This plan is for you if you're starting from zero or coming back after a long break. Three sessions a week, about 30 minutes each, and in eight weeks you'll run 5 km without stopping.
Before you start: if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, are pregnant or have any doubts about your health, check with a doctor first.
How it works
Every session begins with a 5-minute brisk walk to warm up and ends with a 5-minute walk to cool down. Leave at least one rest day between sessions. Run slowly: you should be able to speak in full sentences.
The plan
- Week 1: 8 × (run 1 min, walk 1½ min)
- Week 2: 6 × (run 1½ min, walk 2 min)
- Week 3: 2 × (run 1½ min, walk 1½ min, run 3 min, walk 3 min)
- Week 4: run 3, walk 1½, run 5, walk 2½, run 3, walk 1½, run 5
- Week 5: run 5, walk 3, run 5, walk 3, run 5 (session 3: run 20 min non-stop)
- Week 6: run 10, walk 3, run 10 (session 3: run 25 min non-stop)
- Week 7: run 25 minutes non-stop, three times
- Week 8: run 28–30 minutes non-stop. This is roughly 5 km for most people. 🎉
If a week feels too hard, repeat it. There's no prize for rushing.
Tips for running in Vietnam
- Go early. Before 6:30 am in the south and in the northern summer, when it is cooler, with less traffic and better air.
- Slow down on hot days. Heat and humidity make everything feel harder. Effort matters, not pace.
- Drink water before and after, and take electrolytes if you sweat a lot.
- Find a flat, safe loop: a park, lake or riverside path. See Staying safe in traffic.
Join a beginner group
Many clubs run walk-run sessions for exactly this stage. Running with others makes the plan far easier to stick to. Look for Beginner / walk-run sessions in the calendar.
After week 8
Sign up for a local 5 km fun run as a goal (see upcoming races), keep running three times a week, and slowly build towards 10 km by adding about 10% more time each week.