Goal time · 5K
A 23:00 5K works out to 7:24 per mile, or 4:36 per kilometer. Below are the mile splits for a slightly faster second half, the halfway time to aim for, and the training paces that go with this goal.
The numbers
This plan starts about 1% slower than goal pace and finishes about 1% faster, so the second half is slightly quicker than the first. The elapsed column is what your watch should read as you pass each marker.
| Mile | Pace for That Mile | Elapsed Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:28 | 7:28 |
| Halfway (1.6) | 7:25 | 11:34 |
| 2 | 7:23 | 14:52 |
| 3 | 7:21 | 22:13 |
| Finish (3.1) | 7:19 | 23:00 |
Measured against the latest published results of 5,229 5K races on RunSesh.
One edition per race, from RunSignup races with published results. Fields include walkers and charity entrants, so this describes these races, not every runner in the country.
These are the paces for a runner who can already race a 23:00 5K, worked out with Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas, the method behind the training tables in Daniels' Running Formula. If your most recent race is slower, train at the paces on the page for that time.
Most of your weekly miles, including the long run.
Steady longer runs at the pace this fitness would hold for a marathon.
A steady run of about 20 minutes, or longer repeats with short rests.
Repeats of 3 to 5 minutes, with easy jogs between.
Abbiss and Laursen's 2008 review in Sports Medicine found that pacing more evenly during events lasting more than two minutes may improve performance times. The practical use of that finding is to treat the halfway marker as a brake: crossing it feeling controlled is what keeps the opening miles from drifting fast and the overall effort close to even.
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat a 6:46 mile as the same performance as a 23:00 5K. That cross-distance equivalence gives you a concrete fitness reference you can compare against a recent race result.
The RRCA pace chart developed by Amby Burfoot says it plainly: "don't begin with a future goal time." Base what you do in training on what you've actually run.
USATF certification measures courses along the Shortest Possible Route, with a one-part-per-thousand Short Course Prevention Factor. A runner who strays from that shortest line covers more than the stated distance, so a GPS watch can show a faster average than the pace the course itself required. Check the course markers, not the watch's laps.
Daniels and Gilbert's formulas treat a 47:42 10K as equivalent to a 23:00 5K. Knowing that mark gives you a way to gauge, from a race at a different distance, whether your current aerobic fitness supports the 5K goal.
