Sub-Elite Maintenance Running Plan: 70 to 100 km a Week

A sub-elite maintenance plan holds 85 km a week on six runs, with 22 km long runs, a 30-minute tempo and 5 × 4 minutes at interval pace. It runs in four-week blocks, three steady weeks and one lighter. It fits runners who train 70 to 100 km a week and need a stretch between race builds that keeps the engine without the specific work.

The 8 weeks

Sample plan · Sub-elite maintenance

8 weeks, 6 runs a week, 86 km a week, longest run 22 km. Built for a recent 5k of 16:00 (VDOT 64.6). 79 % of the running is easy.

Maintain

Week	Km	Key sessions	Long run
1 Maintain	85	Cruise intervals: 5 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog); Long intervals: 5 × 4 min I (4 min jog)	22 km long run
2 Maintain	85	Tempo run: 30 min T; 30/15 sets: 3 × (13 × 30 s I / 15 s jog), 3 min between sets	22 km progressive long run
3 Maintain	85	Broken tempo: 3 × 10 min T (2 min jog); Hill repeats: 12 × 75 s I (2 min jog)	22 km long run
4 Maintain, recovery	64	Progression run: 22 min M · 22 min T; 1000 m repeats: 4 × 1000 m I (400 m jog)	22 km long run
5 Maintain	85	Cruise intervals: 5 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog); Long intervals: 5 × 4 min I (4 min jog)	22 km long run
6 Maintain	86	Tempo run: 30 min T; 30/15 sets: 3 × (13 × 30 s I / 15 s jog), 3 min between sets	22 km progressive long run
7 Maintain	85	Broken tempo: 3 × 10 min T (2 min jog); 5k time trial	22 km long run
8 Maintain, recovery	64	Progression run: 22 min M · 22 min T; 1000 m repeats: 4 × 1000 m I (400 m jog)	22 km long run

Open this plan with your own race time →

The sample runner has a 16:00 5k and runs six days a week:

• Weeks 1 to 3. About 85 km each. Threshold rotates through 5 × 1.6 km cruise intervals, a 30-minute tempo and 3 × 10 minutes broken tempo. Intervals rotate through 5 × 4 minutes, three sets of 30/15 and 12 hill repeats of 75 seconds. The long run is 22 km, easy one week and progressive the next.
• Week 4. 64 km. A 22-minute marathon-pace plus 22-minute threshold progression and 4 × 1000 m. The long run stays at 22 km, because at this volume it is the plan's cap, not a stretch.
• Weeks 5 to 8. The same block again, with a 5k time trial in week 7.

Who this plan is for

Maintenance levels come from weekly volume, because there is no race time to aim at. Sub-elite is 70 to 100 km a week. Enter your own volume in the generator and the plan holds it. Leave it empty and it uses 85 km. A recent race sets every pace through Jack Daniels' VDOT.

What stays and what drops

A race build at this level carries three kinds of hard work: threshold, intervals and race-specific running, such as marathon-pace blocks or 10k-pace reps. Maintenance keeps the first two and drops the third.

• Threshold stays. Cruise intervals, tempo and broken tempo, at full pace.
• Intervals stay. 4-minute reps, 30/15 sets and hill repeats.
• Race-specific work drops. No race-pace reps and no long marathon-pace blocks. The progressive long run and the recovery-week progression run keep marathon pace in the legs.
• Volume holds flat. No weekly increase, a lighter fourth week at 75 %.

The research supports that split. VO2max held for fifteen weeks when intensity stayed, even with training cut to two days a week (Hickson and Rosenkoetter 1981). A review of the maintenance research found the same with volume cut by a third to two thirds (Spiering et al. 2021). Cutting intensity instead lost VO2max and long-term endurance within the same time (Hickson et al. 1985).

That leaves room. At 85 km you are well above the minimum. Use the band to recover from a hard season, or cut toward 70 km if life needs the hours.

Where this plan stops

The generator plans six runs a week, no doubles, and holds the long run at 22 km. If you run doubles, keep the plan's two quality days and the long run as the skeleton and add your easy runs around them. The paces stay correct, because they come from your race time.

Your own plan

The maintenance running plan generator builds your block from your weekly volume, your running days, your long-run day and a recent race. Pick 4, 8 or 12 weeks. Free, no account, PDF included.

FAQ

How long can a sub-elite runner stay in maintenance? The plan tops out at 12 weeks, inside the 15 weeks the research covers. After that, start a race build or a fresh block from a new time trial.

Should I drop to 70 km or hold 85? Either holds fitness if both quality days stay. Hold more if the next build starts soon, drop if you need the recovery.

Why no race-pace work at all? Race-specific work is what a build adds in its last weeks. Maintenance keeps the engine that work sits on.

Can I race during a maintenance block? Yes, in place of the interval session. The plan never puts two hard days in a row, and a race counts as one.

Only need your training paces? Enter a recent race:

More in this series: the beginner, intermediate and advanced maintenance plans, and the sub-elite marathon plan.

Sources

• Hickson and Rosenkoetter 1981, reduced training frequency
• Spiering et al. 2021, minimal dose to maintain performance
• Hickson et al. 1985, reduced training intensity

Cover image: TrainingZones.