Contacts

Alder Hey Children's Charity,

E Prescot Rd.,

Liverpool,

L14 5AB

info@alderheycharity.org

+44 151 252 5716

10k Training Plan

Note: Before starting any new exercise regime, make sure that you speak to a health professional if you have any existing medical conditions.

If you’re looking to improve your stamina and have already completed a 5K race, it’s time to challenge yourself to run 10K. Running 10K compared to a 5K race is going to take additional training and a good 10k training plan as you’ll need to improve your stamina and your body’s ability to recover quickly. Our 10K training plan will help you to improve your performance and build up your mind and body to run a 10K race within 8 weeks.

The average time it takes to run 10K is around 60-120 minutes depending on your pace and the route you plan to run. Having the stamina to run continuously for over an hour will mean training and pushing yourself to run for longer even when you’re tired, but our training guide will help you to gradually build up your pace and running style over 8 weeks and since you can run 5K already, you’re already half way there!

One of the most important things to keep in mind while following our 10K training plan is to listen to your body. If you don’t feel capable of running, are in pain, or you’re not feeling well on a particular day, that’s OK. To avoid injury, listen to your body and try not to train when your body is fighting or recovering from illness or is injured. Skipping one or two days is OK but injuring yourself while trying to push your body to its limits can set you back weeks, if not months.

If you believe that you have injured yourself whilst exercising, stop the activity immediately and seek professional health advice.

It’s important to warm up before a workout and cool down after a long run. Make sure to keep your body fuelled too with our delicious recipe ideas below.

Warm Up Inspiration

Whether you’re going to run for a couple of minutes, you’re about to set out on a 5K run or you’re training for a 10K race, it’s always important to carry out a warm up to avoid injury. 

Here are some fun ways to warm up before a run:

10 Jumping jacks and 5 squats and repeat 3 times. Finish with hip rotations.

Jumping rope for 10 seconds and 6 lunges, repeat 3 times. Stretch to your side, with your hand pressed against your leg and slowly stretching down towards your toes.

10 Side squats and 5 jumping jacks, repeat 5 times. Finish with 6 deep lunges.

Cool Down Inspiration

After a long run, your heart will still be beating faster than usual to pump oxygenated blood to your vital organs and muscles and so it’s important to slowly bring down your heart rate to prevent injuries. A cool down will also help to minimise any aches and pains the following day. Cool downs focus on deep breathing and stretching and help to reduce the chance of dizziness and fainting post workout.

Here are some creative cool down ideas:

Walk for two minutes, followed by yoga for 5 minutes, with focus on breathing deeply.

5 Side squats followed by 8 knee raises for 5 minutes.

On a yoga mat, lie on your back and raise your legs. Perform a cycling motion for 30 seconds and then cuddle your knees for 5 seconds, taking deep breaths. Repeat 3 times.