Hal Higdon 10K Novice
Hal Higdon
About the plan
Hal Higdon's 10K program for beginners: eight weeks for runners who can already run 2 miles (3 km) without stopping and want to finish their first 10K race comfortably and pain-free. There is no speed work, only easy runs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, a Saturday long run that grows from 3 to 6 miles (5 to 10 km), and a walk or light cross-training on Sunday to keep the body moving without impact. Monday and Friday are rest days. Volume climbs slowly, from 10 to 17 miles (16 to 27 km) per week, in a steady progression as in the original program; the final week cuts the load and ends with the race on Sunday. Run the easy workouts at a conversational pace: if you can't talk, you're going too fast.
The plan in numbers
- Duration
- 8 weeks
- Runs per week
- 5
- Weekly volume
- 9.9 mi · 30 min → 16 mi · 50 min
- Longest run
- 6.2 mi
Week 1 starts at 9.9 mi · 30 min and volume builds to 16 mi · 50 min in week 7, the heaviest of the plan.
A typical week has 5 runs, and the longest session reaches 6.2 mi (Long, week 7).
Over the final week volume drops from 16 mi · 50 min to 8.1 mi so you arrive at the race rested.
Race day (6.2 mi) falls on Sunday of week 8; the week holds 8.1 mi of running before it.
Key workouts
The quality sessions that come up most in this plan:
- Long7 sessions across 7 weeks
Who it's for
Beginner level. To start safely you should already be running about 9.9 mi · 30 min per week and be comfortable with a 3.1 mi session — that is what week 1 asks for.
Week 1 — workout preview
9.9 mi · 30 min this week
2.5 mi
1.9 mi
2.5 mi
3.1 mi
30 min
Week 7 — the heaviest of the plan
16 mi · 50 min this week
3.4 mi
3.4 mi
3.4 mi
6.2 mi
50 min
Plan Structure
8 weeks · 39 workouts · 17 rest days
See the full plan
Create your account to unlock every week, sync with your watch and get personalized paces.