Finishing your first 5 km run - in 8 weeks

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the physical activity, you will run 2 x 1 km and walk for 5 minutes to recover between each run.
You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably:
you should be able to speak while running.
If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 2 km without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 2 km without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 2.5 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 2.5 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 3 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 3 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 3.5 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 3.5 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 4 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 4 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 4.5 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 4.5 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

Here we are!After 5 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you run for 4 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 5 minutes to warm down and recover.
Good luck!

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

After 10 minutes of active walking to prepare your muscles for the effort, you will run for 3 kilometres without stopping.

You should be able to breathe comfortably, i.e. you can speak while running.

You will finish by walking for 10 minutes to warm down and recover.

When breaking up your run, regardless of your speed, the key is to breathe comfortably: you should be able to speak while running.

If you have a heart rate sensor, you should stay at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate during the running phases, without ever exceeding 75%.

Remember to take on fluids as soon as you finish the session.
A little later, you can do a few stretching exercises, albeit without extending the muscles too much as this could tear the muscle fibres which have already had to make an intense effort.

You will warm up in the normal way.

To ensure you get an accurate time, you need to run a "traditional" session when the race begins.

Don't set off too quickly to ensure you're not struggling over the final kilometres.
It's better to start slowly and speed up over the final 2 kilometres than the other way around!

Enjoy it as much as you can, even though you'll need to exert yourself a little to achieve success.

Take your place on the start line 5 to 10 minutes before the scheduled race start time.
Avoid joining the first few rows so that you don't have to set off too quickly but make sure you're not at the back of the main pack either.

Remember to stay hydrated and, above all, enjoy the excitement of it all.