Try these track workouts to improve your race pace and overall running speed. Photos by Marques Jackson Photography.

By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified trainer, RRCA- USATF-certified running coach

Whether you want to get faster or improve your overall fitness level, track workouts are one of the most effective ways to accomplish your goals. I often use track workouts to help runners I coach achieve their race time goals. These 4 best track workouts will improve your running speed and efficiency and make you a stronger athlete. If you want to PR in your next race or just become a faster runner in general, these running track workouts will help you become a better runner. An added bonus is speed workouts burn more calories per minute of exertion than regular slow runs, which is great for weight loss and improving your overall fitness level.

What Are Track Workouts?

Before we go over track workouts, it helps to know what to expect. Track workouts are speed workouts that you do on a track. For this article, I am giving you speed workouts you can do on a standard outdoor track, which is 400 meters, or .25 of a mile.

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If you are running on an indoor track or a non-standard outdoor track, you can calculate the workouts based on the track distance. If you are not sure how big your track is, you can always run a lap with your GPS running watch or a GPS running app and measure the distance. A lot of indoor tracks are half the size of an outdoor track, for instance, and will be 200 meters, or .125 of a mile for one loop.

Track workouts involve faster-paced running than your regular base runs, which are at a relaxed, conversational pace (for more on base runs, check out my article on how to do base runs). Most track workouts have a format that includes a warm-up, speed workout, and cooldown. There are different types of track workouts, which we will go over here.

Track Intervals

Intervals are a classic speed workout that can be adapted for any level of runner. Whether you’re training for a marathon and running 800-meter intervals or are a beginner runner doing 100-meter sprints, speed workouts can be adapted to your needs.

You can even do interval workouts on the road or trail if you don’t have access to a track. Interval workouts involve measured bursts of speed mixed in with slow jogging or even walking or resting for recovery time. Speed workouts will help you run a faster mile race pace, 5K time, and beyond, all the way up to the marathon.

When I coach runners, I usually have them start with 400-meter intervals workouts to begin speed training. Here is a sample 400-meter interval running workout that can help any runner get faster and stronger:

400-Meter Intervals Workout

This workout is easiest to do on a track — 400 meters is one lap on a standard outdoor track. You can, however, use your smartphone running app or running watch to measure out .25 of a mile for each 400-meter interval if you are running on the road or trails. Be sure to record your times for your interval workout and you will see your speed improve as you repeat the workout each week.

best-track-workouts — Try this 400-meter interval workout to become a faster runner.

Warm-up - Run 800-meters or 1/2 of a mile at a relaxed pace, jogging.
Speed Interval: Run 400-meters (one lap on the track or .25 of a mile on the road) at 80-85% effort level. This pace should make you feel winded by the end and like you are going considerably faster than your regular running pace. You will not be able to talk at this speed as you run.
Recovery: Jog or run slowly for 400-meters for active recovery. This will allow you to catch your breath and reset before the next speed interval.
Repeat the speed interval-recovery cycle, alternating one recovery lap between each fast lap. If you are a beginning runner, do 4 fast 400-meter intervals and 4 recovery laps for your first speed workout. For intermediate runners, start with 6 speed intervals. You can run this interval workout once a week, adding one more speed interval every 2 weeks to build up your endurance. You can also increase the interval distance to 800-meters or even 1-mile intervals if you are training for a long-distance race like a marathon.
Cooldown - Run 800-meters or 1/2 of a mile at a relaxed pace, jogging. Stretch.

Tempo Runs

Tempo runs are a staple speed training workout for long-distance runners. Tempo runs help improve your body’s ability to run faster for long stretches of time and adapt to lower oxygen supplies as you run. These runs are great preparation for racing.

What is a tempo run, you may be wondering? A tempo run — or lactate threshold run — is a running workout at a pace at which your body produces and clears lactate (a metabolic by-product of exercise) at a close-to-equal rate. In layman’s terms, a tempo run is a pace your body can run and keep breathing and working without cramping up or getting too winded to keep going. A tempo run is not an anaerobic workout like sprinting but instead trains your body to be able to keep pushing and performing at higher levels for longer distances. Whether you are a 1-mile track runner or a marathoner, tempo runs are excellent training tools to make you a better, more efficient runner.

How to Do a Tempo Run

Tempo runs are the middle ground of running, falling between easy, slow runs and intense speed intervals. To determine your tempo pace, add 24 to 30 seconds per mile to your 5K PR or goal pace. If your best 5K time is at an 8-minute-mile pace, for instance, your tempo run pace will be 8:30 per mile.

For your first tempo run, warm up for 5 minutes running at a relaxed, easy pace. Then do 20 minutes of running at your tempo run pace. Cool down for 5 minutes of easy running and then stretch. For the best results, do one tempo run a week, and you can gradually build up your temp running time to meet your race training distance goals, building up to a maximum of an hour of tempo running if you are training for a long-distance race such as a half marathon or marathon.

Fartleks

Fartleks - Swedish for speed play - offer a flexible, fun speed workout that can be adapted to any running level. Fartleks are a great running workout for beginners as they can be very short and informal and are not intimidating.

If you are wondering what the heck fartleks are, let me help — fartleks are short bursts of speed during a regular, easy-paced run. The speed bursts can vary, often using something such as a pole or street light ahead to run fast toward, and then slow down once you pass the landmark.

How to Do Farleks

To do a fartleks workout, go for a 3-4 mile, relaxed pace run. After your first 5 minutes of running, pick a spot in the distance and run fast toward it. If you are on the track, you may run the long straight away fast for your fartlek. You will be running at about 90-percent effort level, faster than your 5K race pace. Usually, this fartlek interval should be for about 1-2 minutes in duration. Then return to your regular, relaxed base run pace. After a few minutes, pick a landmark — or stretch of the track — to run fast toward again. Do 5 to 10 fartleks during your workout. Your fast running time should total 10 to 12 minutes by the end of your run.

Fartleks are a great workout to prepare for more measured interval workouts. If you are a beginner, do one fartlek workout a week to start.

Strides

Strides are a great, short, speed workout you can tack on to the end of an easy run day. Strides help train your body to run at higher speeds even when your body is already fatigued from running. They also help improve your running form and efficiency.

Strides are a running drill that you run for short bursts of speed with an exaggerated running form. You can run strides after an easy run to work on your form and speed. Strides are short, 20-30 second accelerations that you can plug into your weekly training program.

Here is how to run strides:

Find a flat place to run 100 meters. This can be the straightaway part of a track, or on a flat road.
Begin running your stride by taking short steps (or strides), and pumping your arms up and down, in an exaggerated motion. As you speed up, your leg turnover will get quicker.
Begin running at an easy, relaxed pace, and build up your speed as you run.
You should be running at about 95 percent effort level by the end of your stride. Your stride should only take 20-30 seconds so you may get winded at the end but will recover quickly.
Do 4 strides for your first stride workout and build up to doing 6 or 8 strides.
Do your stride workout after an easy run or regular base run.

Speed Workout Tips

When you do speed workouts, it’s important to give your body time to rest and recover so your muscles can rebuild and repair. You will want to follow the easy-hard principle of training and schedule track workouts between easy run or recovery days. Track workouts, long runs and races are all considered hard trianing days, so you will need time to recover from them. If you do a speed workout, take a rest day or do an easy run the following day for recovery. Do not do speed workouts two days in a row.

Make sure you stay hydrated before, during, and after your track workouts. This will help prevent muscle cramps and speed up your recovery time.

When you are doing interval workouts, aim for consistency in your pace so all your fast runs of a particular distance are the same pace. It is tempting to begin with a sprint or go too fast when you begin track workouts, but it’s important to hold back some in the first intervals so you can maintain your speed through the very last interval.

If you love track workouts and want to do some track races, check out the USA Track and Field calendar of events for sanctioned track races around the U.S.

If you need help with your running program, I offer customized training plans that can will take you to the next level with your running.

Have you tried any of these speed workouts? Follow and tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your workouts and get cheered on.

Do you need a customized training plans with speed workouts for your pace goals? Head to our Training Center and I can create a personalized plan to help you have an amazing next race.

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, a dog lover, an Akita mom, and the founder of Runstreet. She specializes in helping runners get faster and stronger and helping beginners elevate their fitness levels. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.

4 Best Track Workouts to Improve Your Running