Getting My 10k Time Down to 36 Minutes

I've been running now for some 8 months and have recently joined a club. I'm 6ft, slim and weigh 11 stone. Perfect running physique. I've done a few competitive races with the most recent race being a 10k where I got a time of 38:48.

I set off on this run doing splits of under 6 minute miles for the first 5k and then my legs start to go heavy and I have to drop my pace.

I would like to know what it is:

• Whether it could be just inexperience and I need to just keep running and it will come?
• Whether it is to do with training?
• Maybe I need to look at weight training for my legs?

Answer by Dom:
Eight months of running, already racing competitively and clocking 38:48 for a 10k — that's a genuinely strong start. You clearly have natural ability, and the fact that you held under 6-minute-mile pace for the first 5k tells me the raw speed is there. Dropping 2 minutes 48 seconds to reach 36:00 is ambitious, but with 12–18 months of consistent, structured training it is absolutely achievable for someone in your position.

I also want to reassure you — you didn't do something catastrophically wrong in that race. What happened to you is one of the most common experiences in 10k running, and once you understand it you'll never make the same mistake twice.

I'll break this down as follows:

1. What happened in your race — the lactic acid problem explained
2. What a 36-minute 10k actually demands in pace terms
3. The training levers that will get you there

What Happened in Your Race

A 10k race is run at a pace that is slightly faster than your lactate threshold — the pace at which your body can just about keep up with clearing the lactic acid accumulating in your muscles. Run a little faster than that threshold and lactic acid starts to build. Push far enough past it and the build-up becomes unmanageable — your muscles stop functioning properly and you're forced to slow down.

That is exactly what happened to you. You went out at a pace your body couldn't sustain for the full 10 kilometres. By 5k, there was too much lactic acid in your legs and the wheels came off. It felt like your legs went heavy — which is precisely what lactic acid does.

The 10k is one of the most unforgiving distances to pace. I've had races myself where I misjudged it in the final 200 metres — almost perfect, but that small excess in the preceding 9.8 kilometres cost me time right at the death. You'll get better at judging the right effort level — it's a skill that comes with racing experience as much as training. The more races you do, the better your internal pace sense becomes.

To answer your specific questions: it's not about weight training for your legs. And yes, there is an element of inexperience — but that inexperience manifests as pacing judgement, not fitness. The answer is to keep running, race more, and add some targeted training to push your lactate threshold upward.

What 36 Minutes Requires

A 36-minute 10k requires a pace of 3:36 per kilometre — just under 5:48 per mile, held consistently for the full distance. Your current 38:48 works out to approximately 3:53 per kilometre, so you need to find around 17 seconds per kilometre. That's a meaningful step up, but not an enormous leap from where you are now.

For context, 36 minutes puts you in the top few per cent of recreational runners in the UK. It's a genuine performance time — not elite, but well above average. For most people it's completely out of reach. For you, with your current base, it is a realistic long-term target.

Your 38:48 also predicts a 5k somewhere around 18:40–19:00, and a half marathon in the region of 1:26–1:28. These are useful benchmarks as your fitness develops — you'll likely hit personal bests at other distances along the way to your 10k goal, which is a good sign training is working.

I wouldn't expect 36 minutes within six months. But with 12–18 months of consistent training, you have every reason to be confident.

The Training Levers That Will Get You There

Here are the three things I'd focus on, in order of priority. None of these are quick fixes — but combined over months of consistent work, they will move you towards that 36-minute target.

1. Increase your weekly mileage through easy running
As a runner with eight months of experience, the single biggest performance lever is running more — particularly easy running. Most of your weekly volume should be at a genuinely easy pace: conversational, comfortable, almost boringly slow. This isn't wasted effort. Easy running builds your aerobic engine, improves your body's ability to use fat as fuel, strengthens connective tissue, and creates the base from which hard training works. Build gradually — no more than around 10% extra per week — and include a weekly long run at easy pace.

2. Add weekly tempo running
Once you have a consistent mileage base established, introduce a weekly tempo session. Tempo running — sustained effort at a comfortably hard pace, roughly 20–40 minutes — is the most direct way to push your lactate threshold upward. Over months of consistent tempo work, the pace at which lactic acid accumulates will shift higher, meaning you can race faster before hitting that wall. This is the core training tool for 10k improvement.

3. Structure your training in cycles
Rather than training the same way year-round, think in terms of training blocks: a base-building phase focused on easy mileage, a build phase where you introduce tempo work and some interval sessions, a peak phase targeting a specific race, and then a recovery period before the next cycle begins. Each cycle leaves you fitter than the last. The running training section has more detail on how to structure these different types of workouts.

On weight training for your legs — I wouldn't prioritise it at this stage. At eight months in, the returns from running-specific training are far greater than any strength work for 10k performance. Once you've built a solid base over the next year or so, some leg strength work can help with injury resilience — but it won't be what closes the gap to 36 minutes. Consistent running will.

You're in a great position — far better than most runners are after eight months. Keep showing up, build the base, and the times will follow. 🙂

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