Guides · 6 min read

Interval training for runners: 6 workouts and how to pace them

Interval training for runners: what intervals do, how fast to run them, six workouts from beginner to 10K, recovery between reps, and doing them in a group.

Intervals are short, fast efforts with recovery in between: run hard, jog or walk, repeat. They’re the quickest way to feel faster, and they’re easier to start than they sound. One interval session a week, on top of mostly easy running, is enough for most people.

How fast should intervals be?

Short reps (200–400 m, or 1–2 minutes): around your mile to 5K race pace. Hard, but controlled. You should be able to run the last one as fast as the first.
Longer reps (800 m–1 mile, or 3–5 minutes): around 5K to 10K race pace. Heart rate climbs into zone 4 or 5 by the end of each rep.

Not sure of your race pace? Put a recent time into the pace calculator, or check your zones with the heart rate zone calculator.

Six interval workouts

First intervals: 6 × 1 minute fast, 2 minutes walk or jog.
Classic 400s: 8 × 400 m at 5K pace, 90 seconds jog between.
Ladder: 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 minutes hard, with half as long easy after each.
5K builder: 5 × 800 m at 5K pace, 2 minutes jog.
10K builder: 4 × 1 mile (or 1.6 km) at 10K pace, 2–3 minutes jog.
Hill reps: 8 × 45 seconds hard uphill, walk or jog back down.

Always start with 10–15 minutes of easy running and finish with 10 minutes easy.

Recovery between reps

The recovery is part of the workout. Short reps get roughly equal or longer recovery; longer reps can have a bit less. If your last rep is much slower than your first, make the recovery longer or the reps slower next time.

Intervals with a group

Use time, not distance. Everyone runs 2 minutes hard on a loop or out-and-back and turns at the whistle, so faster runners cover more ground but the group stays together. A track or a short loop in a park works best. Afterwards, comparing the session is half the fun; that’s where a shared feed of everyone’s runs helps. RunPack is our app for that: a private feed for your crew, from any watch or just your iPhone.

Keep it sensible

One interval session a week; two at most if you’re running five or more days.
Not on the day after a long run or a race.
Feeling flat? Swap it for an easy run. How hard should I run today?

Try it with your crewRecord runs with your iPhone and share them in a private feed only your crew can see. Free for crews of up to 8.Download on theApp StoreRunPack as a running crew app, a group running app, a running club app, a private social running app or a GPS run tracker.