5 KM Advanced Plan - L4

This is my 2nd training plan with Ben. Both have been incredibly easy to follow and continue to produce results!

If you are considering buying a training plan, which I assume you are since you are reading the reviews, I highly recommend it.
I want to share my thoughts, as this was my biggest concern when I was deciding whether to buy the plan. My main concern was whether the plan could accommodate all the different goals. Someone aiming for a 17-minute 5k time will follow a different pace than someone targeting 20, but they will do the same workout. And this is not just for the 5k plans, for the other distances, they follow the same structure, which is great. There is a table in miles and another in kilometres.
I really recommend the running plans, and I hope Ben continues with all the shoe reviews!

I've used this plan twice: once to run a sub-20 5k, and then to get my time down below 19 minutes. It's a very manageable amount of running that I was able to fit in around other commitments. The speed work is particularly helpful: I started to look forward to it after a while, and it really gave me confidence for race day. The strength exercises are also really good, and easy to follow. The second time around I ran 18:46 at Battersea Parkrun, which surpassed all my expectations! I definitely recommend giving this plan a go.

A great plan all paces & runs explained and plan show in both KM and Miles also weekly mileage and daily effort shown clearly . The Mrs has bought plans and followed and achieved PBs so hopefully the same for me.

Good plan, I hope I can reach my target following this plan. I like Ben's yt content so I decided to trust him and buy his plan

I have already completed Ben Parkes’ half marathon training plan twice and achieved a PB of 1 hour 30 minutes, and now I have also purchased the 5K plan to improve my time to under 20 minutes. Thank you, Ben, for the very well-structured plan, the variety of runs, and for being the best. I can’t wait to start training with this plan.

I started this plan with the hope of breaking sub-20 for a 5km after 10 weeks of training. I picked this plan up as I'd been watching Ben's YouTube channel for a while and found it really motivating. So, I thought I'd support his channel by making a purchase.

This program is well laid out, and the training days are flexible as long as you space out the quality sessions.

So far, I've completed 3 weeks of this plan. On week 4, I managed to catch a cold, so I decided to drop some workouts that week and wouldn't run until I felt completely recovered. I dropped the quality work that week as I thought it would prolong the recovery, as my body didn't need any more stress.

On the second rest day, I bounced back completely and felt great; my legs felt rested. This week was looking like a taper because of the extra rest, so I decided to check in and see where I was at. I turned up Saturday morning to do the local park run. I've attached a screenshot. This plan has increased my park run time by +90 seconds.

Other (Garmin estimated) performance metrics changed as well. My VO2 max increased from 49 to 52, and my LTHR improved by 15 seconds.

I would absolutely recommend this plan. Thank you Ben!

Easy to follow, fantastic sessions. This is my 5th plan I have bought. PB’s all day

Loved this 5K programme. Very well structured with varied sessions and a good amount of goal pace running which really helped me get comfortable at race pace. Ran a 19:20 in March and have just run an 18:25 with a strong headwind (possibly could have gone quicker!) absolutely made up with it and will be purchasing a marathon programme later in the year. Thanks a lot Ben!

Lays out a program and gets you running faster. I especially like the pace charts. My only complaint is this level is a bit low on mileage.

After using one of Ben's Marathon plans, which got me a sub 4 hour on my first Marathon, I have purchased the 5k improver to wedge in before Brighton training block begins. These plans are great value for money and it doesn't matter if you work in miles or kms as these plans cover both.
Very easy to follow with even suggested paces for the various workouts for the time you are aiming for
I thouroughly recommend giving one a try

I am on my third plan now. I’ve PB’d in 10k, HM and hopefully I will achieve my goal with 5k too. These plans are detailed but easy to follow. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them and it’s given me the focus I needed.

Keep up the great work and thank you :)

Ben Parkes' 5k advanced plan was easy to follow, motivating and totally doable. I really enjoyed the structure each week. After a month of knee injury holding me back at the start of the season, this plan finally got me to a sub-20 minute 5k, a time I had been chasing for so long! Thanks so much!

Very clear and easy to follow. I previously purchased marathon plan which got me the time I wanted so looking forward to starting this one.

Great and detailed program.

I am a student , dad and full time waiter and love how this 5k plan integrates to my daily life

Late, but better than never, I discovered running at the age of 47. That doesn’t mean I hadn’t run before, but for the past six months I’ve been taking it seriously—with a lactate test and a training plan tailored specifically to me by a coach. So far, so good! I ran the half marathon in Bratislava in 95 minutes. Now I want more: 5 km under 20 minutes, 10 km under 40, a faster half marathon than before, and maybe even a marathon someday—if I can run it in under 3 hours.

Personal training plans can get expensive over time, and by now I have a pretty good understanding of running as a discipline. That’s why this training plan from Ben is exactly right for me! He has taken everything into account, including a recovery week and tapering. I’m very confident that I’ll be able to run sub-20 once I’ve completed the plan.

I’ll let you know the result! 😉

Klaus

Just bought this for my nephew. I used it earlier this year and got the sub 20 time I trained for at a race with over 1200 entrants and won the masters (40+) division. Not bad for a 57 year old! My 22 year old nephew asked for the plan to try
and accomplish his own sub 20 goal. It’s the first plan I’ve used that included a pace chart - previous ones used perceived effort - and I think that made me push much harder in training.

I hit 5k in 20:41 13 weeks ago. Then i decided to try Ben's plan and hell yeah, it worked! Today i hit exactly 19:38! Thank you. Next year we have another goal waiting, under 19! Gl every1 And thank you!

A well made running plan for 5k. Clear week-by-week instructions and a strength and conditioning set of exercises.

This is the First Training plan Ive have ever followed after Years of making it up as I go along.I have a 5k pb of 19.43 and Im hoping to improve on this on My 57th birthday at the end of Sept.Already I feel more discplined and a have Real Plan to help Me achieve My Goal!

I’ve tried a few of Ben’s plans at different distances and have really enjoyed them—whether I’ve had a specific event in mind or just wanted some structure and motivation to keep improving. They’re excellent value for the price, user-friendly, and the content is both accurate and well thought out. The plans are ambitious but sensible, striking a great balance that pushes you without risking overtraining or injury.

The plan is clear, and I love the variability of workouts. I go back to this even when I'm not training for a race to get ideas for intervals and strength training.

Really like the unique speed workouts each week. Means I dint get bored

I have followed Bens training plans for Half marathon, 10k and Marathon so getting the 5k plan was a 'no brainer'. Very informative and easy to follow and would recommend getting teh strength and conditioning part to prevent the injuries

This is my 2nd training plan with Ben. Both have been incredibly easy to follow and continue to produce results!

If you are considering buying a training plan, which I assume you are since you are reading the reviews, I highly recommend it.
I want to share my thoughts, as this was my biggest concern when I was deciding whether to buy the plan. My main concern was whether the plan could accommodate all the different goals. Someone aiming for a 17-minute 5k time will follow a different pace than someone targeting 20, but they will do the same workout. And this is not just for the 5k plans, for the other distances, they follow the same structure, which is great. There is a table in miles and another in kilometres.
I really recommend the running plans, and I hope Ben continues with all the shoe reviews!

I've used this plan twice: once to run a sub-20 5k, and then to get my time down below 19 minutes. It's a very manageable amount of running that I was able to fit in around other commitments. The speed work is particularly helpful: I started to look forward to it after a while, and it really gave me confidence for race day. The strength exercises are also really good, and easy to follow. The second time around I ran 18:46 at Battersea Parkrun, which surpassed all my expectations! I definitely recommend giving this plan a go.

A great plan all paces & runs explained and plan show in both KM and Miles also weekly mileage and daily effort shown clearly . The Mrs has bought plans and followed and achieved PBs so hopefully the same for me.

Good plan, I hope I can reach my target following this plan. I like Ben's yt content so I decided to trust him and buy his plan

I have already completed Ben Parkes’ half marathon training plan twice and achieved a PB of 1 hour 30 minutes, and now I have also purchased the 5K plan to improve my time to under 20 minutes. Thank you, Ben, for the very well-structured plan, the variety of runs, and for being the best. I can’t wait to start training with this plan.

I started this plan with the hope of breaking sub-20 for a 5km after 10 weeks of training. I picked this plan up as I'd been watching Ben's YouTube channel for a while and found it really motivating. So, I thought I'd support his channel by making a purchase.

This program is well laid out, and the training days are flexible as long as you space out the quality sessions.

So far, I've completed 3 weeks of this plan. On week 4, I managed to catch a cold, so I decided to drop some workouts that week and wouldn't run until I felt completely recovered. I dropped the quality work that week as I thought it would prolong the recovery, as my body didn't need any more stress.

On the second rest day, I bounced back completely and felt great; my legs felt rested. This week was looking like a taper because of the extra rest, so I decided to check in and see where I was at. I turned up Saturday morning to do the local park run. I've attached a screenshot. This plan has increased my park run time by +90 seconds.

Other (Garmin estimated) performance metrics changed as well. My VO2 max increased from 49 to 52, and my LTHR improved by 15 seconds.

I would absolutely recommend this plan. Thank you Ben!

Easy to follow, fantastic sessions. This is my 5th plan I have bought. PB’s all day

Loved this 5K programme. Very well structured with varied sessions and a good amount of goal pace running which really helped me get comfortable at race pace. Ran a 19:20 in March and have just run an 18:25 with a strong headwind (possibly could have gone quicker!) absolutely made up with it and will be purchasing a marathon programme later in the year. Thanks a lot Ben!

Lays out a program and gets you running faster. I especially like the pace charts. My only complaint is this level is a bit low on mileage.

After using one of Ben's Marathon plans, which got me a sub 4 hour on my first Marathon, I have purchased the 5k improver to wedge in before Brighton training block begins. These plans are great value for money and it doesn't matter if you work in miles or kms as these plans cover both.
Very easy to follow with even suggested paces for the various workouts for the time you are aiming for
I thouroughly recommend giving one a try

I am on my third plan now. I’ve PB’d in 10k, HM and hopefully I will achieve my goal with 5k too. These plans are detailed but easy to follow. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them and it’s given me the focus I needed.

Keep up the great work and thank you :)

Ben Parkes' 5k advanced plan was easy to follow, motivating and totally doable. I really enjoyed the structure each week. After a month of knee injury holding me back at the start of the season, this plan finally got me to a sub-20 minute 5k, a time I had been chasing for so long! Thanks so much!

Very clear and easy to follow. I previously purchased marathon plan which got me the time I wanted so looking forward to starting this one.

Great and detailed program.

I am a student , dad and full time waiter and love how this 5k plan integrates to my daily life

Late, but better than never, I discovered running at the age of 47. That doesn’t mean I hadn’t run before, but for the past six months I’ve been taking it seriously—with a lactate test and a training plan tailored specifically to me by a coach. So far, so good! I ran the half marathon in Bratislava in 95 minutes. Now I want more: 5 km under 20 minutes, 10 km under 40, a faster half marathon than before, and maybe even a marathon someday—if I can run it in under 3 hours.

Personal training plans can get expensive over time, and by now I have a pretty good understanding of running as a discipline. That’s why this training plan from Ben is exactly right for me! He has taken everything into account, including a recovery week and tapering. I’m very confident that I’ll be able to run sub-20 once I’ve completed the plan.

I’ll let you know the result! 😉

Klaus

Just bought this for my nephew. I used it earlier this year and got the sub 20 time I trained for at a race with over 1200 entrants and won the masters (40+) division. Not bad for a 57 year old! My 22 year old nephew asked for the plan to try
and accomplish his own sub 20 goal. It’s the first plan I’ve used that included a pace chart - previous ones used perceived effort - and I think that made me push much harder in training.

I hit 5k in 20:41 13 weeks ago. Then i decided to try Ben's plan and hell yeah, it worked! Today i hit exactly 19:38! Thank you. Next year we have another goal waiting, under 19! Gl every1 And thank you!

A well made running plan for 5k. Clear week-by-week instructions and a strength and conditioning set of exercises.

This is the First Training plan Ive have ever followed after Years of making it up as I go along.I have a 5k pb of 19.43 and Im hoping to improve on this on My 57th birthday at the end of Sept.Already I feel more discplined and a have Real Plan to help Me achieve My Goal!

I’ve tried a few of Ben’s plans at different distances and have really enjoyed them—whether I’ve had a specific event in mind or just wanted some structure and motivation to keep improving. They’re excellent value for the price, user-friendly, and the content is both accurate and well thought out. The plans are ambitious but sensible, striking a great balance that pushes you without risking overtraining or injury.

The plan is clear, and I love the variability of workouts. I go back to this even when I'm not training for a race to get ideas for intervals and strength training.

Really like the unique speed workouts each week. Means I dint get bored

I have followed Bens training plans for Half marathon, 10k and Marathon so getting the 5k plan was a 'no brainer'. Very informative and easy to follow and would recommend getting teh strength and conditioning part to prevent the injuries