FirstFiveK dataset · 27 sessions × 20 paces
Distance of every session, at every pace
Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash
The plan is written in minutes, so nobody tells you the miles. This table does: at a 13:00 mile the first session covers 1.84 miles, the last 2.86, and all 27 together 60.1 miles (96.8 km) including warm-ups, walk breaks and cool-downs.
What this table is
Couch-to-5K style plans count time. That is the right way to train, but it leaves a gap: two people can finish the same session a mile apart and neither is told how far they went. We calculated the distance of every session at every half-minute pace from 9:00 to 18:30 per mile and put the result in one place. As far as we can find, no other published version of the plan carries these numbers.
The table on this page shows whole-minute paces; the downloadable file has all 20 paces in miles and kilometres. Each figure is running minutes divided by the running pace, plus every walking minute — the 5-minute warm-up, the walk breaks and the 5-minute cool-down — at an 18:00 mile. The Methodology page has the formula and the reasoning for the walking figure.
Whole-plan totals by pace
| Run pace | Running miles, all 27 sessions | Total miles with walks | Total km with walks | First session whose run reaches 5K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 | 54.3 | 76.9 | 123.7 | Week 8 Day 1 |
| 10:00 | 48.9 | 71.4 | 115.0 | none in the plan |
| 11:00 | 44.5 | 67.0 | 107.8 | none in the plan |
| 12:00 | 40.7 | 63.3 | 101.8 | none in the plan |
| 13:00 | 37.6 | 60.1 | 96.8 | none in the plan |
| 14:00 | 34.9 | 57.5 | 92.5 | none in the plan |
| 15:00 | 32.6 | 55.1 | 88.7 | none in the plan |
| 16:00 | 30.6 | 53.1 | 85.4 | none in the plan |
| 17:00 | 28.8 | 51.3 | 82.5 | none in the plan |
| 18:00 | 27.2 | 49.7 | 80.0 | none in the plan |
The spread is wider than most people expect. Someone running 9:00 miles covers 76.9 miles over the nine weeks; someone at 15:00 covers 55.1. Only at 9:00 does any single run inside the plan reach 5K — at every other whole-minute pace the plan finishes before the distance does, which is why the site treats "30 minutes" and "5K" as two separate finish lines.
Download and cite
Download the CSV (27 rows × 47 columns)
The file is free to use in articles, spreadsheets, apps and coaching handouts. If you publish numbers from it, please credit "FirstFiveK session distance table" with a link to this page so readers can check the method. The figures are arithmetic from a fixed plan, so they do not go out of date; if we change the walking reference pace or correct an error, the change is dated on the corrections page and the file is regenerated.
Suggested citation: FirstFiveK, “Distance of every session, at every pace” (2026-10), firstfivek.pages.dev/distance-table/
Miles per session, walks included, by running pace
| Session | Run min | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W1 D1 | 8 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| W1 D2 | 8 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| W1 D3 | 8 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| W2 D1 | 9 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| W2 D2 | 9 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| W2 D3 | 9 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| W3 D1 | 9 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| W3 D2 | 9 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| W3 D3 | 9 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| W4 D1 | 16 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| W4 D2 | 16 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| W4 D3 | 16 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| W5 D1 | 15 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| W5 D2 | 16 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| W5 D3 | 20 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| W6 D1 | 18 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 |
| W6 D2 | 20 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
| W6 D3 | 25 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 |
| W7 D1 | 25 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 |
| W7 D2 | 25 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 |
| W7 D3 | 25 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.9 |
| W8 D1 | 28 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| W8 D2 | 28 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| W8 D3 | 28 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| W9 D1 | 30 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| W9 D2 | 30 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| W9 D3 | 30 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
Miles for the whole session: 5-min warm-up walk + run/walk work + 5-min cool-down walk · walking at an 18:00 mile · calculations by FirstFiveK
Frequently asked questions
Why do the first weeks cover almost the same distance at every pace?
Because they are mostly walking. Week 1 has 8 minutes of running inside a 30-minute session, so the running pace only changes the result from 1.67 miles at 18:00 to 2.11 at 9:00. By week 9 the same range is 2.22 to 3.89 miles.
Is the walking pace the same for everyone?
No. We use an 18:00 mile (3.3 mph) as one fixed reference so the table is comparable across paces. If you walk faster or slower, the running part of each figure is unchanged; the pace converter and plan builder let you see your own numbers.
Can I use these numbers on my own site or handout?
Yes. Credit the FirstFiveK session distance table and link to this page. Please do not republish the whole file as your own dataset.
Data sources
Data as of October 4, 2026
- FirstFiveK calculations (distance ÷ time)Own work · 2026-10
- CDC — Measuring Physical Activity Intensity (talk test)Public domain (US federal government) · 2026-10
- HHS — Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd editionPublic domain (US federal government) · 2026-10
- How ranks and averages are calculated