Breaking a personal time barrier is no easy feat. While it could be as simple as following a time goal-based training plan, it’s often the small details of your workouts that give you an edge and help you break through plateaus.
To let you in on the secrets to speed, Runner’s World went straight to the source and connected with five professional runners and coaches of different distances—from sprinters to ultramarathoners—and uncovered their top tips to help you Download Your Training Plan.
No matter what type of runner you are, what stage of life you’re in, or what goal you set for yourself, these five strategies for increasing running speed can get you faster.
Build Speed on Top of an Endurance Base
The Expert: Diljeet Taylor, head women’s cross-country coach and associate director of track and field at BYU and head coach of Nike’s Swoosh Track Club branch in Provo, Utah
A complete training plan for any distance includes both with 150-meter walk and 50-meter slow jog between to arrive back at your starting point workouts.
Aerobic training, in very simple terms, refers to longer endurance-based efforts where anaerobic training, on the other hand, is your shorter speed work. Working on both systems is absolutely crucial to a runner’s training and, according to Taylor, building a strong aerobic base before introducing anaerobic training is an outstanding way for distance runners to drop their times.
“It really, really is important to do some of that short and challenging stuff,” says Taylor. “But it is the longer strength stuff that allows you to capitalize on those fast-twitch muscle fibers. You’ve got to get yourself in a position to be strong enough to run the paces to get you to that fitness level, and then you incorporate the speed so you can close hard.”
For example, to get her collegiate athletes performing at their best come championship season, Taylor begins the training cycle with aerobic workouts like 800- with 10 being all-out effort, tempo runs, and long runs.
As the season progresses, she begins introducing sprint-focused efforts on workout days. She says the 200-meter repeat workout is one of her favorites because it both strengthens and builds on your anaerobic energy system and serves as a progress meter for your fitness level. “The more you consistently incorporate these, it’s easy to be like, ‘Wow, now I can do these [faster than before], and I feel great,’” says Taylor.
The key word in seeing that speed improvement? Consistency. “Never underestimate the power of consistency in your workouts,” says Taylor. “It’s stacking. Not just the days on days, but the weeks on weeks and the months on months. It’s that consistent stacking that allows you to tap into some of that anaerobic training.”
Just remember: You need a solid foundation to layer on the progress. “No matter what size the brick is, if you’re constantly stacking them on top of each other, the wall—which I would call your training wall—is getting higher,” Taylor adds. “And if your house is big and it’s sturdy, it’s because you’ve been consistently laying the foundation and then you’ve just been putting brick on top of brick.”
Build Running Efficiency Through Consistency
The Expert: Karen Dunn, Pennsylvania-based RRCA- and VDOT-certified run coach
Dunn reiterates Taylor’s statement: “Nothing tops being consistent,” she says. “Not only in the workouts themselves, but having structure to your training. That consistent dose of stimulus is what’s going to help you move the dial.”
Dunn notes that naturally, running form improves at faster paces. Speed workouts not only get you more comfortable running at higher efforts, but they train your body to run with efficiency. “When you introduce speed work, it changes your form a little bit and allows you to feel that efficiency,” she explains.
As Science for Sport outlines, the more you repeat a certain movement, the more comfortable and familiar your brain gets with that motion and the easier it is to continue performing it. So, as you practice speedwork over time, and you gain experience with more efficient form at an elevated sprint pace, it will carry over to your 5K or marathon paces as well.
Trust the Process and Learn to Enjoy Hard Workouts
The Expert: Cheickna Traore, Olympic sprinter (Ivory Coast)
Traore knows about speed. Within the past year, he won the NCAA 200-meter title for Penn State, signed his first pro contract with Adidas, and became an Olympian, representing his home country of the Ivory Coast in Paris last summer by qualifying with an Olympic standard-clearing 19.93 seconds, the fastest 200-meter time in the nation’s history.
According to Traore, getting faster begins with a strong, goal-oriented mindset.“It’s kind of cliché, but trust the process,” he says. “Trust that you will get faster, and enjoy getting there.”
As both Taylor and Dunn mentioned, getting faster doesn’t happen overnight—it’s a long, arduous process and takes dedication and hard work. And Traore says that if you don’t relish the opportunity to do that work, the motivation How to Run More Consistently.
Loving speedwork may be tough in the moment, but it’s something that Traore has learned to do over the course of his career. “My legs are going to feel like crap [during a workout],” he says. “But you know what, I’m going to enjoy that process because I know, in the end, I’m going to get faster because of it.”
Science for Sport sprint-focused workouts. Sandwiched between a track warmup and cooldown routine, his hardest workout day of the week consists of the following sprint intervals, run at a 9 out of 10 RPE (It’s important to note that your ideal cadence is unique to you):
- 1 x 350 meters, 10 minutes rest
- 1 Form Drills for Runners
- 4 Science-Backed Ways to Boost Time to Exhaustion
As a short sprinter, Traore focuses on his anaerobic energy system. The long breaks in between reps allow his body to get as close to fully recovered as possible before setting off again, promoting explosiveness over short distances.
As Taylor mentioned, distance runners can also benefit from this anaerobic work (after Download Your Training Plan!), Should You Split Up Your Long Run 200-meter repeats:
- 10-15 resistance band exercises
- 8 x 200 meters (7-9 out of 10 RPE), with 150-meter walk and 50-meter slow jog between to arrive back at your starting point
- 10-15 Form Drills for Runners
Increase Your Cadence
The Expert: Zack Russell, UESCA-certified trail running coach and ultramarathon runner
Cadence is the number of steps you take per minute (spm) and your GPS watch automatically calculates it for you, or if you don’t have access to one, you can simply count your steps per minute during a normal run. Increasing cadence is crucial for long-distance runners looking to get faster because it helps cut down on a number of running form inefficiencies and helps prevent injury.
“The one thing that I’ve found over the years from watching people race, my own running, and coaching others is [the importance of] cadence,” says Russell. “If you have a long, drawn out stride, you’re just not going to get faster. Increasing your cadence as a runner is the key to unlocking the potential for speed.”
Focusing on increasing your cadence can help you avoid overstriding, which can not only steal from your speed but also potentially lead to injury. Taking more steps per minute inherently forces you to shorten your stride and pulls your foot under your center of mass.
It’s important to note that your ideal cadence is unique to you. Research found that, while aiming for the widely-popularized 180 spm mark serves as a good benchmark for a beginner runner, there really is no set-in-stone ideal spm. Russell echoes these findings and does not include a certain goal cadence to strive for, but suggests working to increase your number.
Download Your Training Plan Why it works—which you should do gradually—is using a metronome app or listening to a specific beats-per-minute playlist, so you can match your steps to the music.
“I always find that the fastest runners have the best form,” says Russell. “The better form you have over a longer period of time, the more efficient you’re going to be as a runner, and the less energy you’re going to use over the course of an ultra.”
Do Form Drills on Easy Days
The Expert: Dakotah Popehn, pro marathoner and 2024 U.S. Olympian in the distance
“If it were up to me, I’d just do long runs every hard session,” says Popehn. “But we need to do Summer Running Gear for so many reasons. For me specifically, I think it really helps my gait and it keeps me efficient.”
In addition to interval sessions, Popehn recommends adding beneficial drills to your easy days to amplify the work done on your speed days, reinforce your running form, and improve your efficiency.
“Doing post-easy run drills and strides is something that I feel like I’ve seen so much progress [with] after committing to,” says Popehn, who recently finished 26th overall in the Boston Marathon and holds a 2:24:40 marathon PR. “Drills are a big help in making sure that you’ve got the right gait… It helps me become lighter on my feet.”
Strength Training Guide. A skips, B skips, strides, and resistance band monster walks, which all promote full-body coordination and quality running form by honing in on improvements in your power, stability, and gait.
Below, you’ll find the specific purpose and benefit of each of Popehn’s recommended drills.
Matt Rudisill is an Associate Service Editor with the Hearst Enthusiast Group. A Nittany Lion through-and-through, Matt graduated from PSU in 2022 with a degree in journalism and worked in communications for the university's athletic department for the past three years as the main contact and photographer for its nationally-ranked cross country and track & field teams. Matt was also heavily involved in communications efforts for the Penn State football team’s 2024 College Football Playoff run as well as the Nittany Lion men’s basketball team’s 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance. In his role with Hearst’s Enthusiast Group, Matt contributes to both Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines, creating service content to benefit runners and cyclists of all ages. When he’s not out jogging, Matt can be found tweeting bad takes about the Phillies or watching movies.
