There are a handful of popular race distances that any runner can quickly rattle off: 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon. Of course, there are others as well, but you could argue that these race distances could be considered the “big four” or the main road running events.
While each of the big four race distances have their perks and merits, there’s also something to be said for dabbling in other intermediary race distances, such as a 10-mile race or a 15k.
Unfortunately, because the 10-mile and 15k races are less common, it’s difficult to find training plans that are specifically geared towards these distances, rendering many runners to have to resort to modifying a 10k training plan or half marathon training plan by adjusting distances up or down.
However, the more specific your training plan is for your target race distance, the more successful it will be. Therefore, we’ve put together a 10 mile training plan and training guide that can be used for the race distances between the 10k and half marathon.
Embrace the different distances, step outside of the “big four”, and try our 10-mile and 15k training plan and see if you fall in love with these “sweet spot” distances.
We will look at:
- How Far Is 10 Miles and How Far Is 15k?
- Elements of a 10 Mile Training Plan
- 10 Mile Training Plan for Beginners
Ready?
Let’s jump in!
How Far Is 10 Miles and How Far Is 15k?
Depending on where you live in the world; you may be more or less familiar with miles or kilometers, so it’s worth briefly covering the basics of these distances.
A mile is 1,609 meters, so 10 miles is just over 16 kilometers.
A 15k race can be thought of as three 5k races back to back. With each 5k race being about 3.1 miles, a 15k is just over 9.3 miles.
A 10 mile race or a 15k race strike a perfect balance between the 10k and half marathon, making them attractive options for runners who want to step up from the 10k but don’t have time to train or the endurance yet for a half marathon.
Elements of a 10 Mile Training Plan
A 10 mile training plan should incorporate all of the key workouts found in training plans for race distances like the 10k and half marathon, only they should be tailored toward the intensity level and duration of a 10 mile or 15k race.
Here are the primary types of workouts you will find on our 10 mile training plan:
Easy Runs
Easy runs are the bread-and-butter workouts that build your aerobic base.
A 10 mile training plan should help you develop your endurance for the distance.
Even just finishing 10 miles can be challenging for runners embarking on a 10 mile training plan for beginners, so there should be a strong emphasis on base building through easy runs.
For runners looking to do an advanced 10 mile training plan, easy runs are still important because they improve your aerobic fitness and allow your body to fully recover between workouts.
Easy runs should be run at a conversational pace, or about a 6-7 on an RPE scale of 1-10 (with 10 being max effort).
Long Runs
Long runs build your cardiovascular, muscular, and mental endurance for your 10 mile race.
They will progress in length as you get fitter during the 10 mile training plan.
Interval Workouts
Interval workouts involve running specific distances and specific paces, usually on a track.
These speed workouts get your body accustomed to running at race pace or faster, improving your fitness, leg speed, mental strength, and metabolic efficiency.
Tempo Runs and Threshold Intervals
Tempo runs and threshold intervals are run at a pace that corresponds to your lactate threshold, which occurs around 83-88% of your VO2 max.
The lactate threshold is the point at which your body has to switch from producing most of the ATP (cellular energy) through aerobic metabolism to producing most of the energy through anaerobic glycolysis.
This metabolic switch is accompanied by fatigue and pain in the legs, which is why tempo runs and threshold workouts help train your body to run faster and further before fatigue sets in.
Tempo runs are usually at least 20 minutes or longer at threshold pace, whereas threshold workouts can involve shorter intervals at this pace.
Threshold pace is just a bit faster than 15k pace and 10 mile race pace, depending on your speed because the threshold pace is said to be the pace you would run if you were running all out for one hour.
Therefore, if you run a 7 minute/mile pace for a 10-mile race, your finish time will be 70 minutes, so your threshold pace might be somewhere around 6:55 per mile.
If you are a slower runner–say 90 minutes for a 10 mile race (9-minute pace), your threshold pace might be closer to your 10k race pace (8:45 or so).
Hill Repeats
Hill repeats involve sprinting uphill with good form.
They build strength, speed, and explosive power, which can help you have a more powerful and strong running stride.
Running hills will also help prepare you to conquer hills during your 10-mile race.
Strides
Strides or accelerations are short bursts of all-out running, usually 50-150 meters in length.
Strides allow runners to increase their turnover and work on their form and speed without overly taxing the body.
Cross Training
Cross training involves performing any sort of exercise other than running.
The benefits of cross training for runners is that most cross-training activities are low-impact exercises, so they reduce the impact and injury risk on the body while still providing a cardiovascular workout.
Additionally, cross-training exercises use different muscles and motions than running.
Adding variety to your routine reduces the risk of overuse injuries by introducing different stresses and breaking up the repetitive nature of running every single day.
Strength Training
Strength training is an important component to keeping your body healthy and allowing for injury-free running.
Strength training increases the strength and resilience of your muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints.
By overloading your muscles and tissues with resistance, they are stimulated to adapt and strengthen. This makes them better equipped to handle the impact and forces of running, therefore, reducing the risk of injuries.
Strength training can also help correct muscle imbalances, which further decreases the risk of injury while simultaneously improving movement efficiency.
Runners should aim for 2-3 total-body strength training workouts per week on top of the basic 10 mile running plan.
Rest Days
Runners don’t often consider rest days to be a workout per se, but they are a crucial part of training.
Rest days allow your body time to recover, so that your tissues can adapt and rebuild after your workouts.
Most runners should take at least 1-2 rest days per week when training for a 10 mile race or 15k.
10 Mile Training Plan for Beginners
This 10 mile training plan/15k training plan for beginners is designed for runners who have run a 5k or longer. The goal here is less about pace and more about completing the 10-mile distance.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 30 minutes of low-impact cross training | 4 mile easy run | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 4 mile easy run | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 2 miles at threshold pace (3k) Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 5 mile long run (8k) |
| 30 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 12 x 400 at 5k pace with 200m jog Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 5 mile easy run 4 x 50-100m strides | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 3 miles at threshold pace (5k) Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 6 mile long run (10k) |
| 40 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 6 x 800 at 10k pace with 200m jog Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 5 mile easy run 4 x 50-100m strides | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 4 miles at threshold pace (7k) Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 7 mile long run (11k) |
| 40 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 3 x 1600m at 5k pace with 200m jog Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 5 mile easy run (8k) 4 x 50-100m strides | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 10-15 x 1 minute hills Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 6 mile long run (10k) or 10k race |
| 50 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 8 x 400m at mile pace with 200m jog Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 6 mile easy run (10k) 4 x 50-100m strides | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 5 miles at threshold pace (8k) Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 8 mile long run (12-13k) |
| 50 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 4 x 1600m at 5k pace with 200m jog Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 6 mile easy run (10k) 4 x 50-100m strides | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 2 x 3 miles at threshold pace (5k) with 2 minutes in between for recovery Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 9 mile long run (14-15) |
| 60 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 8 x 1000m at 5k pace with 200m jog Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 7 mile easy run (11-12k) 4 x 50-100m strides | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 10-15 x 1 minute hills Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest | 6 mile long run (10k) |
| 45-60 minutes of low-impact cross training | Warm up 1 mile (2k) 6 x 800 at 10k pace Cool down 1 mile (2k) | Rest or 30 minutes of cross training | 6 mile run (10k) 4 x 100m strides | Rest | 15-20 minute shake out run | 10 mile or 15k race |
Intermediate runners can follow the exact same schedule, but add 2-4 miles per long run as appropriate, and you can swap a cross-training workout for a distance run if you are used to higher volume.
For some guidance for what to do at the gym, check out our strength training resources for runners.
