OUTRN

Running Training Plans: How to Choose One That Works

Training | Published 2026-10-03 | By OUTRN Team

The OUTRN team explains how to pick a running training plan, what the studies support and where plans are only convention, with links to our 10k, marathon and ultra guides...

Every running plan promises to get you to the start line, and they all disagree on how: 8 weeks or 18, three runs a week or five, rest on Fridays or Mondays. Here is the part nobody puts on the cover: those differences are mostly conventions, and the research supports a handful of principles rather than any one plan...

The short answer: choose a plan by how often you run now and how many days you can commit, progress gradually, rest between runs, taper before the race and add some strength work. This hub compares real plans, summarises what the studies back and links to our guides for the 10k, the marathon, the ultra and the trail. It assumes you run, or are working toward running, 10km comfortably.

How do you choose a running plan?

By your current frequency, not your goal time. Organisers pitch plans that way. The TCS Sydney Marathon's first-timer plan (2024 edition) is for "someone who runs once or twice a week or is new to running" (3 runs a week, time-based, with walk-run intervals), and its advanced plan is for "someone who runs 4+ times a week" with "a goal time in mind" (5 runs a week, with marathon-pace sessions). Hal Higdon's levels work similarly: the Novice 10K is for people with "no major health problems" who have "perhaps" done some jogging or walking, and the Intermediate 1 marathon plan is "not recommended for runners doing their first marathon".

If you have had an injury in the past year, start more conservatively. Previous injury was linked to new injury in a 2010 cohort of 532 novices (Buist and colleagues; hazard ratio 2.7 in men) and a 2023 couch-to-5k study of 110 people (Relph and colleagues; odds ratio 7.56), though a 2013 study of 930 novices (Nielsen and colleagues) found no link with previous running injury. In that study a BMI over 30 and age 45 to 65 were flagged as possible risk factors, though neither was statistically significant. These are observational: no trial shows changing them changes injury.

How do the plans compare?

All of these are conventions. None has been tested against another. The sources are the NHS Couch to 5K page, Higdon's Novice 10K, Novice 1 Half Marathon and Novice 1 Marathon pages, and the two TCS Sydney Marathon plans linked above.

PlanDistanceLengthRuns a weekPeak
NHS Couch to 5K5km9 weeks330 minutes continuous
Hal Higdon Novice 10K10km8 weeks3About 8.9km
Hal Higdon Novice 1 Half Marathon21.1km12 weeks3 to 4, plus cross-trainingAbout 16km
TCS Sydney Marathon first-timer (2024)42.2km16 weeks3, time-based80 minutes continuous
Hal Higdon Novice 1 Marathon42.2km18 weeks4About 32km
TCS Sydney Marathon advanced (2024)42.2km16 weeks532km

Longer distances get longer plans, and that is a convention too. For details, see our guides to the 10k training plan and the marathon training plan.

How long should a running plan be?

Nobody knows. We found no trial or review showing the best plan length for any distance. The only plan-length trial we found, in 532 novices training for a 6.7km event (Buist and colleagues, American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2008), found an 8-week standard programme and a 13-week graded programme had the same injury rate (20.3 and 20.8 percent). Published plans run 8 weeks (Higdon Novice 10K), 9 weeks (NHS), 12 weeks (Higdon half and Melbourne's group marathon series), 13 weeks (Vancouver Sun Run clinics), 16 weeks (Sydney) and 18 weeks (Higdon marathon).

What does the research actually support?

Four principles, with different strengths of evidence.

How many days a week, and how many rest days?

The evidence is mixed, and no trial has tested a number of rest days. Beginner plans use three run days. In the Vancouver Sun Run clinics (Taunton and colleagues, 2003; 844 runners in a 13-week 10km programme), running only one day a week was an injury risk factor in women and overall, but in 1,696 novices on a 6-week programme (Kluitenberg and colleagues, 2016) frequency was not significantly related to injury, though three runs a week trended riskier than two. Every plan we opened builds in rest: Higdon's Novice 1 marathon plan rests Monday and Friday "to recover after the weekend long runs and to gather energy before them", and the Sydney plan says to "have a rest day between runs". Consensus statements on overtraining (Meeusen and colleagues, 2013) and recovery (Kellmann and colleagues, 2018) say overload needs adequate recovery and warn about overreaching, without giving a number.

What about run-walk?

It is standard in beginner plans: the NHS Couch to 5K starts with 1-minute runs and 1 minute 30 seconds of walking, the Sydney first-timer plan says "there is nothing wrong with having walk breaks", and Higdon says to walk at aid stations. The evidence is one small trial: in a marathon experiment with 42 runners (Hottenrott and colleagues, 2016), run-walk and continuous runners finished in similar times (4:14:25 and 4:07:40) and the run-walk group reported less muscle pain.

What do the physical activity guidelines say?

They set the baseline a running plan sits on. The Australian Government's guideline for adults, last updated 3 June 2026, says to be active most days, which can include 30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity on most days and muscle strengthening on 2 or more days a week, and recommends 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep. The World Health Organization's 2020 guidelines recommend 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, plus muscle strengthening on 2 or more days.

Why do so many people drop out?

Drop-outs are common, and in one small study they linked quitting to injury and the programme's progressive design. In a modified 9-week couch-to-5k study of 110 people (Relph and colleagues, 2023), only 27.3 percent completed it, and in a 6-week novice programme of 774 people (Fokkema and colleagues, 2019), 29.5 percent had stopped running at 26 weeks, with injury the main reason (48 percent of those who stopped). The Sydney plan's advice reflects this: shuffle the plan if you need to, keep a rest day between runs, and if you start late, complete every other week.

Where does the evidence run out?

Where to go next

Inspired? Put a plan into practice with a crew

If you want a long trail day with leaders while you train, our Blue Mountains trip has one: the Sunday Six Foot Track run, about 28 to 30km with more than 1,000m of climbing on the return, or a shorter 15 to 16km turnaround. Dates are to be confirmed and the price is an estimate of about $1,650 per person. Booking is not open yet, so register your interest and we will contact you first.

Register interest in Run the Blue Mountains

References

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Frequently asked questions

How do I choose a running training plan?

Choose by how often you currently run and how many days you can commit, not by a goal time. The TCS Sydney Marathon, for example, offers a first-timer plan for someone who runs once or twice a week and an advanced plan for runners who run four or more times a week with a goal time in mind. If you have had an injury in the past year, start more conservatively.

How many days a week should I run?

Beginner plans typically use three run days with rest or cross-training between, and more experienced plans use four to five. We found no trial that settles the number: one study of a 13-week 10km programme found running only one day a week was a risk factor for injury, while a larger study of 1,696 novices found frequency was not significantly related to injury, though three runs a week trended riskier than two.

Do I need rest days in a running plan?

Yes, but nobody has tested a specific number. Plans from Hal Higdon, the NHS and the TCS Sydney Marathon all build in rest days or rest between runs, and consensus statements say success needs overload plus adequate recovery, without giving a number of rest days.

What do the physical activity guidelines say?

The Australian Government's guideline for adults, updated 3 June 2026, says to be active most days with moderate to vigorous activity for 30 minutes or more on most days as one of several options, muscle strengthening on 2 or more days a week, and 7 to 9 hours of sleep. The World Health Organization recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity a week plus muscle strengthening on 2 or more days.

Is run-walk a good strategy?

It is a common beginner strategy: the NHS Couch to 5K starts with 1-minute runs and walking breaks. The evidence is limited to one small marathon trial of 42 runners, where run-walk and continuous finishers had similar times and the run-walk group reported less muscle pain.