Support/Guides
Improve Pace plans
Build a 5K, 10K, half or marathon plan around a goal date and your current fitness.
5 min read · Written for the iPhone app. Android is coming soon.
When to pick Improve Pace
Choose Improve Pace on the goal screen if you already run and want a sharper 5K, 10K, half or marathon — without a specific race date you must hit. If you have a date on the calendar, use a race plan instead.
How to set it up
New account: pick Improve Pace at the start. Already training: Profile → Your plans → New plan.
Choose the distance
5K, 10K, Half Marathon or Marathon. The plan is built around that distance — weekly volume and session mix follow it.
Pick when you want to hit the goal
We start you on a suggested block (8 weeks for 5K, 10 for 10K, 12 for a half, 16 for a marathon). You can pick another date, but not sooner than 6 weeks away, so the build stays sensible.
Enter your current time
Switch the chip to 5K, 10K, Half or Full, then spin the time. This seeds easy / tempo / interval paces.
Days, weekdays, long run, start
Same as a first plan: 2–6 days, which weekdays, optional Saturday Parkrun, then which selected day is the long run. If Parkrun is on, Saturday is taken — pick another day for the long run.
Choose a start date and tap Generate plan.
How the weeks are built
- Easy, tempo, interval and long sessions. Hard days never sit next to each other.
- Volume ramps at most 10% week to week. Every fourth week is a cutback.
- A four-day week is typically Easy, Tempo, Easy, Long. A fifth day brings intervals.
- After enough runs, Runese may offer to recalibrate the plan if your predicted 5K has moved. Accept to rebuild remaining weeks; decline to keep the current one.
Still stuck? Send us a message and we’ll reply by email.