Run Any Distance!

- Joel Snape

HOW TO TRAIN FOR A 5K

John Brewer, author of Run Smart, gives his tips on how to build the endurance and speed required for the shortest race distance

How much training do you need to do?

It depends on your starting point, but two to three sessions a week should work for most people, and will enable you to build up first the time spent running, then the distance. If this is your first time attempting the distance, you need to build up gradually, running a similar distance or only slightly longer in each session, and including faster interval sessions to improve leg speed and recovery. For more experienced runners attempting a faster time, higher mileage and regular interval running will improve your ability to tolerate lactic acid as well as increasing oxygen uptake capacity.

How should you split up your sessions?

You need a mix of steady running to develop endurance and leg strength, alongside interval sessions to improve lactate tolerance, leg speed and recovery.

What’s the most important session?

The hard interval session, which includes fast repetitions and short recovery times. It will be the toughest session of the week but it touches on all the aspects of fitness that are needed for 5K running: high tempo for leg speed, short recovery for lactic acid tolerance, and fast stride rate for leg speed and strength.

How do you get faster?

By running faster and by developing leg power. So high-tempo training sessions that develop leg speed are important, and strength work such as hill running or plyometric training will also help to develop leg power and speed. But it’s worth bearing in mind that a good aerobic capacity is still essential, since without this any runner will be too fatigued to produce fast leg speed.

Where do most people go wrong?