Jeff Galloway, who died in 2026, ran the 10,000 meters at the 1972 Olympics after placing second in the Trials 10K. In 1973 he opened a running store, Phidippides, and taught a beginner class whose final exam was a 5K or 10K. Walk breaks got every student to the finish. They run through all 17 plans here, from his book Galloway's 5K/10K Running: 2 To Finish plans for a first 5K or 10K, and 15 time-goal plans, each named for a finish time.
Each plan is graded on the same 31 measures we use for every plan, with the research behind each measure linked. The ladder is strict. A C is a decent plan with gaps worth knowing about, and a D is either bare bones or has issues that you might want to avoid. Sixteen of the 17 earn a C. Open any plan to see what it does well, where it falls short, and who it suits.
- Plans reviewed
- 17
- Goals
- 5K, 10K
- Length
- 7–14 weeks
- Run days
- 6 a week
- Peak mileage
- 16–40 miles a week
5K plans
Six weeks to break thirty-four, with the walk breaks still in.
BeginnerRequires purchaseSix weeks to break thirty-eight, with the walk breaks still in.
BeginnerRequires purchaseWalk before you tire, and the finish line takes care of itself.
BeginnerRequires purchaseSix weeks to break twenty-four, with the walk breaks still in.
IntermediateRequires purchaseSix weeks to break thirty, with the walk breaks still in.
IntermediateRequires purchaseSix weeks to break fifteen, with the walk breaks still in.
CompetitiveRequires purchaseSix weeks to break seventeen-thirty, with the walk breaks still in.
CompetitiveRequires purchaseSix weeks to break twenty, with the walk breaks still in.
CompetitiveRequires purchase10K plans
Ten weeks to break 1:10, walk breaks and all.
BeginnerRequires purchaseTen weeks to break 1:20, walk breaks and all.
BeginnerRequires purchaseTen weeks to break 55 minutes, walk breaks and all.
BeginnerRequires purchaseWalk before you tire, and 6.2 miles comes to you.
BeginnerRequires purchaseTen weeks to break 45 minutes, walk breaks and all.
IntermediateRequires purchaseTen weeks to break 50 minutes, walk breaks and all.
IntermediateRequires purchaseTen weeks to break the hour, walk breaks and all.
IntermediateRequires purchaseTen weeks to break 35 minutes, walk breaks and all.
CompetitiveRequires purchaseTen weeks to break 40 minutes, walk breaks and all.
CompetitiveRequires purchaseTraining with Jeff Galloway
Galloway's method is Run Walk Run: walk breaks taken on a set ratio from the start of a run, before you're tired rather than after. The book sets the ratio by your pace, and in these plans the walking is the structure, not a fallback. It holds even at the fast end. A runner chasing a sub-35 10K still walks on every long run, and between the two pieces of every goal-pace session. If you've wondered whether walk breaks and a time goal can share a plan, Galloway's answer was yes.
The time-goal plans run 7 weeks for the 5K and 10 weeks for the 10K, on 4 running days. Every other week, a Magic Mile (a timed mile inside an easy run) resets your paces through the book's formulas, so the plan keeps up with you as you get fitter. Around it come 400-meter repeats, short hill climbs, a slow long run with walk breaks, and race rehearsals, where you run goal pace in 2 pieces with a walk between. The book asks that you've already run a 5K or 10K race before you start one.
The To Finish plans run 14 weeks. Four 30-minute run/walk sessions a week stay the same length throughout, while the Saturday long run grows (to 6 miles for the 5K and 8.5 for the 10K) and the running inside each minute grows from 15 seconds to 30. They expect you to cover about 2 miles already and run 30 minutes twice a week.
Race readiness is the strongest part of the set. The timed miles, the rehearsals and long runs that go past race distance all see to that. The gaps repeat from plan to plan. No plan schedules strength work, and the book leaves it to you. Several time-goal plans put hard days back to back in their first 5 weeks. And the To Finish 5K, the one D, has a timed mile as its only hard session and one lighter week in 14.
These plans suit a runner who likes walk breaks, or wants to try them, and has 4 days a week to give. Galloway also wrote runDisney's training plans, which have their own page.
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