5 km running program under 17 minutes in 12 weeks

If you can currently run 5 km between 17 minutes and 20 minutes, in 12 weeks with this program you will be able to get 1 minute closer to 17 minutes – a magic limit for many. I recommend the 12-week program significantly more than the 8-week program, which can be a bit too compact and stressful. The effect is undoubtedly best in the 12-week program to get under 17 minutes.

You can expect to cut about 1 minute off your 5K time, which should be between 17 minutes and 20 minutes today. If you are slower, you should get a different program. If you are running slower than 18 minutes today, see the alternative training paces further down in the article.

Useful links before you get started

• Necessary knowledge about speeds, interval breaks and intensity
• General information about the 5 km distance and the structure of 5 km running programs
• General structure of running programs
• Same program over 8 weeks of training.

Download: 5 km under 17 min in 12 weeks

Press the button and you will download the running program as a PDF file. You can print it and hang it on your refrigerator. You can also get a quick overview of the program by looking at the image below the download button.

The build-up of 17 min in 12 weeks

Number of training sessions per week (quality + quantity)

The 17 Minutes in 12 Weeks running program is very similar to the 8-week program. Both programs are for expert runners. The program consists of 5 training sessions, of which 2-3 are quality sessions. These are Tuesday’s interval training (VO2-max training and speed training), Saturday’s tempo run and partly Sunday’s long run. You can also choose to split the long run into 2 roughly equal runs. The point is not to run far, but to get the kilometers in your legs. The run on Wednesday is intended as a recovery run, where you run at a leisurely pace – this type of run is called active recovery..
The running program starts week 1 with a 45 kilometer run and peaks with a weekly training of 66 km for one week. You should not choose the program if you are not used to running approximately 45 kilometers per week – then the program will be too intense.

Types of training

Getting under 17 minutes for 5 kilometers requires a lot of training at a high pace – but be careful not to run too fast. It is especially important not to run too fast during interval training, which can sometimes feel “easy”. It requires you to be an expert at controlling your pace.

The primary focus in getting under 17 minutes in 12 weeks is training your maximum oxygen uptake and training your acid threshold. The latter is trained by tempo runs.

In terms of heating and venting, I recommend the following:

• Tempo Run: 2 km warm-up + 2 km cool-down
• VO2-max training: 2.5 km warm-up + 2.5 km cool-down
• Speed ​​training: 3 km warm-up + 3 km cool-down

On Tuesdays you have interval training. In weeks 1 and 5 you have speed training (training at your highest pace) and in weeks 2, 3, 6 and 7 you have training of your maximum oxygen uptake. It is important that you adhere to the running program in weeks 4 and 8, which are planned recovery weeks.

Alternative tempo suggestions

If you currently run 5 km slower than 18 minutes, do not use the suggested tempos in the running program that you download from this page. Instead, use the tempos listed below. It is a big misconception to run too fast in training. If you follow the suggested tempos, you can expect to cut about 1 minute off your 5 km time in 12 weeks, which is a lot when you run as fast as you do. Choose the following based on what you can run 5 km at today.

If you haven’t broken the 20-minute 5 km yet, I recommend you look at one of the following 2 running programs instead. 5 km under 20 minutes on: 8 weeks – 12 weeks.

Would you like to run the 5 km distance under 17 minutes in 12 weeks, but have a question or two? Use the comments box below.