Running your first 10K: the 8-week plan to finish without walking
The 10K is the first real race: long enough to require preparation, short enough to prepare in two months with three sessions a week. Here is what you must already be able to run, what the 8-week plan builds, and how your AI coach sets it on your Garmin data.
Last updated: 2026-09-19
The prerequisite
Running 30 minutes without stopping, three times a week, for at least a month. If not, the 6-week restart plan comes first: it alternates walking and running up to 30 continuous minutes.
The coach reads your Garmin activities from the last 30 days and tells you which of the two plans to start. It never starts the 10K plan on a base that does not exist.
What the 8-week plan builds
Three sessions a week: an easy-endurance run, a quality session that goes from strides to light threshold, and a long run that climbs from 45 to 75 minutes. The 10 km distance is never run in one go before the race: the 75-minute long run already covers more.
Paces are set from your VMA. For a first 10K, the coach often estimates it from your easy runs rather than a test, and asks you to confirm it.
Race day
Single goal: finish without walking. Pacing instruction: the first kilometre at easy-run pace, then speed up very slightly if the legs allow, and let go only in the last kilometre.
- Prerequisite: 30 continuous min, 3 times a week.
- 3 sessions a week for 8 weeks.
- Race day: first kilometre at easy-run pace.
The plan's "Race" session is on the watch with a wide pace range: it holds you back in the first two kilometres, where first 10Ks are decided.
Frequently asked questions
What time to aim for in a first 10K?
None: the goal is to finish without walking. The time you get becomes the reference for the next plan. As a guide, a VMA of 12 km/h gives about 58 minutes.
Do you need intervals for a first 10K?
Little: strides and light threshold are enough. Structured intervals come in the next plan, once the base is there.
Can I prepare a 10K in 4 weeks?
If you already run 45 minutes comfortably, yes: the coach shortens the plan to the date you give. Below that, it will propose a later race.
Ready to prepare for your 10K?
Pick your race date and weekly session count: your AI coach builds the plan and pushes it to your Garmin.
Start the 10K plan