5km Taper Program

Below is a five-week 5km taper program leading up to the race at the end of the 5th week. This program must be supported by general and specific strength training, mobility and psychology programs.

Before you start

Before starting any training, you must have a medical examination to ensure it is safe for you to do so. Before commencing the five-week program, it is also recommended that you complete a six-month general strength training and endurance training in which you run between 15 to 30 miles a week.

Week 1

4 × 400 metres at 5km pace - 5%: recovery 400 metres jog
6 × 100 metres hill: recovery walk downhill
3 × 1200 metres at 5km pace: recovery 4 minutes
30 to 40 minutes of easy, steady running

Week 2

4 × 400 metres at 5km pace - 5%: recovery 400 metres jog
3 × 1200 metres at 5km pace: recovery 4 minutes
30 to 40 minutes of easy, steady running

Week 3

4 × 600 metres at 5km pace - 5%: recovery 600 metres jog
8 × 100 metres hill: recovery walk down the hill
3 × 1600 metres at 5km pace: recovery 4 minutes
30 to 40 minutes of easy, steady running

Week 4

4 × 600 metres at 5km pace - 5%: recovery 600 metres jog
3 × 1600 metres at 5km pace: recovery 4 minutes
30 to 40 minutes of easy, steady running

Week 5

3 × 1600 metres at 5km pace: recovery 4 minutes
5 days before the race: 5 × 600 metres at 5km - 5%: recovery 400 metres jog
4 days before the race: 4 × 600 metres at 5km - 5%: recovery 400 metres jog
3 days before the race: 3 × 600 metres at 5km - 5%: recovery 400 metres jog
2 days before the race: 2 × 600 metres at 5km - 5%: recovery 400 metres jog
The day before the race: Rest
RACE

Warm-up and cool down

Each session should start and finish with a 10 minutes jog, followed by stretching exercises.

Extra training days

If you wish to do more running each week, only carry out an additional 30 to 40 minutes of relaxed running sessions. It is recommended that you have at least one rest day per week.

What are the benefits?

Sessions at a 5km pace will improve VO₂ max and increase your resistance to fatigue.
Sessions at 5k-5% will improve leg speed.
Sessions at a steady 5k+5%pace will improve your lactate threshold.

How do you calculate 5km - 5%?

Let us say your target 5km time is 18 minutes. This equates to 400 metres in 86.4 seconds. (((18 × 60) ÷ 5000) × 400)
400 metres at 5km-5% pace is: (86.4 - (86.4 ÷ 100 × 5)) = 82.08 seconds

5km Training Speed Calculator

Enter your 5km target time and the training distance, and then select the 'Calculate' button.

5km target Time: mins		Training distance: metres
5km-5% Pace: min secs		5km Pace: min secs		5km+5% Pace: min secs

Free Calculator

5km Training Speed Calculator - a free Microsoft Excel spreadsheet you can download and use on your computer.

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2001) 5km Taper Program [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/longdist/5ktaper.htm [Accessed