RunPackGuides · 6 min read
How to run faster: 10 changes that actually work
How to run faster without getting hurt: run more easy miles, add one speed session, hills, strides, consistency, sleep, and why training with faster friends helps.
Getting faster isn’t about secret workouts. For most runners, the biggest gains come from running a bit more, most of it easy, and adding one or two harder sessions a week. Here are the changes that make the difference, roughly in order of how much they help.
1. Run more often
Consistency beats everything. Going from two runs a week to three or four, kept up for a few months, makes most people faster than any single workout can.
2. Make most runs easy
It sounds backwards, but slowing down your easy runs is how you speed up. Easy, zone 2 running lets you run more without wearing yourself out, so your hard sessions can actually be hard.
3. Add one speed session a week
Short repeats at 5K pace, like 6–8 × 400 m with a jog between. See six interval workouts, or try a fartlek if you prefer less structure.
4. Or a tempo run
20 minutes at a comfortably hard effort teaches you to hold pace when it starts to hurt. More in tempo runs. One quality session a week is enough for most people; two if you run five or more days.
5. Run hills
Hill repeats (8 × 45 seconds hard uphill, easy back down) build strength and speed with less pounding than flat sprints.
6. Add strides
After an easy run, do 4–6 relaxed accelerations of about 20 seconds, walking back between. They teach your legs to move quickly without much fatigue.
7. Make your long run a bit longer
Even for 5K, a weekly long run builds the endurance that lets you hold pace at the end. How long should it be?
8. Rest and sleep
You get fitter while recovering, not while running. Every third or fourth week, run a little less. On mornings you feel flat, an easy day is the smart call. How hard should I run today?
9. Pace your races better
Many runners lose more time by starting too fast than by being unfit. Plan an even or negative split, and use the pace calculator to set a realistic goal from a recent race.
10. Train with people slightly faster than you
Running with friends who are a little quicker pulls you along on hard days, and having people expecting you keeps you consistent, which is change number one. Different paces? Here’s how to run together anyway.
Track whether it’s working
Run the same route or a 5K time trial every four to six weeks and compare. The VO2 max calculator turns a race time into a fitness estimate you can watch go up. RunPack, our free iPhone app, records runs with your phone’s GPS and shares them with a private crew of friends, with a weekly challenge that nudges everyone a little further than their usual.