• For Beginners


• For races from 10 to 12km with 200 to 400m of climb


• Designed for those who want to train with a heartrate monitor


• Introductory pack included with the plan


• Longest training session is 1.5 hours


• Most training hours in one week is 3 hours

This is a beginners programme

You do not need to be an experienced runner to begin this programme. It starts with 30 to 40 minutes of steady running 3 times per week, so if you can do this you are ready to start the programme.

There are three training sessions prescribed for each week, so it is ideal for those who do not have much time.

Training days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, but so long as you leave a day in between sessions, you could use different regular training days.

The plan has your target race on Sunday, but it could be a Saturday race.

It is based on heartrate zones, but can be adapted for those who do not have a heartrate monitor.

If you are not sure about training zones and would like to know more before you buy you can check out this blog created by John: What does a heart rate monitor tell you?

• Weeks 1- 3 work on endurance.


• Weeks 4 - 8 work on endurance as well as up-hill running strength and down-hill running skills.


• Weeks 9 -12 work race specific skills and putting it all together.

It is based on 3 week cycles (2 weeks hard and one week easy).