This six-week training program is designed for beginner run/walkers who want to run 3 miles without stopping. This training schedule (see plan and printable version below) is a run/walk to continuous running program.
Each week, you’ll make a slight increase to your running distance and a decrease in your walking distance. After six weeks, you’ll be able to run 3 miles without walking breaks.
To start this program, you’ll need to be able to run for 5 minutes without stopping. If you’re not quite ready for that, check out this Learn to Run a Mile beginner training schedule or this Run 2 Miles Without Stopping beginner schedule.
If you’re totally new to running, check out the below links to get some of the basics about running.
- Tips for Proper Running Form
- What to Wear Running
- How to Breathe When Running
- How Beginner Runners Can Build Endurance
How to Run 3 Miles Without Stopping
If you’re hoping to learn how to run 3 miles without stopping, this is the ideal program. You’ll start with run/walk intervals and build up to running continuously for 3 miles.
When you’re doing your workouts, use some of these strategies to keep running when you feel like stopping.
Before You Start ‘6 Weeks to Run 3 Miles’
You’ll need a timing device, such as a watch or your mobile phone, to measure your run/walk intervals. If you do the workouts on a treadmill, you can just use the machine’s timer.
You should start each run with a 5-minute warm-up walk or some warm-up exercises. After your workout, finish with a 5-minute cool-down walk. During your walk intervals, make sure you’re walking briskly and still using good running form .
You don’t have to do your runs on specific days, but try not to run two days in a row. You can either take a complete rest day or do cross-training the day after a run. Cross-training can be biking, yoga, strength-training, rowing, swimming, or other activity (just not running) that you enjoy.
If you find that this training program is moving too fast, you can always stay on a week. Just repeat that week’s workouts before moving on to the next week.
6 Week Beginner Training Schedule to Run 3 Miles
Week 1:
Day 1: Run 5 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 3x (15 minutes total running, 3 minutes total walking)
Day 2: Rest or cross-train
Day 3: Run 6 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 3x (18 minutes total running, 3 minutes total walking)
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 7 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 3x (21 minutes total running, 3 minutes total walking)
Day 6: Rest or cross-train
Day 7: Rest
Week 2:
Day 1: Run 7 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 3x
Day 2: Rest or cross-train
Day 3: Run 8 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 3x
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 9 minutes mile, walk 1 min – repeat 3x
Day 6: Rest or cross-train
Day 7: Rest
Week 3:
Day 1: Run 10 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 2x
Day 2: Cross-train
Day 3: Run 12 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 2x
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 13 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 2x
Day 6: Rest or cross-train
Day 7: Rest
Week 4:
Day 1: Run 15 minutes, walk 1 min – repeat 2x
Day 2: Cross-train
Day 3: Run 17 minutes, walk 1 min, run 8 min
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 19 minutes, walk 1 min, run 8 min
Day 6: Rest or cross-train
Day 7: Rest
Week 5:
Day 1: Run 20 minutes, walk 1 min, run 6 min
Day 2: Cross-train
Day 3: Run 24 minutes
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 26 minutes
Day 6: Rest or cross-train
Day 7: Rest
Week 6:
Day 1: Run 28 minutes
Day 2: Rest or cross-train
Day 3: Run 30 minutes
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 32 minutes
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Run 3 miles
Get a printable version of this training schedule, so you can check off your workouts (and rest days) as you go along!
After You’ve Completed the Run 3 Miles Program
Ready to move on? Try one of these training schedules:
Running coach, avid runner, and fitness writer Christine Luff is an RRCA-certified running coach and ACE-certified personal trainer. Founder of the website Run for Good and author of the book Run for Good: How to Create a Lifelong Running Habit, she coaches runners, from beginners to advanced, who are training for races, from 5Ks to marathons.
