Masters (40+) 10K Training Plans
"I loved your plan as it touched on all the segments needed for both endurance, strength and speed."
Karen Arsenault - Runner
Is A Masters 10K Plan Right For You?
Our Masters 10K training plans are designed for runners over 40 years old. Although plenty of younger athletes love them too.
The workouts are just as tough as with our normal training plans, but with more scheduled recovery days. And more strength and conditioning work, so you stay strong and flexible.
Masters runners face different challenges to younger athletes. Families, busy careers and lack of sleep are just a few. That said, not all over 40 runners require a Masters-specific training plan. Some find it easy to carry on with a normal training load, while others need to change their approach to training.
- Premium plans with coach support for any level
- FREE TASTER PDF versions of our shorter plans!
When to Consider Choosing a Masters Plan:
- Your training time availability is reduced with work and family commitments.
- You feel sleep deprived from daily stresses.
- Your body has different needs in terms of recovery, strength and flexibility training.
- You suffer recurrent injuries.
- You feel constantly fatigued or overwhelmed by your regular training.
- You keep catching colds and other viruses.
Can I Still Race Successfully?
Yes! In fact, by following our Masters running plans, you may well race better than ever. The key to success is training consistently, without missing workouts due to injury, fatigue or time limitations. It’s not always about who attempts the most training.
All our training plans adhere to the principle of “Progressive Overload”. Meaning that the stress placed upon your body gradually increases over time. By training consistently with regular recovery periods, you’re more likely to absorb the gradually increasing training loads, without breaking down.
How is a Masters Plan Different?
Rest and Recovery
Intensive 10K training will cause you muscle damage. As we mature it can (arguably) take longer for your muscles to adapt and remodel. This decline in rate of recovery will vary according to genetics and training history. Insufficient recovery time can lessen the effect of the workout and leave you more prone to injury. Masters 10K running plans have more rest days each week (1 or 2 days per week) and a 1:2 ratio of active recovery weeks to hard weeks (this is 1:3 in regular plans). That means you’ll do two weeks of challenging training, and then take an active recovery week (with around half the training stress).
Strength and Conditioning
As we get older, our muscle density begins to decline, and it becomes crucial to counter the effects of age-related muscle loss.
When you choose to follow Phil’s 10K Masters plans, you can download the associated FREE Strength and Conditioning plan. These have two scheduled strength and conditioning workouts per week, designed to promote:
- Performance through improved strength and power.
- Increased muscle mass.
- Injury prevention by strengthening connective tissue, muscles, and tendons.
- Flexibility to maintain power through a full range of movement.
- Improved bone density.
- Fat-free body mass (a leaner physique).
All Strength and Conditioning workouts can be carried out at home. There are also alternative exercises if you prefer a gym based workout.
Training Intensities and Volume
Training intensely is the key to success in any sport, regardless of age. Strong performances come from having a solid base and workouts that maximise your anaerobic fitness, speed, power and skill. Evidence suggests that higher intensity work with less volume is beneficial for the Masters athlete, in particular for 10K Training. Shorter, more intense workouts will also free up valuable time for recovery and work/family commitments. Masters plans optimise your training time with the right ratio of volume and intensity relevant to each plan.
Approach to Training
As an older athlete with a full life, prioritising is an essential skill. Ideally schedule your week, planning times for family, training, work and sleep. You should also be prepared for the curve balls that cause chaos in your best laid plans. Consistency in training is arguably the most important trait amongst successful Masters athletes. Here are some ideas to help you stick to your regime:
- Use your commute as an opportunity to train.
- Add in strength and conditioning at home, with the kids if necessary!
- If you can’t do a whole session, do part of it, something is always better than nothing.
- Commit to a lunchtime workout.
- Double up run workouts with Strength and Conditioning sessions and save showering twice.
- Life will occasionally get in the way and if you need to miss the odd workout, let it go and move on. It happens.
Top Training Tips For A 10K Run Race
Running Tips
Start off by aiming to run two or three times per week, for 15 minutes per session. Most of your runs should be done at an easy chatting pace, to reduce the risk of injury. To achieve this low intensity, you may need to include some walking sections in your runs – there’s nothing wrong with that. Over time you can gradually reduce the duration of your walking sections, as you get fitter.
If you’re at the point where you can comfortably run 15 minutes without walking, you can then aim to increase the duration of your workouts by no more than 10% per week. Build up your training gradually until you’re able to run 30 minutes comfortably. Now you can start to vary your training more.
At this point, you can build your training around two or three key runs each week. The first key session is an endurance run, where you eventually build up to 1 hour of low intensity running. The other key run is a speed session, with a warm up, a warm down and some hard efforts sandwiched in between (like 5 x 3 minutes hard with 90 second recoveries). Any other runs could just be steady 30 to 40-minute jogs. For more experienced runners, you should include a third key weekly workout, of a tempo session. For example run 3 x 8 minutes at your 1-hour race pace, with 60 second recoveries (plus, warm up and warm down).
If possible, do some of your running on soft surfaces like grass or trails, to lessen the impact on your body. Training on undulating terrain is good too, because it spreads the load to a wider range of muscle fibers, compared to running just on flat ground. In our beginner, intermediate and advanced 10km training plans we make every fourth week an “active recovery week” where the training is half as much as normal. This gives your body a chance to catch up with itself and reduces your chances of getting injured.
Strength Training Tips
We include two sessions per week in our FREE Strength and Conditioning plans. These workouts can help improve your strength and flexibility, leading to more efficient movement patterns and fewer injuries. We suggest you only do strength work in addition to at least three runs per week, rather than instead of them.
Using A Masters 10K Training Plan
Online training plans are for athletes who don’t feel the need for a personal coach, but who still want the structure and planning of an expertly-written training program. Research has shown that you are twice as likely to reach your goals if you train with a structured plan.
If you have a recent background of fitness or sport, it should take you eight to 12 weeks to get fit enough to conquer a 10km. If you’ve been more sedentary over the last few years, it will take you more like 18-21 weeks to prepare. Either way, you need to build up your training gradually. Fitness improvements build up slowly and gradually, like coffee dripping through a filter into a jug.
Compatible with over 100 apps & devices, including:
Compatible with over 100
apps & devices, including:
Head Coach & Founder: Phil Mosley
Why Use Our Training Plans?
Flexible, structured training for any level
Research-backed plans for any experience-level that fit around your lifestyle. From leading endurance coach Phil Mosley.
The world's best training app
We use TrainingPeaks for personalised training zones, trackable progress and so much more - on any major training device.
Certified coach support (rated 4.9/5)
On top of full help-centre & FAQ support (with videos), our coaches will quickly reply to any questions you have about your plan via email!
1. Choose from 18 plans from 6-21 weeks long
With beginner, intermediate, advanced, masters (40+) and off-season plans – we’ll have the perfect one for you.
2. Activate your free TrainingPeaks™️ account
A flexible calendar, targeted training zones, trackable progress and so much more – on any device.
3. Get your online plan and start ticking off sessions!
Keep motivated with any of your training questions answered quickly by our team of certified coaches!
About Phil Mosley
Phil is a recognised expert with over 20 years of experience, having featured on many endurance sports publications. He founded MyProCoach in 2010 to to offer the world’s most comprehensive range of online training plans, all designed to help you enjoy the same success that himself and his athletes have, while still making sure you have quality time for your family, friends and career.
Masters 10K Plans (6-21 Weeks)
WITH FREE EMAIL COACH SUPPORT
We use TrainingPeaks to deliver your plan – the world’s most popular endurance coaching platform. Free to use, TrainingPeaks is an online calendar that lets you record, track and analyze your training sessions.
It has a host of great features allowing you to get as in-depth as you like, including the ability to export your workouts to your training devices (Garmin, Zwift, Apple Watch etc) and follow them in real time.
TrainingPeaks enables us to set you in-depth training plans in a way that other formats cannot. Phil Mosley is a Certified Coach and one of the best-selling coaches on the platform.
Whenever you need help with your training plan, we aim to respond to your emails within 24-hours. Our Certified coaching team are on hand to answer any questions during the first use of your plan, plus a bonus three months after its completion.
During checkout, please also share your email so I can send you a series of 5 helpful emails to get you started.
As you can understand, some limits apply (for example, we can’t analyse your data or edit your training plan) but for anything else relevant to your training, we would love to help. You also have full access to our online help centre, with videos and articles to help you train effectively.
We have a huge range of plans that enables you to select one that best meets your goals, schedule and ability. If you’re not sure where to start, read on below for a quick overview.
What type?
Our Standard and Masters plans are designed to get you ready for your target event, while our Off-Season plans are designed to allow you to recover from a tough season whilst maintaining your well-earned fitness. Generally, Masters plans are designed for athletes over 40 years old, although plenty of younger athletes love them too. The workouts are just as tough as with our standard training plans, but with more scheduled recovery days. Some find it easy to carry on with a normal training load, while others need to change their approach to training.
What length?
For the best outcome, count back from your “A” target race date and simply choose a plan to fill that gap (you can still work in other, smaller races during your plan). Note that longer plans start easier and progress more gradually than shorter plans. The body responds best to constant, gradual progression with regular recovery periods, and that’s exactly what our plans are designed to give you!
What level?
Choosing the correct level will help you get the most out of your plan. Generally, if you’ve never done this event before or currently train up to a few times per week, you might consider a Beginner plan. Alternatively, if you’ve done this event many times before or currently train 5+ times a week, you might consider an Advanced plan.
But don’t worry too much – we also let you swap the level for free within 14 days of purchase, if you find it too easy/hard!
Visit the MyProCoach Help Center for further guidance and to contact our Certified coaching team.
Certainly! Our training plans allow you to easily swap a few days around each week to suit your availability. Or you can swap out a session, to attend a similar group workout instead. That’s fine. If you opt for TrainingPeaks Premium (from $9.92 per month) you can even drag & drop your workouts onto different days. We give a few recommendations on how to best do this in our help centre.
And you can also train for multiple events! Our training plans guide you up to your target “A” race, but it’s also good to include some “B or C” races along the way. Our help centre goes through the exact steps you should take to enable you to get full benefit, without detracting from your key focus
Trial Us With Our FREE TASTER Plans! (8- And 12-Week PDFs Only)
- No coach support, personal intensity zones or tracking software
- Standard (non-masters) version only
Beginner (6-21wks)
Perfect for your first 10K- Premium, flexible plan
- Intuitive tracking software
- Help centre & FAQ support
- Email access to coach
- From just $2.90/week!
Intermediate (6-21wks)
For seasoned runners- Premium, flexible plan
- Intuitive tracking software
- Help centre & FAQ support
- Email access to coach
- From just $2.90/week!
Advanced (6-21wks)
Slash your race-times- Premium, flexible plan
- Intuitive tracking software
- Help centre & FAQ support
- Email access to coach
- From just $2.90/week!
Join Over 40,000 Successful Athletes
- Ben HarrisIRONMAN 70.3, July 2019Go for it, you will not be disappointed. I was initially apprehensive about purchasing a generic training program, but had been recommended Phil and team. - after I purchased the plan, all fears were immediately removed as the plan included not only advice on tailoring it to include for B, C races etc, but guidance for missing sessions,... >> read moreI was initially apprehensive about purchasing a generic training program, but had been recommended Phil and team. - after I purchased the plan, all fears were immediately removed as the plan included not only advice on tailoring it to include for B, C races etc, but guidance for missing sessions, along with just other handy hints and tips. I've now smashed my race season goals, already getting the Sub 5hr 70.3 and even got the percentage I needed to attempt qualification for the ITU European Championships. - I'm in top form and looking forward to my A race of IM Vichy later this year! << read less01 Jul 2019Ignacio Vilas EguiletaIRONMAN, December 2019very well structured plans I have used already Ironman 140.6 and 70.3 plans from Myprocoach and I really like the thinking behind the training schedule and sessions. It is very well structured and designed to aid you to get a good balance in between training and recovery. And one of the greatest things I... >> read moreI have used already Ironman 140.6 and 70.3 plans from Myprocoach and I really like the thinking behind the training schedule and sessions. It is very well structured and designed to aid you to get a good balance in between training and recovery. And one of the greatest things I have realized this year when using the same plan for the second time is that it was updated automatically, so some workouts were new and different. That helps with getting motivation forward. On top of it, you have great and quick support by email from the Myprocoach team when needed. << read less07 Dec 2019Christian TrevinoIRONMAN 70.3, October 2019Excellent Investment Just completed my 3rd Ironman 70.3 and www.myprocoach.net is what helped my training be exactly where it needs to be. Ironman Waco 70.3 was great and the training plan put me in a position to finish and have fun at the same time. Getting another plan very soon.28 Oct 2019
- Kerry SmithLoved everything about it I followed the beginner Olympic triathlon program and loved it. At first it felt like I wasn’t doing enough, but soon realised I had been over training and by following Phil’s sweet spot training I actually started getting faster and stronger even though by time I was doing less. I... >> read moreI followed the beginner Olympic triathlon program and loved it. At first it felt like I wasn’t doing enough, but soon realised I had been over training and by following Phil’s sweet spot training I actually started getting faster and stronger even though by time I was doing less. I managed to catch a cold the week of my event, but despite this I was able to compete and finished the event within my time goal (less than 3hrs 30) and recovered well the next day. I felt strong throughout the event (well, except the last 3k which were up a very rude hill), and had confidence in my race pace and nutrition strategy which came with the training. I emailed the coaches several times in my training and the replies were prompt and very thorough. I also loved that the training sync’d to my Garmin watch and prompted me live during training. I’ve just downloaded the intermediate program and plan to try another Olympic in 6 weeks time and see if I can do it a bit quicker! Thank you, the plan was brilliant! << read less22 Feb 2020Su Yin OngFirst Ironman70.3! First ever half-Iron distance at the Ironman70.3 Goa, and managed to finish within my target time despite a steep segment on the bike and run. Finished strong without injury, thanks to Phil Mosley’s training plan. I especially liked the flexibility provided by the coaches, and the personal touch in correspondences.... >> read moreFirst ever half-Iron distance at the Ironman70.3 Goa, and managed to finish within my target time despite a steep segment on the bike and run. Finished strong without injury, thanks to Phil Mosley’s training plan. I especially liked the flexibility provided by the coaches, and the personal touch in correspondences. Looking forward to more training and improving on my 70.3 times! << read less23 Oct 2019Sebastian BeharIronman 70.3, September 2019Great Plan I completed my first two IM70.3 (Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz 2019) with Phil's Intermediate IRONMAN 70.3 - 32 Weeks plan, both under 5 hours and 25 minutes. What’s great? Easy to follow, structured workouts, access to articles and tips, and that you can use it multiple times.10 Sep 2019
- Faye ClothierIRONMAN Zurich, July 2019So much more than an online training plan I was recommended Myprocoach plans by a friend. I was looking for a long plan to help me prepare for my 1st full distance Ironman. I chose the 44 week novice plan. I liked the idea of a good long base section to get a strong foundation. The plan was... >> read moreI was recommended Myprocoach plans by a friend. I was looking for a long plan to help me prepare for my 1st full distance Ironman. I chose the 44 week novice plan. I liked the idea of a good long base section to get a strong foundation. The plan was great. Really easy to follow. I upgraded my Training Peaks account so that I could move workouts around during the week to fit in with a busy family life. I just ticked off the sessions one by one, week by week. Nothing more satisfying than ticking off all the sessions. As the event and other races got closer, their help was invaluable. They helped me swap sessions around to prepare me for the less important races, do it didn’t affect my fitness or ability to train effectively for the main event. And my questions were always answered quickly - even at the weekend when I wasn’t expecting a response until the following week! I loved the Strava club, blogs with great advice and social media feed in the run up to the race too. It was great to see how other people were training and feeling too. It’s a real community. Thanks to the plan and support I got to the start line injury free and not only completed the race but enjoyed it too! << read less25 Jul 2019Boris IliykovIRONMAN 70.3, September 2019My best performance and my new personal best Never felt so good on a race day before. I was well prepared thanks to the advanced 70.3 plan and had my best swim/bike/run splits and even with a flat tire I was able to achieve a new personal best. The plan was well structured with the idea of training... >> read moreNever felt so good on a race day before. I was well prepared thanks to the advanced 70.3 plan and had my best swim/bike/run splits and even with a flat tire I was able to achieve a new personal best. The plan was well structured with the idea of training smart not long and and I was able to push hard for the entire race. Thank you! << read less22 Sep 2019Lianne MorissetteSprint Triathlon, August 2019Crushed my goal and plan surpassed my expectations.... This is my first time using an online training plan and was skeptical. I’m focusing on sprint distance due to a chronic injury and my goal was to qualify for ITU World’s next year in the 45-49 ag. My A race was Provincials/World’s qualifier.....not only did I win my ag... >> read moreThis is my first time using an online training plan and was skeptical. I’m focusing on sprint distance due to a chronic injury and my goal was to qualify for ITU World’s next year in the 45-49 ag. My A race was Provincials/World’s qualifier.....not only did I win my ag by 10+ minutes, I placed third female overall! It all came together perfectly and I give most of the credit to my training plan that whipped me into shape in 12 weeks. I will definitely be using another myprocoach plan next season and highly recommend! << read less23 Aug 2019
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