At first blush, running is an intimidating sport. (What do you mean you don’t stop for miles at a time?) One of the biggest misconceptions about picking up the pace is that you have to go long and hard for the miles to “count”—but that’s just not true. Especially at the beginning, interval workouts can help you build your mileage while still reaping the heart-healthy, mood-boosting benefits of picking up the pace. So if you’re looking for a walk-run interval workout to kickstart your 5K, 10K, or—hey—even just one-mile dreams, trainer Tara Nicolas has you covered.

As part of Well+Good’s ReNew Year Movement Program, Nicolas asked Well+Good readers to incorporate running-walking intervals that vary in effort, recovery periods, and duration. These types of workouts are fast and fun, but they also pack their fair share of benefits. Some surveys have shown that walking-running methods—like the Galloway Run-Walk-Run—can actually help you cut half a minute off your average mile time overall during a marathon. And on top of that, you’ll also reap all the usual rewards of walking and running. It’s a win, win, win.

Ahead, you’ll find Nicolas’ killer interval workout that you can adapt for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or even longer durations if you want. Here’s your starting line!

15-to-30 minute walk-run interval workout

1. 1.
   3-minute warm-up (slow walk or slow jog)
2. 2.
   30-second interval at an eight effort followed by one minute of recovery pace (four effort). Repeat one time.
3. 3.
   45-second interval at an eight effort followed by one minute of recovery. Repeat one time.
4. 4.
   Recover for 3 minutes, then repeat the full workout one more time (skipping the three-minute warm-up), if desired.

Hooked on interval training? Here’s another fun workout to try: 

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