Week 6 of 9
Week 6 of the beginner 5K plan
Photo by Tirza van Dijk on Unsplash
Week 6 is three sessions: run 5 min, walk 3 min, run 8 min, walk 3 min, run 5 min; then run 10 min, walk 3 min, run 10 min; then run 25 min without stopping. That adds up to 63 minutes of running for the week, and the longest stretch without a walk break is 25 minutes.
Week 6, day by day
Each lane is one session, to scale in minutes · warm-up and cool-down are the faint dashesTotal includes 5-minute warm-up and cool-down walks · walking counted at an 18:00 mile
Minutes of running per session around week 6 (min)
What week 6 asks of you
Week 6 returns to walk breaks for two days before asking for 25 minutes straight. Day 1 is run 5, walk 3, run 8, walk 3, run 5: 18 minutes of running, more than any interval day so far. Day 2 is two 10-minute runs with a 3-minute walk, 20 minutes of running and the shortest walk break yet. Day 3 is 25 minutes nonstop, 5 more than Week 5 ended with. Sessions run 33 to 35 minutes. Day 1 surprises people: after a continuous 20, intervals sound easy, but the restarts and the longer total make it feel harder. That reaction is common and does not mean you went backward.
Day 1: run 5 min, walk 3 min, run 8 min, walk 3 min, run 5 min
Run 5, run 8, run 5. Session 16 of 27 · 18 min running · 34 min door to door.
After a continuous 20 minutes, this looks easy on paper: run 5, walk 3, run 8, walk 3, run 5. In practice it often feels harder than Week 5 Day 3. Total running is 18 minutes in a 34-minute session, the longest session so far. The 8-minute run in the middle, from minute 13 to 21, sits between two restarts. The final 5-minute run, from 24 to 29, is where your legs feel the whole session. Expect this and do not read it as going backward.
Compared with the session before (week 5 day 3), running time goes from 20 to 18 minutes and the longest unbroken run from 20 to 8 minutes.
| # | Segment | Length | Starts at | Ends at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-up walk | 5:00 | 0:00 | 5:00 |
| 2 | Run | 5:00 | 5:00 | 10:00 |
| 3 | Walk | 3:00 | 10:00 | 13:00 |
| 4 | Run | 8:00 | 13:00 | 21:00 |
| 5 | Walk | 3:00 | 21:00 | 24:00 |
| 6 | Run | 5:00 | 24:00 | 29:00 |
| 7 | Cool-down walk | 5:00 | 29:00 | 34:00 |
Clock times from the moment you start the warm-up walk.
Pace this like a 20-minute run, not like intervals. It is easy to speed up when walk breaks come back, and that is what makes the day hard. Stay at your Week 5 Day 3 pace, perhaps 4.0 to 4.4 mph on a treadmill. At 13:00 per mile, the 18 minutes of running covers about 1.38 miles; the full session, about 2.27. At 15:00, about 2.09 in total.
| Run pace | Treadmill | Running distance | Whole session |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 / mile | 4.0 mph | 1.20 mi | 2.09 mi (3.36 km) |
| 13:00 / mile | 4.6 mph | 1.38 mi | 2.27 mi (3.66 km) |
| 11:00 / mile | 5.5 mph | 1.64 mi | 2.53 mi (4.06 km) |
If the last 5-minute run breaks, walk 1 minute and finish the rest. If the 8-minute run breaks, slow it by 30 to 60 seconds per mile next time rather than adding walks. Feeling worse than on Week 5 Day 3 does not mean you need to repeat Week 5. Repeat this session once if needed, then move on to Day 2.
After this session you will have run 195 of the plan's 489 total minutes.
Day 2: run 10 min, walk 3 min, run 10 min
Two 10-minute runs. Session 17 of 27 · 20 min running · 33 min door to door.
Two 10-minute runs with a single 3-minute walk between them: 20 minutes of running in a 33-minute session. That matches Week 5 Day 3 in running time but with one break, and it is the shortest walk break the plan has used. The first run, minutes 5 to 15, should feel familiar. The second, minutes 18 to 28, is the part to watch. Its last 3 minutes, from 25 to 28, are a good test of how Day 3's 25 minutes will go.
Compared with the session before (week 6 day 1), running time goes from 18 to 20 minutes and the longest unbroken run from 8 to 10 minutes.
| # | Segment | Length | Starts at | Ends at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-up walk | 5:00 | 0:00 | 5:00 |
| 2 | Run | 10:00 | 5:00 | 15:00 |
| 3 | Walk | 3:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 |
| 4 | Run | 10:00 | 18:00 | 28:00 |
| 5 | Cool-down walk | 5:00 | 28:00 | 33:00 |
Clock times from the moment you start the warm-up walk.
Run both halves at the same pace. If you are on a treadmill, pick one speed, maybe 4.3 mph, about a 14:00 mile, and keep it for both runs. At 13:00 per mile, each 10-minute run covers about 0.77 miles, and the session about 2.26. Walk the 3 minutes at around 3.3 mph so your legs stay warm. Check the talk test at minute 8 of the second run.
| Run pace | Treadmill | Running distance | Whole session |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 / mile | 4.0 mph | 1.33 mi | 2.06 mi (3.31 km) |
| 13:00 / mile | 4.6 mph | 1.54 mi | 2.26 mi (3.64 km) |
| 11:00 / mile | 5.5 mph | 1.82 mi | 2.54 mi (4.09 km) |
If the second 10 minutes fades, walk 1 minute at the halfway point and run the last 5. That gives 10, walk 3, 5, walk 1, 5. If both runs needed breaks, repeat Day 1 first. Don't take a longer middle walk to fix it; the short break is the whole point of today, and Day 3 has no break at all.
After this session you will have run 215 of the plan's 489 total minutes.
Day 3: run 25 min without stopping
25 minutes continuous. Session 18 of 27 · 25 min running · 35 min door to door.
Today you run 25 minutes without walking, 5 more than Week 5 Day 3 and 5 more than the previous session's two 10-minute runs combined. The session is 35 minutes long. The run goes from minute 5 to minute 30. The first 10 minutes are familiar territory. The new stretch is minutes 20 to 25 of the run, roughly minutes 25 to 30 on the clock. That is where you are past your longest run so far. Expect a quiet middle and a demanding last 5 minutes.
Compared with the session before (week 6 day 2), running time goes from 20 to 25 minutes and the longest unbroken run from 10 to 25 minutes.
| # | Segment | Length | Starts at | Ends at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-up walk | 5:00 | 0:00 | 5:00 |
| 2 | Run | 25:00 | 5:00 | 30:00 |
| 3 | Cool-down walk | 5:00 | 30:00 | 35:00 |
Clock times from the moment you start the warm-up walk.
Start at the pace you used in Week 5 Day 3, or slower. At 15:00 per mile, 25 minutes covers about 1.67 miles of running; at 13:00, about 1.92; at 11:00, about 2.27. With the walks, that becomes about 2.22 to 2.83 miles in total. On a treadmill, 4.0 to 4.6 mph is a reasonable range. Use the talk test at minutes 10 and 20 of the run.
| Run pace | Treadmill | Running distance | Whole session |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 / mile | 4.0 mph | 1.67 mi | 2.22 mi (3.58 km) |
| 13:00 / mile | 4.6 mph | 1.92 mi | 2.48 mi (3.99 km) |
| 11:00 / mile | 5.5 mph | 2.27 mi | 2.83 mi (4.55 km) |
If 25 minutes breaks, the simplest fallback is 15 running, 1 walking, 10 running. Then try 25 continuous at the start of Week 7, since its first session is the same run. If you stopped earlier than 15 minutes, slow down by 60 seconds per mile next time. Do not repeat all of Week 6 unless Days 1 and 2 also went badly.
After this session you will have run 240 of the plan's 489 total minutes.
Repeat it or move on?
Repeat a day if you walked inside either 10-minute run on Day 2, or if the 25-minute run on Day 3 needed more than one short walk. You're ready for Week 7 when 25 minutes feels steady at a pace you could keep talking through, even if the last 5 minutes are work.
If a session goes badly, the stuck-week helper gives a specific next step for week 6.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Week 6 Day 1 feel harder than the 20-minute run?
Partly the numbers: Week 6 Day 1 is 34 minutes long with 18 minutes of running, and the middle run is 8 minutes. Partly the restarts: getting going again after a walk can feel heavier than staying in motion. It is also easy to relax your pacing after Week 5 Day 3. Run the first 5 minutes slower than you want to.
Can I replace Week 6 with more 20-minute runs?
You could, but the interval days carry you toward 25 minutes in measured steps: 18, then 20, then 25 minutes of running. Repeating the 20-minute run three times adds no new longest run. If Week 6 feels like too much, repeat Week 5 Day 3 once, then come back to Week 6 Day 1.
I ran 20 minutes straight last time. Why was this session tougher?
A few reasons. It is 4 minutes longer overall, 34 versus 30. Restarting after a walk takes effort each time. And after a big day, it is common to relax about pacing, or to run faster because walks are back. The fix is the same as before: start every run slower than you want.
Is Week 6 Day 2 easier than Week 5 Day 3?
It has the same 20 minutes of running, but split into two 10-minute runs with a 3-minute walk. Some runners find it easier because the halfway break helps. Others find the restart harder than continuing. Either way, it is a step toward 25 minutes, and finishing it means Day 3 is within reach.
How do I get through the last 5 minutes of a 25-minute run?
Slow down a little rather than stopping. Break the time into small pieces: the next minute, then the next. Focus on your breathing rhythm or a landmark ahead. It helps to have started slowly enough that minute 20 does not feel like the end of your rope. Week 7 repeats this run three times, so it will get familiar.
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