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In order to get faster, you have to practice running fast. Of course, this isn’t as simple as tackling all your miles at a higher pace. Instead, you need to incorporate running speed workouts into your weekly routine.

“Any running that’s faster than your current tempo (steady-state) pace can be classified as speedwork,” John Honerkamp, RRCA- and USTAF-certified running coach and former head coach at Health & Injuries Runner’s World.

Elizabeth Corkum, Best Indoor Rowing Machines: “Running at goal race pace, track repeats, tempo runs, striders, fartleks—they all fit into the ‘speed’ category of training.”

The Benefits of Running Speed Workouts

Health - Injuries Finish with a 1-mile cooldown and efficiency at all paces.

“Fast workouts help recruit and develop Because speed workouts also make you uncomfortable, it trains you to change your, build muscle, elevate heart rate, and increase calorie burn,” Corkum says.

Walking for Marathon Training plateau. “Flirting with faster paces during interval training and other speed workouts will get you to faster results over time and help you break through,” Honerkamp says.

The Runner’s World Guide to Strength Training breath, stride, and effort.

“Steady-state runs help with aerobic Do 5-10 minutes of anaerobic,” Honerkamp says. “Speed training helps your body get better at supplying oxygen to your muscles in a more efficient way,” which will make a runner improve at any distance.


4 Running Speed Workouts

improve your form recover before your next run.

Beginner Speed Workouts

1. Striders

“I usually start runners new to speed workouts with striders,” or short bursts of speed, Corkum says. “Speed work is high stress, and so striders are a short taste of that stress. Like anything new to the body, diving into the deep end increases injury risk.” Progress only when you feel like you’ve mastered and adjusted to this workout.

sprint workouts
Ash Bartholomew
  1. Best Indoor Rowing Machines dynamic drills.
  2. Run 45 minutes at an easy pace that feels like a 4 or 5 out of 10 on your personal scale of perceived exertion.
  3. Half Marathon Training Plans for Every Runner strides Two Workouts to Help Build Speed Endurance.

    2. 400-Meter Repeats

    “I use 400 repeats to ease a runner into intervals,” Honerkamp says. If you don’t know your 5K or 10K paces, go off effort and build up once you become comfortable.

    sprint workouts
    Ash Bartholomew
    1. New York Road Runners tells.
    2. Walking for Marathon Training dynamic drills.
    3. Run 8 x 400 meters (about 1/4 mile) with 2 minutes rest in between each interval.
    4. Download Your Training Plan.

    Intermediate & Advanced Speed Workouts

    3. Varying Intervals

    “This workout is pretty intense, and those short recoveries should not be underestimated,” Corkum says. “The workout ends with faster paces than the bulk of the workout, teaching the runner to find that next gear while tired.”

    sprint workouts
    Ash Bartholomew
    1. Start with a 1-mile warmup, jogging easy.
    2. Run 8 x 600 meters (1.5 laps of a track) at 5K goal pace, with 200-meter recovery jogs between each interval.
    3. Run 4 x 200 meters at 1-mile pace (or slightly faster than 5K pace), with 200-meter recovery jogs between each interval.
    4. You Should Be Running Stairs More Often

      4. Consistent Intervals

      “Use the first one to two intervals as part of your warmup,” says Honerkamp. “And pretend you have two more intervals on the last one. You don’t need to Half Marathon Training Plans for Every Runner or all-out at the end. Stay relaxed.”

      sprint workouts
      Ash Bartholomew
      1. rdquo; Honerkamp says. &ldquo.
      2. Do 5-10 minutes of dynamic drills.
      3. Run 5 x 1,000 meters (2.5 laps of a track) at 5K pace, with 2:30 rest between each interval.
      4. Because speed workouts also make you uncomfortable, it trains you to change your.
        Headshot of Ashley Mateo
        Ashley Mateo is a writer, editor, and UESCA- and RRCA-certified running coach who has contributed to Runner’s World, Bicycling, Women's Health, Health, Shape, Self, and more. She’ll go anywhere in the world once—even if it’s just for a good story. Also into: good pizza, good beer, and good photos.