Running plan generator
Pick your race and date for a periodized plan with easy miles, one quality session a week, a long run, deload weeks, and a taper. New to running? Use couch to 5k mode for a gentle walk-to-run start. Free, and yours as a printable PDF.
How to use the running plan
Choose your race and the date, your current level, and how many days a week you can run. The plan builds your weekly mileage gradually, never jumping more than about ten percent over the previous week, with a deload week roughly every fourth week and a taper before race day. Most of the running is easy and conversational; one quality session a week is where you sharpen.
Brand new to running? Switch to couch to 5k. It alternates walking and running and grows the running until you can cover 5k without stopping, three sessions a week with rest between. For the reasoning, read our couch to 5k guide, the marathon plan guide, and why the taper matters.
Frequently asked questions
Which races does it cover?
A 5k, a 10k, a half marathon, and a full marathon, plus a couch to 5k beginner mode that walks you up from no running at all. Pick your race, your level, and your date, and you get a periodized plan; the beginner mode gives you a walk-to-run progression instead.
Why are paces given as effort, not splits?
Because a target split a beginner cannot hold turns easy days into a grind and leads to injury. Easy runs should be genuinely easy and conversational, and the one quality session each week is described as comfortably hard. Run by feel and the fitness follows.
How does couch to 5k mode work?
It alternates walking and running, with the running intervals growing and the walk breaks shrinking week by week until you can run 5k without stopping. Three sessions a week with rest between them. The walk breaks are part of the plan, not a failure.
Why does the marathon long run cap out around 32 km?
Because beyond roughly 32 km, or 20 miles, the long run adds a lot of fatigue and injury risk for little extra fitness. Time on your feet, the weekly volume, and a good taper do the rest. The plan respects that convention.
Is the plan a printable PDF?
Yes. Once it is on the screen, the download button builds a clean, printable, week-by-week PDF, generated in your browser with nothing uploaded.