By Marnie Kunz,
Certified run coach and trainer

If you’re wondering how to run faster, these tips from a running coach will help improve your running speed and performance. Whether you’re training for a 5K or a marathon, improving your running pace will help you achieve your race goals. The question I often get asked as a running coach is “how do I improve my running pace and get faster?” Well, this guide will arm you with everything you need to know to pick up the pace. I am also sharing some of my top speed workouts to help you improve your running speed and train your body for faster race times. For more speed workouts, you can download my Top 10 Best Speed Workouts for Runners to crush your running goals.

Download

Learn How to Run Faster with These Training Tips

These training techniques and workouts will help you become a faster runner and shatter your fitness plateaus. No matter what your running speed, we all have a tendency to slide into a running routine that keeps us at the same pace and level. But with the right training strategy and speed training, you can learn how to run faster and improve your race times.

Follow a training plan

I often meet runners who are disappointed in their race times but they haven’t been following a training plan. A good training plan gives you a blueprint to build your endurance and speed and become a stronger runner. A well-rounded plan will include easy pace runs to build your fitness base and if you’re training for a longer race like a half marathon or marathon, the plan will also include weekly long runs. If you’re training by heart rate, your plan will also include heart rate guidelines for each workout.

If you need a customized training plan designed by a certified running coach and personal trainer, visit the Runstreet Training Center. I have created plans ranging from Couch to 5K to Customized Marathon Training, so you can choose the option that suits your running goals.

Use progressive overload

Progressive overload is an important training concept that I learned when I became a certified NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) trainer. According to NASM, the principle of progressive overload states that to make fitness progress, our bodies need gradual increases in intensity or duration, adding no more than 10 percent more to your training mileage from week to week.

Progressive overload helps you build stamina and speed while minimizing your risk of injury. Whether you’re a beginner or running long distances already, progressive overload is important to help you make progress toward your running goals.

Do speed workouts

When you’re learning how to run faster, speed workouts are key. Doing speed sessions trains your body to run faster and improves your body’s ability to use oxygen and perform well even when fatigued. I am including some of my top speed workouts below to help you add speed training to your program and become a better runner.

Take rest days

Surprisingly enough, runners often have a hard time doing easy runs and taking rest days. An essential part of training is recovery, and doing the slower pace runs and taking time off from running will help you recover from training and reap the most benefits from your workouts.

Your training plan should include some recovery runs at a slower pace than your regular runs, and also complete rest days to give your body time to bounce back from training.

Eat enough nutrients

Make sure you’re consuming enough nutrients to power your workouts. Runners often don’t realize how important protein is for muscle strength and recovery. Make sure you’re eating enough protein, especially after tough workouts and on strength training days. Some excellent sources of protein include:

Lentils
Greek yogurt
Beans
Eggs
Tofu
Lean meats
Nuts and seeds

Carbohydrates are also crucial macronutrients that give your body energy for running. Complex carbs offer lasting energy for longer runs and workouts. Try adding some of these complex carbs to your diet to help you hit your peak running performance:

Oats
Brown rice
Whole grain bread
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Beans
Nuts

Strength Train

Strength training is one of the most effective ways to become a faster runner. I include strength training workouts in customized running programs for my clients because strength training is so important to help prevent injuries and make you a stronger, better runner. If you’re just starting out, bodyweight exercises are beginner-friendly and will help increase your running stability and speed.

I recommend doing compound exercises for an efficient workout that strengthens your whole body in a short amount of time. A compound exercise targets multiple muscle groups, offering a lot of bang for your workout buck. For example, squats target your leg muscles and glutes, and planks strengthen your core muscles, shoulders, and arm muscles.

Some excellent compound exercises for runners include:

Lower Body Exercises:

Squats
Lunges
Side lunges
Step-ups

Upper Body and Core Exercises:

Push-ups
Bench/chest press
Planks
Side planks

Do Plyometrics

Plyometrics drills include short bursts of explosive movement. Plyometrics are an excellent way to improve your power and running speed. You can do these high-intensity exercises after a regular running workout that’s not too difficult, like a relaxed pace base run.

Some plyometrics exercises that can help train your body on how to run faster include:

High knees
Butt kicks
Squat jumps
Lunge jumps

Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps for each exercise. Add one or two plyometrics exercises to your workout routine at least once a week to improve your running.

Best Speed Workouts to Get Faster

These are some of the top speed workouts that can help you get faster and run your races at a faster pace. Before doing speed work, do a warm-up with 5 to 10 minutes of jogging followed by dynamic stretches like butt kicks and high knees.

Add one or two of these speed workouts to your training each week to PR in your next races:

Tempo Runs

Tempo runs are sustained effort runs where you run at a “comfortably hard” pace. Usually, tempo runs are 20 to 40 minutes (depending on the race distance you’re training for), and they’re at a pace you could maintain for up to an hour (around your 10K race pace). If you're using the Rating of Perceived Exertion scale (RPE), tempo runs will feel like a 7 out of 10 effort level.

Tempo runs train your body to run fast even when you are experiencing fatigue, which is especially helpful for racing. Here’s a sample beginner’s tempo run workout:

Warm up: 10 minutes of relaxed pace running.
Workout: 20 minutes running at tempo pace.
Cooldown: 10 minutes of relaxed pace running. Stretch.

Related Post: How to Do Threshold Runs

Interval Workouts

Interval training is a form of speedwork that includes short bursts of fast running followed by periods of recovery or rest. There are many different types of interval workouts, and the best ones for you depend on your fitness level and the race distance that you’re training for. Here are some beginner-friendly interval workouts that can help all levels of runners get faster:

Fartleks Workout

Fartlek workouts are an informal type of interval training. The word fartlek is Swedish for “speed play.” To do a fartlek session, you simply run at your regular base run pace and then periodically speed up for short intervals before returning to your regular, relaxed pace.

Fartleks can be as formal or informal as you'd like. When I was in school running cross country, we learned to do fartleks informally when our coach would pick something like a pole in the distance and tell us to speed up and run fast to the pole, then return to our regular pace.

You can also do fartleks in a more measured manner, by running fast for a specific time or distance at periodic intervals during a regular paced run. You might run for 4 minutes at a relaxed pace, for instance, and then run fast for 1 minute and repeat. Between the speed bursts, you will want to run at your regular base run pace, which should feel comfortable.

Fartlek workouts are a great way to ease into speed training in a way that is less intimidating than, say, a track workout. They also simulate the natural pace changes that you use in a race, at times passing people, and running faster at the end of the race.

400-Meter Intervals Workout

One of my favorite workouts to ease into doing interval training is 400-meter intervals. 400 meters is equal to one lap on a standard outdoor track and is not a long distance for most runners, making it a beginner-friendly workout. It’s also perfect for people who are returning to running after a break or are easing back into speed training after an injury or time off.

Here’s a 400-meter workout to get started:

Warm up: Run slowly for a half-mile (800 meters or two laps around an outdoor track). Run at a relaxed pace, one at which you could keep up a conversation. Do dynamic stretches.
Workout: Run 400 meters at your goal 5K pace (one fourth of a mile on the road or one lap on a standard track). You can calculate your goal 5K mile pace and then divide the mile time by 4 to get your 400-meter pace. For instance, if your 5K goal is to run 10-minute miles, one-fourth of that is 2:30 so 2:30 should be your goal 400 pace. If you do not have a goal 5K pace, aim for running at 80% of your maximum effort level. You will feel winded and challenged but you should be able to maintain the same pace for each interval. Jog slowly for one lap (400 meters) for active recovery. Repeat to do a total of four fast intervals and four slow, recovery laps.
Cooldown: Run slowly for 800 meters (half a mile). This run should be at a relaxed pace, one at which you could keep up a conversation. Stretch.

Yasso 800s

Yasso 800s involve running fast for periods of 800 meters (half a mile). These legendary speed workouts are named after their creator, Bart Yasso, former chief running officer at Runner’s World. Yasso had been doing the 800s workout for 15 years and it always helped predict his marathon times.

Whether you’re a marathon runner or training for a half marathon or even a 10K, Yasso 800s can help you become a faster runner and lower your race time. Here’s the workout:

Warm-up: Run for 10 minutes at a relaxed pace. Do dynamic stretches.
Intervals: Run 800 meters (half of a mile or two laps on a standard outdoor running track) at your goal pace. For marathon runners, this will be your goal race time in minutes. (For a 4-hour marathon, run your 800s in 4 minutes). Do up to 10 intervals. (For beginners, start with 2 to 4 intervals.)
Recovery: Jog for the same amount of time as your interval but at a relaxed, recovery pace. Do a recovery jog between each 800-meter interval.
Cooldown: Run for 10 minutes at a relaxed, easy pace. Stretch.

If you’re not training for a marathon but a shorter race, you can set your 800-meter interval pace at a time that fits your goals, such as your goal 5K pace or goal 10K pace.

Strides

Strides are drills that involve running and accelerating into sprints. These short bursts of speed can help you become a stronger, faster runner. Strides are short, 20-30 second accelerations that are best to do on a flat surface, such as a track, field, or pavement. When you do strides, focus on running with an exaggerated form, opening up to a long stride length while maintaining a leg turnover speed that gets faster as you run.

Here’s a stride workout you can do as part of your warm-up before a run or after running as part of your cool down:

Run for about 100 meters on a flat surface. Begin your stride by taking exaggerated steps (or strides), and pumping your arms up and down as if you are running fast. As you speed up, your leg turnover will get quicker.
Start out running at an easy, relaxed pace, and build up your speed as you run, accelerating to near maximum speed by the end of your stride. You should be running at about 95 percent effort level by the end of your stride. Your stride should only take 20 to 30 seconds so you may get tired at the end but will recover quickly.
Do 4 strides for your first strides workout and build up to doing 6 to 8 strides.

Putting It All Together

By adding speed and strength training to your running routine, you can train your body and mind to run faster. It’s important to follow a training plan that increases your intensity and weekly mileage gradually to reduce your risk of injuries and allow your body time to rebuild after hard workouts. If you need a running training plan, visit the Runstreet Training Center and I’ll be happy to help you get faster.

Keep me posted on how your training is going - follow and tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your workouts and get cheered on.

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, dog lover, Akita mom, and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of Runstreet.

How To Run Faster: Increase Your Speed With These Tips