Most people don’t need a more advanced running app. They need someone to answer one question, three times a week: “What should I do today?”

That’s what training plans in iRunning are for. Pick a goal, and every session is laid out for you — warm-ups, run/walk intervals, recovery days — in the right order, at the right progression.

The plans

Each plan is a multi-week program of scheduled sessions, built from the same intervals the rest of the app runs:

  • Start Walking — the on-ramp. Brisk-walk sessions that build a habit before they build a runner. This plan is completely free.
  • 0→5K — the classic journey from run/walk intervals to running 5 kilometers without stopping.
  • 5K→10K — for runners who own the 5K and want to double it, mixing longer steady runs with quality sessions.
  • Weight Loss Kickstart — consistent, sustainable sessions built around time on feet, not punishing intensity.

What a plan session looks like

A plan session is just a workout the app has already built for you. Week 3 of 0→5K might be: 5-minute warm-up walk, then 6× (90 seconds run / 2 minutes walk), 5-minute cool-down. You press start, and iRunning runs it like any other workout — voice cues, countdown beeps, the big number on the screen or your Watch, GPS tracking the whole way.

No reading a table, no memorizing what week you’re in. The plan remembers for you.

Progression that respects how bodies work

Good plans get harder slowly, and not in a straight line. iRunning’s plans follow the rules coaches actually use:

  • Gradual load — weekly volume grows gently, never in big jumps
  • Cutback weeks — every few weeks, a lighter week lets your body absorb the training
  • Real rest days — recovery is scheduled, not implied

The point isn’t to survive the plan; it’s to finish it feeling like running is something you do now.

Progress you can see

The plan screen shows where you stand: sessions done, sessions ahead, and milestones as you pass them — your first continuous 10 minutes, your longest run yet, the halfway mark. Finish a session and it’s logged with full stats like any other run. Finish the plan and there’s a proper celebration waiting.

And because plans are built from ordinary iRunning workouts, nothing is locked away: you can look at any session in advance, and when the plan ends, you graduate into building your own.

Which plan should you pick?

  • Haven’t exercised in a while? Start Walking. It’s free, and it works.
  • Can walk briskly for 30 minutes? 0→5K.
  • Already running 5K comfortably? 5K→10K.
  • Main goal is the scale, not the stopwatch? Weight Loss Kickstart.

The first session takes less than half an hour. The plan handles everything after that.