A 10k or 6.2 miles is a top-rated distance at mass participation events and forms part of the World Athletic Championships.
According to the State of Running Report 2019, 1.8 million people participated in a 10K event in 2018 and we expect that since then (and post-COVID) this figure will be greater today. The current 10K record holders are Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 29:14 for women and Ronald Kwemoi (KEN) 27:16 for men. However, these insane finishing times are beyond the majority of us!
If you are new to running, it may take somewhere from 8 – 10 weeks of proper training to get you comfortably to the finish line, depending on your current fitness level and 10k goal. The good news is, if you already run regularly and have done a few 5K events, it may take as little as 6 weeks to get you race-ready!
WHY TRAIN FOR A 10K?
There are so many reasons why people may want to train for a 10k race, whether it’s to improve your fitness, raise money for charity, or set yourself a challenge you’ve never done before!
CREATING A 10K GOAL
When training for a 10k it is so important to have a goal. When you go for that 10k and you achieve your goal, the sense of achievement is amazing and best of all, it makes all the hard training worth it.
Whether your goal is to complete it in a specific time, raise a particular amount for a charity or reach the finish line, all are brilliant goals. However, to get the most out of our training, your goal needs to be ambitious yet achievable. For example, there is no point in an inexperienced runner setting a goal to run a 35-minute 10k in 3 months as they are most likely setting themselves up to fail. The training plan will probably be too advanced, and the runner will end up not enjoying the process or worse, the race experience itself. BUT, if a runner were to set a more achievable goal for themselves they would find their natural rhythm and ability, with the drive to succeed.
If you have a particular time in mind, you can calculate your estimated race pace using Omnicalculator race predictor which may help you understand whether this is achievable or not.
If you have already completed 10km before, perhaps you could run it 20 seconds faster? If so, let this be your goal – but remember the most important thing is to enjoy the experience and come away feeling great!
HOW MANY DAYS A WEEK SHOULD I RUN TO TRAIN FOR A 10K?
It is recommended to run between 3- 4 times a week when training for a 10k. When you sign up with our training partners at Coopah you can enter your data to create your personalised 10k training plan. It will usually include an Easy Run, an Interval Run, a Tempo Session and a Long Run as well as Yoga classes and Strength and Conditioning workouts.
Download your FREE 2-week trial TODAY. Just enter ‘LLANELLIHALF2’ in the referral code section by following these easy steps:
- Click Profile
- Click Settings
- Click Referral
- Hit subscribe
- You’ll get a fully personalised training plan built around your availability and goals.
- Unlimited coaching support 24/7.
- Streaks and incentives to keep you motivated.
- Access to our community of other runners, physios and mental health experts to give you support and advice up to the day.
- Track your progress and your weekly/monthly mileage