Bobby Baker, Race Director
USATF 5K Race Walk Championship
and the USA Junior Championship
Beginners' Training Schedule

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Developed by:

Dave McGovern
World Class Race Walking
www.racewalking.org
Mon.   Warm up, then walk fast for 30 seconds, then slow for 1 minute. Repeat 8-10 times.
Tues.   Easy 30 minutes.
Wed.   "Tempo walk." 15 minutes easy, then 10 minutes fast, then 5 minutes easy.
Thurs.   Easy 30 minutes
Fri.   Off
Sat.   Easy 3 miles
Sun.   Off
Mon.   Warm up, then walk fast for 1 minute, then slow for 1 minute. Repeat 8-10 times.
Tues.   Easy 30 minutes
Wed.   10 minutes easy, then 15 minutes fast, then 5 minutes easy.
Thurs.   Easy 30 minutes
Fri.   Off
Sat.   Easy 4 miles
Sun.   Off
Mon.   8 x 400m @ 5K pace.
Tues.   Easy 30 minutes
Wed.   5 minutes easy, then 20 minutes fast, then 5 minutes easy.
Thurs.   Easy 30 minutes
Fri.   Off
Sat.   Easy 5 miles
Sun.   Off
Mon.   Warm up, then 10 x 200-meters (1/2 lap or 1 minute) fast with 1:00 easy walking rests.
Tues.   Easy 45 minutes
Wed.   5 minutes easy, then 25 minutes fast, then 5 minutes easy.
Thurs.   Easy 30 minutes
Fri.   Off
Sat.   Easy 6 miles
Sun.   Off
Mon.   Warm up, then 8 x 400m (1 lap) at 5K pace with 2:00 rests.
Tues.   Easy 30 minutes
Wed.   5 minutes easy, then 30 minutes fast, then 5 minutes easy.
Thurs.   Easy 30 minutes
Fri.   Off
Sat.   Easy 4 miles
Sun.   Off
Mon.   Warm up, then 2 x 1K or 3 x 800 meters (1/2 mile) at 5K race pace with 1:00 rests.
Tues.   Easy 30 minutes
Wed.   Warm up, then 6 x 400-meters at 5K race pace with 1:00 rests.
Thurs.   Off or easy 20 minutes walk.
Fri.   Easy 20 minutes walk, then 4 x :30 seconds fast with :30 second rests.
Sat.   USATF National 5K Championship
Notes:
  • A standard high-school or college track is 400 meters around, or just short of 1/4 mile.
  • 1 Kilometer ("1K") is 2 1/2 times around (2 1/2 "laps"). 1 mile is about 4 laps, while 5K is 12 1/2 laps.
  • A standard warm up would be 10 - 15 minutes of easy walking. The pace should get gradually faster through the warm up. After the warm up, most walkers do flexibility drills (many can be found at www.Race Walking.org) then a few "accelerations," which are short (10 - 15 seconds) but fast sprints to get the muscles really ready to walk.
  • What is 5K "race pace" if you've never raced a 5K? It should be a bit faster than your pace on the fast parts of your Thursday "tempo" walks.
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