Running Race Training 5K and 8K Training 4 Effective 30-Minute Running Workouts By Christine Luff twitter linkedin Christine Many Luff is a personal trainer, fitness nutrition specialist, and Road Runners Club of America Certified Coach. Learn about our editorial process Christine Luff Reviewed by Reviewed by John Honerkamp on July 23, 2019 twitter linkedin instagram John Honerkamp is an RRCA and USATF certified running coach, celebrity marathon pacer, and recognized leader in the New York City running community. Learn about our Review Board John Honerkamp on July 23, 2019 Print Verywell One of the great benefits of running is that you get a lot of “bang for your buck.” Even if you only have a half-hour to fit in a run, you can still burn a lot of calories and work on building your strength, speed, and endurance. Try some of these four quick but effective 30-minute running workouts. 1 30-Minute Hill Workout Running hills is an effective, high-calorie burning workout. Running on the treadmill is a great way to train on hills because you can control the grade and your knees and quads won’t get the stress of the downhills. Get started with this hill workout Warm-Up Warm up with 10-minute easy jog or walk. Toward the end of your warm-up, increase your speed for 10 seconds two or three times, so you get your legs used to turning over faster. Break these quick strides up with walking or even standing still. Main Set Once you've completed the warm-up, it's time to move on to the main part of your workout. Always remember to follow up with a slower recovery period followed by a cool down. Work interval: If you're on a treadmill, increase the incline to 3 or 4% and run for 1 minute. If you're running outside, look for a moderate hill that will take about a minute to run up. Run at a hard effort—similar to how you would feel if you were racing a 5K. Your breathing should be a bit labored and your legs should start to feel tired after a couple of repeats. Recovery interval: Lower incline to 1% and your speed, run for 1 minute at an easy pace. If you're running outside, recover downhill. Go at an easy pace (walk if you have to) to get your breathing back down to normal. Repeat work and recovery intervals 6 more times for a total of 7 work/rest intervals. Cool down: After your last recovery interval, finish with another 6 minutes of easy jogging. Don't skip the cool down part of your run—it allows your body to gradually recover and return to your normal heart rate. Try It Out Warm-up: 10-minute easy jogWork interval: 1 minute run hard effort @ 3-4% inclineRest interval: 1 minute at easy pace @ 1% inclineRepeat: Repeat work/rest interval 6 more timesCool down: 6 minutes easy jogging 2 30-Minute Ladder Workout Ladder workouts can be a fun workout because they always seem to fly by. As you're working on one interval, your mind is distracted because you're thinking about the next. This ladder workout has you running different paces, which also is an excellent boredom buster! If you're not sure what marathon, half-marathon, 10K, or 5K pace feels like, just focus on running each interval faster than the last. You should feel your heart rate increasing and your breathing should become more labored with each interval. The key is to not start the first interval too fast so that you're able to increase your pace for the remaining four intervals. For your recovery intervals, go at an easy pace. A slow jog is a good pace for recovery, but you can also walk. Try It Out Warm-up: 5 minute easy jogWork interval: 5 minutes at marathon pace (or 5 out of 10 on a perceived exertion scale of 1 to 10)Recovery interval: 1 minute at easy paceWork interval: 4 minutes at half marathon pace (or 6 out of 10 PE)Recovery interval: 1 minute at easy paceWork interval: 3 minutes at 10K pace (7 out of 10 PE)Recovery interval: 1 minute at easy paceWork interval: 2 minutes at 5K pace (8 out of 10 PE)Recovery interval: 1 minute at easy paceWork interval: 1 minute at hard (sprint) pace (9 out of 10 PE)Recovery interval: 1 minute at easy paceCool down: 5 minutes easy jogging 3 30-Minute Run and Strength Combo Workout If you want to add more strengthening to your training, but always seem to forget to do exercises post-run, this is a good workout for you. You'll combine run intervals with some muscle-strengthening exercises for a total body workout. Try It Out Warm-up: 5-minute easy jogRun: 1 minute at 5K paceStrength: 1 minute squatsRun: 2 minutes at 5K paceStrength: 1 minute walking lungesRun: 3 minutes at 5K paceStrength: 1 minute donkey kicksRun: 4 minutes at 5K paceStrength: 1 minute tricep dipsRun: 5 minutes at 5K paceStrength: 1 minute push-upsCool down: 5-minute easy jog 4 30-Minute Sprint Interval Workout Short bursts of speed help build strength, increase aerobic capacity, and get your legs used to the faster turnover. This is a fun workout to do outside, whether on a track or road, but can also be done on a treadmill. Set an easy pace for your recovery intervals. This can mean a slow jog but walking is fine if you need a slower pace. Try It Out Warm-up: 5-minute easy jogRun: 30-second speed interval (start with a fast, but not sprinting, pace for the first two or three times, then sprint full-out for the remaining intervals)Recover: 1 minute at easy paceRepeat: Do run/recover cycle again for total of 20 minutesCool down: 5-minute easy jog Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! If you're planning to run a 5K, you'll need to get in shape. Our free training guide will get you ready to run. Sign up and get it free! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Yusof, ZM, Misiran, M, Ibrahim, A. Running designs that affect calories burned. Jurnal Sains Sukan Dan Pendidkan Jasmani. 2018;7(2):103-112. Gist NH, Fedewa MV, Dishman RK, Cureton KJ. Sprint interval training effects on aerobic capacity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2014;44(2):269–279. doi:10.1007/s40279-013-0115-0