Goal time · 5K
A 30:00 5K works out to 9:39 per mile, or 6:00 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 | 9:44 | 9:44 |
| Halfway (1.6) | 9:41 | 15:05 |
| 2 | 9:38 | 19:24 |
| 3 | 9:35 | 28:59 |
| Finish (3.1) | 9:33 | 30:00 |
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 30:00 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 in events over two minutes may improve performance times. Structuring the second half slightly faster than the first is one way to keep early effort from creeping up, which holds the overall race close to even. At the halfway marker, check whether your breathing and legs feel genuinely controlled before you let pace lift at all.
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat an 8:58 mile as the same performance as a 30:00 5K. If a recent mile effort landed near that mark, your aerobic fitness aligns with this 5K goal.
The RRCA pace chart developed by Amby Burfoot is direct: "don't begin with a future goal time." The next faster goal is 27:00, a gap of 3 minutes on the finish and 58 seconds per mile quicker.
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 line covers more than the course requires, so a GPS watch can read a faster average pace than the course itself demanded. Check the course markers, not the watch's laps.
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat a 1:02:23 10K as an equivalent performance to a 30:00 5K. Knowing that time lets you gauge whether your current 10K fitness and your 5K goal are pointing at the same level of aerobic readiness.
