k training plan instead and then come back to this one once you are in a position to run at this pace.
Other 10k training plans: Sub 60 min 10k training plan|| 55 minute 10k || 50 minute 10k || 45 minute 10k || 40 minute 10k || 35 minute 10k
Please read before starting a training plan:
Frequently Asked Questions | Signs of Overtraining
Your Speed/Distance Training Zones: 40 minute 10k
| Pace per Mile | Treadmill Pace | 400m / 800m Splits | 1km Pace | 5km Race Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:26 | 9.3 mph/ 15 km/h | 1:36 / 3:12 | 04:00 secs | 20:00 min |
40 minute 10k Training Plan
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | 4 (rec week) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 45mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train |
| Tuesday | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | ||
| Wednesday | Rest/ cross-train | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train |
| Thursday | @6:26 p/m (4:00 p/km) 2 min Rec | Aim for : 20:00min | @6:26 p/m (4:00 p/km, 3:12 per 800m) 90s Rec | 30mins easy |
| Friday | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train | 45mins easy |
| Saturday | 45mins easy | @6:26 p/m (4:00 p/km) 90s Rec | 45mins easy | Rest/ cross-train |
| Sunday | Long run, gentle pace: 60-75 mins | 45mins easy | Long run, gentle pace: 60-75 mins | Rest/ cross-train |
40 Minute 10k Training Plan Components
Breakeven Sessions – 40 minute 10k
These sessions are used for maintaining fitness & recovery. Preparing you for breakthrough sessions:
- Easy Run – this should be no quicker than 08:25-08:55 per mile pace.
- Long Run – this doesn't need to be any longer than 75 minutes.
Breakthrough Sessions – 40 minute 10k
These sessions are meant to be challenging intense efforts, treat them as mini-milestones towards your target:
- Tempo Run – hard but sustainable effort, usually about 30 mins in total and aim for 06:55 p/mile pace for 3 miles with a 1 mile warm up/down either side.
- 800m Reps – should be reps at 06:26 p/m pace (3:12 per 800m) with a 90sec jogged recovery.
- 1km Intervals – 06:26 p/m pace (4:00 per km) with a 90sec jogged recovery.
- 2km Intervals – 06:26 p/m pace (4:00 per km) with a 2min jogged recovery.
- 5km Time Effort – run a 5k race/training run at your maximum, try and aim for a sub 20:00.
Notes on the 40 Minute 10k Training Plan
The 40 minute 10k plan has been put together so it is cyclical and can be used over a period of weeks until you feel you are ready for your 10k event. At the end of each cycle you can repeat from the beginning or tweak the plan to suit your current ability and time commitments etc. As you improve you'll maybe want to incorporate some sessions from our other 10k training plans.
If, after a couple of rotations you want to make the plan harder, you could slowly increase the number of reps for the breakthrough speed sessions. Introduce changes slowly and over a few weeks, i.e., Week 1 = 3x2km Reps, Week 5 = 4x2km Reps, Week 8 = 5x2km reps, etc. Obviously there is only so far you can go with this, there would be no point in extending these way beyond the 10k distance. The other way of making the plan harder is to adjust the pace slightly and run faster!
It is recommended that after three months of using the 40 minute 10k plan that you reduce your training for a period of one to two weeks to allow your body time to recover from the impact of running. This should mean more time cross-training with a couple of nice easy runs every few days to keep the legs ticking over.
To realise improvements it’s worth remembering that training is cumulative and it takes time and dedication to follow any training plan and achieve the results you want.
Hi Matt
At what stage would you change from the 40 min program to the 35 min program. Would it be when I am consistently running faster than the target times stated on the 40min (10km) program.
Matt, this programme seems far too easy, the majority of it are easy runs and long runs at pace you say to be no quicker than 7.45 min per mile. This pace is a long way off what is required to break 40 mins for 10k. The breakthrough sessions are few and far between with no hill running including at all. It just seems to be lazily thrown together with not much effort which is emphaised by the numerous errors you originally had it in with pace timings. I utilised your break 20mins for 5k to great effect but I’m not sure how much benefit I will gain from this program to assist in breaking 40 mins for 10k
Hi paul.
I’ve been doing this program now for 8 weeks now. My 2km sessions I was coming in at 8mins 24secs at my 1st attempt…I’m now doing them at 7.49mins….
My 1st 5km timed run was 22mins…….I’ve done 19.40mins today….same with all my speed sessions they are tumbling nicely…..my long runs I’ve been doing much slower than the times quoted avg 8 mins a miles……I’m rapidly improving week by week so I’d say give it a crack…..
My 5km timed run was a steady 19.40mins and realistically I could have carried on after the 5km…it was a steady sustainable effort…my PB for 10km many years ago was 42mins. As it stands I’m on course to beat this easily……what I tend to do is if I dont fancy a tempo run I’ll swap it for 15 x hill repeats of 15 to 20 seconds. .. I’ll only do this once in the 4 week cycle
Have you went through a cycle yet? I have just came off three cycles of the sub-20 plan and got sub-20 a few weeks ago. This week is my first week of this plan. Try the 2000m workout and you will probably want to retract your statement. 🙂
Paul, the long slow runs are there to build the aerobic base, i.e. the body’s ability to effectively transfer oxygen around the body. The breakthrough runs there to build up lactate threshold, which gets you used to running fast, but also helps build up speed endurance. The 10k is primarily an aerobic distance, there are some methods that even argue that (e.g. Phil Mafetone MAF training) you could skip all of the ‘breakthrough’ runs, and just swap in slow steady running for say 55-60 miles a week and you’d probably be able to do a sub40 10k, if you built the aerobic base for long enough. Aerobic base building is the foundation for any middle-long distance running. I personally would follow the mix of harder tempo runs with slower aerobic easy runs as outlined in the plan. Leave the ego at home and train slow to race fast. It’s a pretty well established training method to run most of your miles at easy pace. I would actually argue that 7:45/mile for easy is too quick. Read up on Arthur Lydiad, a NZ coach from the 50’s or Stephen Seiler, who ‘discovered’ the 80/20 rule. Trust the process. You don’t run each run as if you’re running the 10k sub 40 right there and then, it’s training! Enjoy the process.
Hi Matt,
How likely is it that I could run a sub-40 10K 5 weeks from now ? I recently ran a 5K in 19:33. Does one cycle of this training program usually do the trick or does it usually take a few cycles of the program ? Thanks.
Hi Daniel, difficult for me to say for sure but based on your current times and my own experience I would say that it is certainly possible assuming you can run 10k distance already.
My advice would be to duplicate one of the non-recovery weeks (probably week 2) and repeat that so you effectively extend the plan from 4 weeks to 5. You have the speed already for a sub 40 based on your 5k time so it’s a case of building up the mileage really and making sure you can sustain the pace over 10k. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Cheers.
Matt,
I can only view 4 weeks of this training plan. Is that intentional? I am curious to see the full weeks as I am evaluating and looking at differences in plans.
Hi Trevor, yes it’s a cyclical plan so you repeat a couple of cycles before a PB attempt generally. There’s more information about this on the site. Cheers.
Hello Matt,
I was wondering if when I have to repeat the training plan, aren’t I starting over? Should I run faster the second cycle?
Hi Matt. First, thank you for this resource. I followed your sub 20 5k plan with great success. My first 5k race time: 19:25. Now about this 10k plan: why are there no hill runs? I thought that the hills were key to building strength required for faster overall pace. Is this just part of cross training?
Hi Matt,
Is it right that I should run in 4min/km 3 of the days in week 2? One 3mile a little faster, one 5k at 4min/km and 5x1km at 4min/km?