How to Improve Your 5K Time: The 2 Workouts That Matter Most
- Clem Duranseaud
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Ever feel like you keep running and running, yet your 5K time never improves?
One of the biggest mistakes runners make is thinking that simply running more will automatically make them faster. While volume matters, improving your 5K requires a more targeted approach.
In this article, I’ll show you the two workouts I use for myself and my clients to build speed, endurance, and faster 5K times.
Finding your target pace
The first thing to do is to find out how fast you want to run your next 5km.
Let's say I want to run my next 5km in 25 minutes.
This gives me a goal pace of 5 minutes per kilometre, or 5 min/km.
Finding this number is important because it will anchor all of our workouts leading up to the test run.
For this article, we’ll assume the race or test run is 6 weeks away.
Base building workouts: The Long Run
Long, slow runs build your cardio engine. The bigger your engine is, the more you can sustain the speed workouts that are so fun.
How to do base building workouts
Run at a pace roughly 45–90 seconds slower per kilometre than your target 5K pace
Example: if your goal pace is 5:00/km, your long-run pace should be around 5:45–6:30/km
Run slightly farther than your goal distance
Start with around 6km
Aim for at least one long run per week
Progressing the long run
For most runners, the simplest progression is increasing distance gradually over time.
I like adding roughly 500m every other week.
Week 1 and 2: 6 km, 34 min 30s.
Week 3 and 4: 6.5 km, 37 min 22s.
Week 5 and 6: 7km, 40 min 15s.
These times are based on a 5:45min/km pace.
If you cannot breathe through your nose or hold a conversation, you’re probably running too fast.
We’ll focus on improving pace during the second type of workout: speed work.
Speed workouts: the 400 meter repeats
400m repeats are one of the most effective ways to improve 5K speed.
They develop your ability to run faster than race pace while maintaining control and consistency under fatigue.
How to Run 400m Repeats for a Faster 5K
Run each 400m rep faster than your goal 5K pace
A good starting point is around 10–20 seconds per km faster than race pace
Example: if your goal pace is 5:00/km, aim for ~4:40–4:50/km (≈1:52–1:56 per 400m)
Rest for 60 seconds between reps
Work at an effort of roughly 8–9/10 (hard but repeatable, no sprinting)
The goal is consistency: every rep should look similar in pace, not a sharp drop-off at the end.
How to progress the 400 meter repeats.
The easiest way to progress this is by starting with 5 intervals of 400 meters and adding one each week.
Week 1: 5 x 400m
Week 2: 6 x 400m
Week 3: 7 x 400m
Week 4: 8 x 400m
Week 5: 9 x 400m
Week 6: 10 x 400m
The key is to keep the same pace each week. If pace starts to drop significantly, the session is too aggressive.
6 weeks training plan for a faster 5km
The following is based on three running workouts per week. Each week will have two separate long runs, and one speed session.
Week 1
Long run: 2 x 6km
Speed workout: 5 x 400m
Week 2
Long run: 2 x 6km
Speed workout: 6 x 400m
Week 3
Long run: 2 x 6.5 km
Speed workout: 7 x 400m
Week 4
Long run: 2 x 6.5 km
Speed workout: 8 x 400m
Week 5
Long run: 2 x 7km km
Speed workout: 9 x 400m
Week 9
Long run: 2 x 7 km
Speed workout: 10 x 400m
Average 5km times
Conclusion
Improving your 5K doesn’t require complexity. It requires consistency applied to two simple but effective workouts: speed work and long runs.
The long run builds your aerobic base, allowing you to sustain effort for longer. Speed work pushes your pace ceiling, making your target race pace feel more controlled over time.
When combined consistently over 6 weeks, these two sessions create a clear adaptation pathway: better endurance, improved speed, and a faster 5K.
Use the training plan in this article as your structure, and refer to the benchmark chart to understand where you currently sit and what’s realistic for your next goal.
If you want a more personalised approach or a plan tailored to your current level, you can explore my online coaching options here.
Train with intent, stay consistent, and your 5K time will follow.
Clem
