A gentler path to 5 km

Walk Run Achieve

Start with walking, introduce short easy running intervals and build gradually towards a first 5 km over 22 weeks.

The final 5 km can be walked, run-walked or run. Continuous running, a finish time and a particular pace are not required.

Choose a start date Read all 22 weeks

Your private copy covers all three phases with one schedule and one progress record.

Before you begin

The plan is for someone who can already walk comfortably for about 15 minutes and can make room for three sessions in each seven-day plan week. If 15 minutes is too much today, start outside this saved schedule with a shorter easy walk, or choose the separate ten-week walking plan when its five-minute starting point fits.

These starting requirements describe this general plan, not an individual health assessment. Use the shorter-entry guidance or the standalone walking plan until 15 comfortable minutes fits.

How the plan fits together

Choose any start date. Each plan week has sessions on day 1, day 3 and day 6, counted from that date. Days 2, 4, 5 and 7 contain no scheduled plan session. This preserves at least one recovery day between sessions without forcing a Monday start, a Sunday event or a particular weekday routine.

The final 5 km may be walked or completed with run-walk. Continuous running is not required.

Weeks 1–4: Walking foundation
Exact, complete timed walks build from 15 to 30 minutes.
Consider Week 5 when you can complete Week 4's 30-minute easy walk comfortably, the three-session rhythm leaves enough recovery, and you want to introduce running.
Weeks 5–13: Easy run-walk
Each complete timed session has a five-minute gentle walk, three identical run-walk repeats and a five-minute gentle walk.
Consider Week 14 when you can complete Week 13's 37 minutes of easy movement comfortably, using as much walking as you need, and can comfortably complete the first 1 km without extending beyond the amount of time currently comfortable for you.
Weeks 14–22: Build to 5 km
Each complete distance session can be walked, run-walked or run at an easy effort.
The Week 22 goal is to complete 5 km your way. Walking and run-walk remain valid.

Effort, recovery and looking after yourself

Easy means a comfortable, controlled effort with room to speak in sentences. Slow down or walk whenever that helps keep the effort easy. No speed, steps, heart-rate zone or finish time is prescribed.

Twenty-two weeks is the nominal schedule, not a deadline. Repeating, shortening or stepping back is allowed, but the saved plan does not automatically repeat a week or move all later sessions.

Do not double the next session to repay a missed session. Mark it Not done if that accurately records what happened, then continue with the next scheduled session when it fits and you are ready.

Use the longest session in the current week as the main check before accepting the next increase. Ask whether the effort remained easy, whether walking breaks kept it manageable, and whether recovery between the three sessions was enough.

The planned distance is the whole session. Walk, run-walk or run it at an easy effort. Begin with five minutes of gentle walking and finish with five minutes of gentle walking; both are inside the listed distance, so do not add another warm-up or cool-down distance. If the whole distance takes less than ten minutes, keep the entire session gentle. Walking during the middle is always allowed.

Choose a route or setting you can finish easily, with a suitable surface and a way home if you stop. Indoor walking or treadmill sessions are welcome.

Stop the session and seek appropriate medical advice if you have pain that concerns you, chest pain or tightness, unusual shortness of breath or dizziness. In Australia, call triple zero (000) for a medical emergency, including chest pain that is severe, getting worse or has lasted for 10 minutes.

Your 22 weeks

Every day is here. Timed sessions include every warm-up, interval, recovery and cool-down minute. Distance sessions include the gentle opening and finish inside the listed kilometres.

Week 1 · Walking foundation3 sessions · 20 min longest

50 planned minutes, including every walking and running interval.

Day 1

Easy walk · 15 min

Walk for 15 minutes in total: begin with 3 gentle minutes, continue at an easy effort for 9 minutes, then make the final 3 minutes gentle. There is no pace or distance target.

Day 2

Rest

No scheduled plan activity today.

Day 3

Easy walk · 15 min

Walk for 15 minutes in total: begin with 3 gentle minutes, continue at an easy effort for 9 minutes, then make the final 3 minutes gentle. There is no pace or distance target.

Day 4

Rest

No scheduled plan activity today.

Day 5

Rest

No scheduled plan activity today.

Day 6

Easy walk · 20 min

Walk for 20 minutes in total: begin with 4 gentle minutes, continue at an easy effort for 12 minutes, then make the final 4 minutes gentle. There is no pace or distance target.

Day 7

Rest

No scheduled plan activity today.

Week 2 · Walking foundation3 sessions · 25 min longest

65 planned minutes, including every walking and running interval.

Day 1

Easy walk · 20 min

Walk for 20 minutes in total: begin with 4 gentle minutes, continue at an easy effort for 12 minutes, then make the final 4 minutes gentle. There is no pace or distance target.

Day 2

About this plan

Written for RGN as a general walking and running plan, not individual coaching or a promise of a result. Later changes never rewrite your saved copy.

General references: Australian Government recommendations for adults aged 18 to 64, Australian 24-hour movement guidelines evidence report, CDC guide to measuring physical activity intensity, Healthdirect cardiovascular exercise guidance, NHS Couch to 5K. These sources inform general movement guidance; they do not endorse this exact RGN schedule.

A starting point that fits

If 15 minutes is too much today

Start outside this saved schedule with a shorter easy walk that you can finish comfortably, then try the same manageable amount again on another day. Build towards 15 comfortable minutes before choosing a start date.

If you can walk about five comfortable minutes and want a complete dated walking plan, choose Your first 30-minute walk. It is an alternative starting point, not a compulsory extra ten weeks, and it does not join onto Walk Run Achieve automatically.

Your private copy

Adjust one session at a time.

Choose any start date. Your sessions fall on day 1, day 3 and day 6 of each seven-day plan week, with recovery between them. The plan does not force a Monday start or a Sunday event.

Use the existing session editor to adjust individual future sessions when repeating, shortening or stepping back would help. Editing one session does not repeat a whole week or move every later date. Do not double the next session to repay a missed session.

Your private notes and activity links stay separate from Pathway reading progress. Completing a session automatically adds a map-free Training card with controlled activity and planned-workout facts. Your whole Journey stays Private until you choose its visibility. External sharing is a separate choice and can include an explicitly selected supported map.

Useful guidance

Bring the question you have today.

Get ready without overcomplicating it for practical preparation.
Make room for recovery when the three-session rhythm needs adjusting.
Food and drink around your activity for wider context.
Find the support you need when individual advice would help.

These guides add context. They do not add compulsory sessions or change Training progress.

Make a private copy Compare all plans

Opening Training

Before you begin

How the plan fits together

Your 22 weeks

About this plan

If 15 minutes is too much today

Adjust one session at a time.

Bring the question you have today.