10 Exercises To Improve Running Speed

There are few more satisfying achievements than beating your personal best (PB). You could be fairly new to running and want to improve your time on a local 5K. Or you might be an experienced marathon competitor, aiming to go faster than ever before. Whatever your goal, there are many exercises to improve running speed which will have a real impact on your race times.  

By doing exercises to run faster, your body will adapt and learn to use energy and muscles in ways that allow you to maintain a fast pace comfortably, and for longer.  

Try including some of the following 10 exercises to increase running speed in your training schedule. All these exercises can help improve running speed, so you can pick and choose between them depending on your goals, your access to equipment, and your personal preferences. 

But before starting with the best running exercises for speed, it’s helpful to know your current pace. 

Understanding your baseline running pace

If you want to run faster, it’s first useful to know your current running speed. There are several reliable methods for doing this, including:

• Measuring your sprinting speed over 400 metres: 400m is the distance of a standard running track, so it makes sense to use this as a baseline distance. Time yourself running at your top speed around the track. Once you know your baseline speed, you can monitor your improvement over time. You could, for example, repeat the 400m sprint once a month to see if you’re getting faster. 

• Counting your steps per minute: While measuring your pace on a 400m track is accurate, it might not feel as relevant in the ‘real world’ conditions of a race. So, you might find it more effective to count how many steps you do per minute. Go running on your regular route at your normal pace. For one minute, count how many times your right foot hits the ground - then double the final number to find out your steps per minute. Professional long-distance runners aim to keep this number around 180 steps, with fast, low feet. By doing exercises to improve running speed, your number of steps per minute should start to increase. 

You might also find it useful to keep your runs stored in a mobile app which records average speed per mile and gives you a benchmark to build on – without having to write everything down. 

10 of the best exercises to improve running speed

The exercises we’ve listed below can be used by runners of any experience level to improve their running speed. 

As with any new kind of training, it’s always best to build up gradually. 

For example, if you decide you want to try using hill sprint exercises to run faster, begin with shorter distances and reps. Aim to increase your hill sprint distance gradually and consistently. And remember to give yourself rest days in between exercises to increase running speed.  

1. Interval training

Interval training is among the best running exercises for speed. It helps improve your pace by improving your anaerobic capacity and making your body work more efficiently. This means that, over time, you’ll be able to run faster for longer.

Here’s how to do interval training exercises to run faster. 

• Find a place to run where you can measure your distance easily. A running track is ideal, but you can also use a treadmill, the outside edge of a sports pitch or something similar. 

• Start by measuring your heart rate – it should be below 120 BPM before you start running.

• Now sprint at your maximum effort, covering 200 metres down the track before coming to a stop.

• Wait and recover until your heart rate has dropped below 120 BPM. 

• Repeat the intervals five times, noting down your speed for each interval. 

• After a few weeks, you should start to notice those times get shorter. 

For more variations on interval runs and how to do them, read our interval running guide. 

2. Mix sprints into your long runs

This is a great exercise to increase running speed and stamina during long runs, and lets you build speed work into your regular training. The idea is to ‘pepper’ sprinting sessions throughout your distance runs. By running at a higher speed every few minutes, you get your body used to picking up the pace. 

It works like this:

• Imagine you’re doing a 10km training run. 

• After running 900m at your normal pace, you sprint the next 100m. 

• You then return to your regular running speed for the next 900m, before sprinting the last 100m again. 

• Repeat this pattern for every kilometre of your run. 

You can change the measurements as appropriate. If you’re doing a 10 mile run, you could jog 1,600 yards, then sprint the final 160 yards. Or you could do it by time - jogging for, say, 9 minutes, and sprinting for the tenth. 

3. Increasing stride length and cadence

Getting faster at running is, fundamentally, about increasing the frequency at which your legs strike the ground (cadence), and the distance between each footstrike (stride length). 

The following exercises to improve running speed can help with increasing your stride length and cadence:

• Pocket run: A pocket run mimics the motion of sprinting, but increases the challenge by making you ‘sprint’ with just one leg. You ‘freeze’ the left side of your body, placing your left hand in the pocket of your running shorts, sprinters or trousers. Perform a sprinting motion with your right leg and elbow, driving up and down, pulling your forward. Your left leg will still be engaged and hopping, but most of the motion should come from the right side.  

• High knees run: This drill helps build strength in your legs to sprint fast. Hold your torso up straight and swing your arms, then drive your knees up so your thigh is almost horizontal as you run. You’re looking for an exaggerated sprinting motion, with short strides and rapid cadence. Do this high knees run for 30m, pause, then repeat.  

• Resistance sprints: Using resistance can also help you to run with a higher cadence. Use a resistance harness while sprinting on a track and dragging a sled behind you. The resistance will train your legs to move at a higher frequency.

4. Skipping rope workouts

Using a skipping rope can also contribute to making you a faster runner. Skipping forces you to move your feet fast while keeping your core and upper body strong. Faster feet can make you a faster runner over all, and skipping also helps engage your fast-twitch muscles. You can also introduce different kinds of skipping routines into your workout to keep it interesting.

Here are some simple skipping exercises to improve running speed. 

• Complete one minute of standard back-to-front skipping, jumping about 6 centimetres off the ground per hop. 

• Rest for 15 seconds.

• Complete one minute of slalom skipping, where you jump about 20 centimetres off the ground and land on both feet to the right, before jumping another 20 cm off the ground and landing to the left.

• Rest for 15 seconds.

• Complete one minute of running-skipping, running in place and ensuring the rope passes under one foot at a time.

• As your confidence grows, add in other skipping exercises too.

5. Fartlek training

Fartlek training is a very popular kind of speed training for runners. It’s technically a form of interval running, but takes a more relaxed approach to times and distances. Here’s how:

• Head to a park or another outdoor running location. 

• After a warm up, choose a ‘destination’. It could be a bench, a specific tree, a lamp post or anything else. 

• Sprint towards the ‘destination’, then once you’ve reached it, continue jogging slowly. After catching your breath, choose your next target and run towards that.

• During the training, mix up the distances and have fun. 

Learn more about fartlek training in our guide.  

6. Hill sprints

Hill sprints are easily one of the best running exercises for speed. The force of gravity naturally adds resistance, and that resistance means you will build the muscles you use when running fast. At the same time, the upward slope forces you to lift your knees higher when running - which encourages better running form. 

Here’s how to do hill sprints:

• Warm up by doing a gentle run. 

• Find a suitable hill with a reasonably challenging gradient. 

• Choose an end point - perhaps 50m up the hill. 

• Now, sprint from the bottom of the hill to your chosen end point. 

• Stop, turn around and walk down the hill. 

• Once you’ve caught your breath, repeat the hill sprints four more times. 

As you get more experience with hill sprints, you can run further, add more reps, or increase the speed you run at. For more tips, read our in-depth hill running guide. 

7. Plyometric drills

Plyometric exercises are drills which require you to use maximum force and power during short bursts. They are often, though not exclusively, ‘jumping’ exercises. They’re great exercises to increase running speed because they train your fast-twitch muscle fibres. These are the parts of your muscles you call on when you suddenly need to increase your speed over short distances - and that can be a game changer when sprinting to the finish line in a race. 

There are several different kinds of plyometric exercises that can help with running faster:

• Box jumps: You will need a stable gym box of a suitable height (or a low step outdoors). Stand facing the box, then swing your arms upwards. Engage your calves and jump up and land with both feet at the same time. You should land with your feet flat on the box in a squat position, with your arms up in front of you for balance. Stand up straight, then carefully step back to the ground and repeat. 

• Jump squats: A jump squat is another great exercise if you’re looking to increase your running speed. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Engage your glutes, bend at the knees and shift into a squat so you look like you're sitting on an invisible chair. Then, drive up through your heels and jump into the air, landing on the balls of your feet. Smoothly squat down again before rapidly jumping into the air 20 times. 

• Jump lunges: This is a similar concept. Perform a lunge by placing your right foot one step forward, bend both knees forward so your left knee almost touches the ground. Now, drive up through your right foot and leap into the air. While jumping, switch your feet, so your left foot is forward, and your right foot behind you. Repeat the motion by swiftly jumping and squatting 15 times on each leg. 

8. Ladder drills

Ladder drills are some of the best exercises to improve running speed. They force you to run increasing distances at a high speed, meaning you become accustomed to running faster. 

After a warm up, sprint 200m around a track, then lightly jog 200m. Next increase the distance to 250m of sprinting and 250m of jogging. Gradually ‘climb the ladder’ by 50m per session, until you reach 500m. Then, ‘descend’ the ladder, so you finish with 250m of light jogging. 

9. Tempo runs 

Tempo runs - and their close relatives threshold runs - are really effective exercises to increase running speed and stamina. They help increase running speed by making you run at close to your ‘lactate threshold’ (lactate is a byproduct of high intensity exercise that makes running fast painful). Over time, your body will get more efficient at clearing lactate, so you can run at a higher speed for longer. 

Tempo running is often described as running at a pace that is ‘comfortably hard’. It shouldn’t leave you breathless (as with an all-out sprint), but it should be fast enough to feel challenging. It’s the kind of speed where you can’t really hold a conversation. 

Start doing tempo runs for a specific distance or time - say 3km, or 20 minutes. As you do them more often, you should notice you can run faster/longer each time.

For more information, read our introduction to tempo runs.  

10. Build your strength

Running strength training will make your body stronger and more powerful. That means you’re able to burst forward at speed. Common running strength-training exercises for runners include:

• Weighted lunges.

• Squats.

• Burpees.

• Donkey kicks.

For more ideas, read our introduction to strength training for runners. 

How running shoes and clothing can help your speed

As well as including exercises to run faster in your routine, it’s also worth considering how your running clothes and shoes can help too. 

Fast running shoes let you run at higher speeds thanks to their lightweight foam soles, responsive cushioning, and design features that help to propel you forward. For example, shoes like the ASICS MAGIC SPEED 3 contain a carbon plate throughout the sole which is proven to help runners go faster. 

The same goes with running clothing. Lightweight, breathable fabrics which dissipate moisture and dry quickly allow you to move at speed with less friction and weight. 

Common questions about exercises to run faster

Read our answers to frequently asked questions about exercises to increase running speed. 

How often should I incorporate speed-enhancing exercises into my training routine?

If you are training for a specific race (such as a marathon or half-marathon, for example), you should do no more than one running speed exercise per week. This is because your body needs time to recover from doing exercises to run faster. Doing too much speed work could tire your body, and increase your risk of injury. 

What's the difference between strength training and speed drills for runners?

There is a certain amount of crossover between strength training and speed drills for runners. Both exercises build muscle, including fast twitch muscle fibres. The difference is about the purpose of these exercises. Speed training is specifically focused on helping you to run faster, whereas strength training is intended to build up your general resilience, and also helps reduce the risk of running injuries.   

Can you recommend some exercises for beginners to improve running speed?

All the exercises to improve running speed in this article are suitable for runners of any experience level. That said, fartlek running is particularly accessible for new runners - it requires no special equipment, can be done anywhere, and is plenty of fun too. 

If you are relatively new to running, always start ‘slow and low’ when performing speed exercises. After just a few sessions, you’ll soon start to notice a big difference and will be able to go further and faster. 

What are the best exercises to build leg strength for running speed?

Some of the best exercises to build leg strength and improve your running speed include squats, single leg squats, lunges, calf raises, donkey kicks, and single leg deadlifts - among many other ankle, calf, quad, hamstring and glute exercises. 

Ready to increase your running speed? 

Whether you’re looking to beat a PB - or simply want a new challenge - there are many different exercises to improve running speed which you can start using today. By building some of these drills into your practice, you’ll soon start to notice real improvements in your running times.