Frequently Asked Questions

You enter your race distance, goal time, experience, current weekly distance and the days you can train. YearRoundRunning uses that information to build a running plan with weekly distances, workouts, training paces and recovery weeks.

Yes. You can create an account, generate a personalized running plan, save it and follow the full schedule for free. You only pay if you want extra features such as editing, adaptive adjustments or full plan exports.

You can enter your details and preview your plan without an account. To save and follow the full plan, you need a free account.

You can create plans for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon or a custom race distance.

Yes. Enter your race date and the generator will build the schedule around the time you have available. You can also choose the number of training weeks yourself.

Yes. Enter a goal time and the generator will use it to calculate your target race pace and recommended training paces. Choose a goal that fits your current level, not just the time you would ideally like to run.

Yes. You can choose between 2 and 7 running days per week and select which day you prefer for your long run.

Yes. You can build your plan in kilometers or miles.

The algorithm uses your experience, starting weekly distance, race goal and available training weeks to set your training load. It divides the plan into phases and includes easier weeks and a taper where appropriate.

No. The plans are created by a rules-based algorithm I built for YearRoundRunning. I use AI to help with parts of the coding, but the training rules and how the plans are built are set by the algorithm.

Yes. Your experience and starting weekly distance are part of the calculation. If you cannot run continuously yet, the free Couch to 5K plan is a better starting point.

That is fine. You can generate a plan with 2 or 3 running days. Just keep in mind that training fewer days may limit how much you can realistically improve, especially for longer races.

Depending on the plan, you can expect easy runs, long runs, tempo runs, intervals and recovery runs. Each serves a different purpose, so not every run should feel hard.

Training paces are based on your goal and the type of workout. Easy runs are meant to be easier than tempo runs or intervals. Use the recommended pace as a guide and adjust for heat, hills and how you feel.

Yes. Longer plans include recovery weeks to keep training manageable. Half marathon and marathon plans also include a taper before race day.

Yes. You can include strength training when generating your plan. The strength routines are available for free.

Do not try to make up every missed workout. If you miss one run, you can usually continue as planned. After a longer break, reduce the load if needed rather than jumping straight back into your hardest week.

Yes, with the full plan upgrade. You can adjust workouts, distances and paces or add and remove runs. Without the upgrade, you can still generate a new free plan.

Adaptive adjustments are available with the paid upgrade. Your logged training, including distance, pace and how a run felt, can be used to adjust upcoming training targets.

Yes. You can follow workouts using effort and heart rate as a guide. You do not need a heart rate monitor to use YearRoundRunning, and pace alone is not always the best measure on hills or in hot weather.

You can use the custom distance option for longer races and adapt workouts for trails. However, the generator is mainly designed around road running and does not currently account specifically for elevation gain, technical terrain or other ultra-specific demands.

The full personalized training schedule is free once you create an account. You can save your plan, see all training weeks and use the strength routines without paying.

The full upgrade adds plan editing, adaptive training adjustments, additional plan tools and full exports to PDF, calendar and CSV.

A full upgrade for one plan costs $8.99. Export-only access costs $3.99. There is also a $29 option for a year of unlimited upgraded plans.

No. It is a one-time payment. You can create unlimited upgraded plans during that year, and plans upgraded during the year remain upgraded afterwards.

Yes. You can export the first week as a PDF for free. Full plan PDF, calendar and CSV exports are available with the export-only or full upgrade.

No. YearRoundRunning works directly in your browser on your phone or computer.

I am Quentin van Bentum, a runner from the Netherlands. I started YearRoundRunning in 2025 after years of training for marathons and ultramarathons, including races over 100 km.

I started with my own running experience and established training principles. Since then I have improved the algorithm using feedback from coaches, competitive runners and running communities. I still make changes when I find something that can be improved.

A standard plan usually assumes everyone has the same starting point and schedule. YearRoundRunning uses your current weekly distance, experience, goal and available days to create a plan that fits your situation.

Yes. There are also free tools for calculating running pace, heart rate zones, VO2 max, race splits, fueling and more.