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
- Jesse EnglishIRONMAN 70.3, September 2019A Plan to Trust I've used Phil's Sprint Triathlon plans in the past and loved them. I could always trust that if I followed them (and provided nothing broken down on race day) I'd be able to go out and give it my absolute best on race day. When I signed up for my... >> read moreI've used Phil's Sprint Triathlon plans in the past and loved them. I could always trust that if I followed them (and provided nothing broken down on race day) I'd be able to go out and give it my absolute best on race day. When I signed up for my first 70.3 I already knew I'd be using Phil's plans again and sure enough had the time of my life completing the Eagleman, an IRONMAN 70.3 in Cambridge, Maryland. Not only do you get a fantastic plan, but email access to a professional coach. This has been one of the most valuable tools I've ever used. << read less05 Sep 2019WhitneyIRONMAN 140.6, November 2019I am an IRONMAN! I used the Intermediate IRONMAN training plan for my first IRONMAN, and it was a huge success! And the coaches were extremely helpful and responsive when I had issues. I broke my arm 12wks out from race day, and they helped me plan around that to ultimately make it to... >> read moreI used the Intermediate IRONMAN training plan for my first IRONMAN, and it was a huge success! And the coaches were extremely helpful and responsive when I had issues. I broke my arm 12wks out from race day, and they helped me plan around that to ultimately make it to the finish line...2hrs faster than I had hoped for for my first IRONMAN! << read less01 Dec 2019KatSprint Triathlon, September 2019First Place! I’ve been using your plans for the last 2 seasons (both tri and an off-season half marathon last year). Results of my last race this weekend, thank you!18 Sep 2019
- Dan ForerIRONMAN 70.3, May 2020Quality: Intermediate 70.3 Quality Ironman 70.3 intermediate plan. I recommend it! I’m an amateur with 10yrs of competitive Tri and duathlon racing at world level in the past. I’m also experienced in training with no plan and a few extra kgs - this doesn’t work. I’ve trained in squads, on generic plans, dedicated... >> read moreQuality Ironman 70.3 intermediate plan. I recommend it! I’m an amateur with 10yrs of competitive Tri and duathlon racing at world level in the past. I’m also experienced in training with no plan and a few extra kgs - this doesn’t work. I’ve trained in squads, on generic plans, dedicated one-to-one coaching in that time with various approaches from sprint to full Ironman. So I’ve seen a lot what what is out there. This plan is quality. On reading I could tell it was very good. The difficulty as intermediate is well placed. Its suitable challenging for someone with racing background but who’s been out of the game for a short while too. The plan is centred around initial tests to baseline your ability, so in this regard it is personalised to your ability. As the athlete, you must still use your smarts to listen to your body when training but on this plan I felt the fatigue was always well managed. The plan in Training Peaks is brilliant. Full description of each session automatically customised to the required intensity using your previous test results. The plan is also periodised into build and peak phases with a clear distinction in the type of training in each phase with progressive adaptation of sessions within the phases. It’s very well thought out. You are also able to re-use the plan in Training Peaks which is ideal especially when unforeseen events occur like race cancellations and you need to restart or just aim for another race date. The results. I’ve seen significant improvements across swim, bike and run. Biggest gains being on the bike! I’ve also followed the strength and conditioning sessions in the plan so injury prevention and support for better person is handled by this aspect. The team is also very supportive and motivating via social channels. They really take an interest in the athletes who purchase their plans. So be sure to follow myprocoach on FB and insta. I highly recommended this plan, so get it and shift your attention to picking the race now! << read less21 May 2020MikeIRONMAN 140.6, December 2019100% Worth the Money Used the Advanced 40-week IRONMAN plan and absolutely loved it! I was between the Intermediate and Advanced plans, but with the support/advice from the coaches, I was confidently able to purchase the plan that best suited my goals. The one thing about this plan that stood out to me was... >> read moreUsed the Advanced 40-week IRONMAN plan and absolutely loved it! I was between the Intermediate and Advanced plans, but with the support/advice from the coaches, I was confidently able to purchase the plan that best suited my goals. The one thing about this plan that stood out to me was the organization: this plan works excellently for those busy during the weekdays. I was able to complete 85-90% of the workouts in medical school and during residency interview season, which I was extremely happy with. Second, there is a good balance with this plan because I never felt totally burnt out. There were some occasions I skipped a workout because I was feeling tired/fatigued. But overall, I never felt run into the ground--the plan is forgiving in that way. On the other hand, I felt FAR MORE physically prepared for this race than my first Ironman where I followed a different plan. And side note, the email support system was quick and helpful too! << read less03 Dec 2019Chris SharkeyIRONMAN 70.3, December 2019Thank you! Just wanted to thank you for the training plan and your advice through the plan. I have just completed the Bahrain IRONMAN 70.3 and had a wonderful day. I smiled all the way through it. It was my first triathlon and was delighted with a time of just under 6 hours.09 Dec 2019
- 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 2019MartinsChallenge ROTHSUB 10 dream come true For 2nd year in a row I was following IM full distance Intermediate plan Did almost all the sessions prescribed (some skipped due to work and business trips). For the first Year (2018) did IM Austria 10:03 My goal was to go sub 10, I think I failed because of... >> read moreFor 2nd year in a row I was following IM full distance Intermediate plan Did almost all the sessions prescribed (some skipped due to work and business trips). For the first Year (2018) did IM Austria 10:03 My goal was to go sub 10, I think I failed because of weather (was hot day for running) and bit too much elevation gain on bike and nutrition. This Year (2019) I did the same plan 2nd year in a row And was able to fulfill my dream - going sub 10 Did Challenge Roth in 9:36 So thanks for the great training plan 🙂 Also in the process I went sub 3 in marathon (2:53) and two Years in a row was on podium in Latvian nationals in Olympic distance, and I did not do any special training for that, just this full distance plan (I did marathon in the middle of plan) Choose the right plan (that suits Your work, family and other commitments - I have 9am-6pm work and family), follow it and You will be FAST << read less23 Jul 2019Andres MorenoIRONMAN 70.3, October 2019Great 20 weeks of training I got the 20 Weeks IronMan 70.3 Beginner plan and it worked perfectly for me. This was my first ever half distance triathlon and I was able to get the right fitness for the event. The plan has a great structure, the intensity of the workouts is just right and... >> read moreI got the 20 Weeks IronMan 70.3 Beginner plan and it worked perfectly for me. This was my first ever half distance triathlon and I was able to get the right fitness for the event. The plan has a great structure, the intensity of the workouts is just right and the duration was good enough to still have time for other activities. I completed the race and I couldn't be more satisfied with the training plan. << read less24 Oct 2019
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