How To Run A Faster 5k

What does it take to run a 13:20 5k? One Olympian we happen to know - our very own Andy - achieved this blisteringly quick time at his peak, and now shares one of the workouts that helped him to achieve it.

Want in on the secret? Watch this video now for some major training inspiration!

↓↓ Are you training for a 5k race? Will you give this workout a go? Let us know in the comments! ↓↓

What’s in this video?
00:00:00 - Introduction to an Elite Level 5K Training Program
00:00:50 - Interval Workout for 5K Training
00:01:42 - Warm-up and Start of Intervals
00:02:26 - Setting the Pace and Consistency in Workouts
00:03:06 - 60 Seconds Recovery
00:04:42 - Fluctuating Paces in Training for a 5K
00:05:20 - Taking the Pressure Off in a Race
00:06:11 - Higher intensity training for a faster 5K
00:06:55 - My First 5k Race in Over Seven Years

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Read this far? Thanks! Please like this video, SUBSCRIBE and share with your running friends. We would really appreciate it!

[sambithdas]

I owe my running journey to this channel. I’m from India I hope one day to be in one of your group sessions. Thanks for the content. Keep up the good work ❤ from 🇮🇳

[WilliamHickman-iz]

I did this workout once a week for four weeks and improved my 5k time from 19:26 to 18:39 👌

[davidleonard]

Love Andys content, as a competitive runner I appreciate the training he shows. Also he's way more modest than a lot of the running influencers out there and he was a great athlete. Not sure if people realise how good he was.

[Kubino]

As someone who's aiming for a sub 16:30 5k, this is such a valuable insight. Thanks Andy!

EDIT:
OK, so I've tried this workout today. I tried to be realistic about my pace so I set it to 3:20 for 1k reps and 75 seconds for 400s. I started the session with a 2k warm-up and finished it with a 2k cool-down.

Here are my splits: (1k) 3:21, 3:16, 3:15, 3:19 / (400m) 1:12, 1:14, 1:17, 1:14

Well, this one's a tough one...But also a very good one and I can definitely see how anyone can benefit from it. It's those 400s that are the hardest, because as Andy pointed out, 60s recovery passes by in a blink of an eye when you have just finished a quick 1k. That's why this workout is equally beneficial, both physically and mentally.

[nopahrefa]

I do think this is one of those sessions that get easier the faster you are. (Note, I didn't say _easy_, I said easier)
because if your 5k pace is 3 min/km then you are at your red line for 3 minutes, before going to rest. Someone whose 5k time is 30 minutes will spend literally twice as long at their red line.
You run the same distance, but one runner is getting 3 minutes of high intensity work per rep, and the other 6 minutes of high intensity work per rep. These two runners are going to come out of the session having run the same distance, but one has literally twice as many minutes of intensity in the session than the other. Ergo, faster runner, easier session.

[abigrunner]

What I was taught is economy at speed… feeling comfortable with a faster pace 1500m for 800m 1200m etc. when you finally slow down to a 5k or 1/2 marathon pace it feels really easy. We need really hard workouts once a week or we will never find our full potential. Thanks Andy 13:20 is World Class.

[devonchris]

Awesome! But worth considering whether to plan these sessions by time or by distance.
For example: an elite runner is basically doing 4x 2'45 (1'), 1' (3'), a total of roughly 11min @5k pace and 4min @1500 pace. That's a great session. But a 25min 5k runner is going to do more like 4x 5' (1') 90' (3'), a total of 20min @5k pace and 6min @1500 pace. As Andy says, running at our red line feels the same no matter what standard you're at, so the amateur is doing a heavier session than the elite runner there. I learned this the hard way: I once lifted a Jack Daniels plan for me which included a threshold session of 8x1mile. For an elite, that's about 40min at 1hr race pace - brutal but doable. For me, it's more like 55min which meant I was practically racing for a training session, and wondering why I was so annihilated. I'd have been better off doing eg 8x5min so that I was replicating the total time at that intensity level, rather than the distance.
Would it be wiser to do this session as, maybe, 4x 3' (1') 1' (3')?

[CaptainBrash]

Yes, more of this middle/shorter long distance stuff with Andy please. Really like him talking about his professional career and the training.

I'm a few weeks out from a 10k, but then I'll be doing a 5k at my local new years run where I'm hoping I'll get a decent PB. Sub 20 will be way out the question but a 21 or 22 would be nice. (current PB 24:09)

Will definitely do The Andy at least once. Would you recommend doing closer or further from a peak week?

[ndope]

Love these videos with focus on speed. Beginner training for a marathon videos are also fun, but these videos with Andy or Mo with focus on speed is pure gold for the rest of us!

[kasperoertoft]

More worksouts like these to improve 1500 m and 5 k ! Please. ❤

[mikeheath]

This reminds me of another session we used to run that we called 2s and 1s, it was 8 sets of 2 min hard, 60 sec recovery and then 1 minute harder usually with 2-3 minutes jog recovery between sets. This along with hill sprints were great foundations for good performances that I totally took for granted as a teenager. Hope more people try these kinds of sessions out :). Cheers again for the content Andy, keep on trucking!

[antonjamesolsson]

Sounds like a tough one. Excited to give it a try once I've recovered properly from my first HM last weekend. Cheers for the great videos!

[jsb_running]

Great content!
I'm 45 and trying for a sub 22 minute 5k soon, and hopefully sub 21 next year. These training runs are exactly what I need to be doing!

[TakaFujiOfficial]

Oh yes im 36, quite newbie in running. my old me is not a person who involve in sports especially running, i hate it back then haha. quite sedentary lifestyle as a gamers since milenium Y2K era. has been stop smoking since 2018. after then start slow jog and trekking. Now i about to have 5K time trial with Saucony Run Club here in Malaysia this coming end of November. and they are about to give a pair of shoes of your choice. Now im about to try this method to improve my 5K. thanks for sharing

[manwerama]

The Runna app gave me something similar within my HM training last week. It was called Broken miles - 1200 m @5k, 90 sec rest, followed by 400 m @ roughly 1500 m, 60 sec rest. It was brutal. <3

[jensmith]

Im excited to give this a go as the pain may block out my chronic knee pain, find running faster causes a bit less pain, in the knee that is !!!

[_Crumpet]

Do you guys have any plans to have Ben Is Running on the channel? I think a video with Ben and Andy training together could be great :)

[JackD]

Probably the best video I’ve seen on the channel 👌👌

[HYPERC]

Running my first 5km race on Sunday. Gonna do this interval tomorrow in my last train before the race. Been a long time runner, (with my dogs) but only recently decided to run for races. Havenb't trained at this intensity for a few years since fighting Muay Thai. Feels good. Looking forward to running with a whole bunch of people who are lightyears faster than me

[scottbeesley]

I'm currently working on trying to get a faster 5k. I'd love to get under 17mins. I just came out of a half marathon training block that went really well. I ran a PB for the half and have been feeling fit and fast. Literally just this morning, at my 200th parkrun, I ran 17:40 for the 5k, which is a PB for me. I intend on training specifically for the 5k for the next good while and will be using this workout for sure. Fingers crossed I can get a whole 41 secs off my time.