Garmin Connect IQ app · walk-to-run plan
From walking
to running 5 km
in 9 weeks.
5K Rise guides every run from your wrist with clear vibrations, adjusts the plan to how each run went and helps you avoid injuries. No phone setup and no test run: open the app and go.
The plan
Today’s run, ready on the start screen
- 9 weeks, 3 runs a week
Week 1 starts with 1-minute runs between walks; in week 9 you run 30 minutes without stopping.
- Warm-up and final walk
Every run starts with a 5-minute warm-up walk and ends with a 5-minute final walk.
- Outdoors or on a treadmill
With GPS outdoors, without GPS on the treadmill. The app remembers your last choice.
- Start where you are
Already running a little? Start from any week, 1 to 9.
Today
PlanGuided by vibration
Eyes up. The watch tells you when.
A run from week 3: 25 minutes, four runs with walks between. Every switch has its own vibration, and three soft ticks count down the last 3 seconds before it.
Every switch
3 short, 1 long
3 short = run, 1 long = walk. Three soft ticks count down the last 3 seconds, so you don’t need to look at the watch.
Longer runs
Halfway buzz
A short buzz halfway through runs of 10 minutes or more, and two long buzzes when the final walk begins.
Quiet
No beeps
Vibration only, and a new lap at every switch. Red light? Skip a walk segment from the menu.
Switch
Slow downYou can’t miss it
RUN! across the whole screen
At every switch a full-screen RUN! or WALK, so a glance is enough even mid-stride.
Optional heart rate guard, off by default: if your heart rate stays above your Garmin zone 3 while running, a calm “Slow down” reminds you to run slowly enough to talk. Needs heart rate zones set in Garmin.
The 9 weeks
From 8 × 1:00 to 30:00
The runs of every week. The total adds the walks between runs, the 5-minute warm-up walk and the 5-minute final walk.
| Week | Runs | Running | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 8 × 1:00 | 8 min | 28:30 |
| Week 2 | 6 × 1:30 | 9 min | 29:00 |
| Week 3 | 2 × (1:30 + 3:00) | 9 min | 25:00 |
| Week 4 | 3:00 · 5:00 · 3:00 · 5:00 | 16 min | 31:30 |
| Week 5 | 13 × 5:0028:00 + 8:00320:00 | 15 min16 min20 min | 31:0031:0030:00 |
| Week 6 | 15:00 · 8:00 · 5:00210:00 + 10:00325:00 | 18 min20 min25 min | 34:0033:0035:00 |
| Week 7 | 25:00 | 25 min | 35:00 |
| Week 8 | 28:00 | 28 min | 38:00 |
| Week 9 | 30:00 | 30 min | 40:00 |
Weeks 5 and 6 have three different runs. You can repeat a week any time.
A plan that adapts
A hard run is a signal, not a failure
- “How did it go?”
After every run: Easy, OK or Hard. Two hard runs in a week, or a hard last run of the week, and the app offers to repeat the week. Repeating a week is a normal part of the plan.
- “Any pain?”
If yes, the app suggests 2 days of rest and seeing a doctor if the pain persists, and offers to repeat the week. It never tells you to push through pain.
- Rest-day guard
If you ran yesterday or today, the app suggests resting today. You can still run.
- Back after a break
After more than 10 days the app offers to start the week again from run 1, after more than 21 days to go one week back.
- Stopped early?
A run stopped early doesn’t move the plan on. It stays in your history and you simply do it again next time.
How did it go?
Repeat week
Any pain?
Rest day
Walk
After week 9Your runs are safe
Every run in Garmin Connect
- Saved as a run
As a run or treadmill run, with a lap for every run and walk segment and the week, run number, completion and run/walk segment as extra fields.
- Never lost
If the app or the watch restarts during a run, you can pick it up again.
- History and glance
Your runs, including how each one felt. The glance shows the week, run 1–3, your 9 weeks at a glance and when the next run is.
- After week 9
A graduation screen with your time, distance, runs and weeks. Keep it up in maintenance mode, 30 minutes 3 times a week, or start over.
Questions
Before you buy
Can I start from zero?
Yes. Week 1 is 1-minute runs between walks, and every run starts with a 5-minute warm-up walk. 5K Rise is a training aid, not medical advice: if you have health problems or have not been active for a long time, talk to a doctor before you start.
What if a run is too hard?
Answer Hard after the run. Two hard runs in a week, or a hard last run of the week, and the app offers to repeat the week. You can also repeat a week any time yourself.
Do I need a chest strap?
No. The plan is timed, not driven by heart rate. Heart rate from the wrist is shown during the run and used by the optional heart rate guard; a connected chest strap works too.
Does it beep?
Never. Every cue is a vibration: 3 short = run, 1 long = walk.
Do I need my phone?
No. On the watch, the ☰ icon next to UP (press UP or tap it) opens the settings and the history. The same settings (heart rate guard, start week, language) are also in the Connect IQ phone app.
What if I miss a few days?
After more than 10 days without a run the app offers to start the week again from run 1, after more than 21 days to go one week back.
Which watches?
70 round Garmin watches with Connect IQ 5: Forerunner, Venu, vívoactive, fēnix, epix, Enduro, Instinct 3 AMOLED and more. The store shows the exact list.
Which languages?
English, Slovak, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish and Dutch.
Your first 5K starts with a walk
One-time purchase of €3.99. No subscription, no account, no phone setup.
Get it on Connect IQ