How to increase running speed
In the early days, when you first start running, it really doesn’t matter how quickly you move. The important thing is that you’re benefiting from the tremendous health and lifestyle improvements running can bring. However, as you become more accustomed to pounding those parks and pavements, you might start to wonder just how quickly you can go.
If you’re ready to take your workout to the next level, then here’s our guide to increasing your running speed.
How to increase your leg speed for running
One thing you’ll hear about as you start to look into the different ways to increase running speed is something called leg speed. Whether you’re a sprinter, 5K, 10K, half-marathon or marathon runner, if you’re looking to improve your personal best then leg speed is something you must work on.
In its simplest form, running speed is determined by two factors: stride length and stride frequency (also known as leg speed). Of these two, stride length is the easiest to improve. Leg speed is all about reducing the time your feet are in contact with the ground. Reduce that time and your stride frequency will increase.
These tips will help you increase your leg speed:
- Focus on technique
Your running form plays an important part in determining your leg speed. You should focus on running tall, keeping your chin up and shoulders back and touching the ground lightly and quickly with every stride. Swinging your arms forwards and backwards in a straight line and not across the body, keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides and having relaxed, open palms will all help to improve your leg speed.
- Develop proper foot and leg action
To increase running speed, you must think about your stride action. To run quickly, you want to land on the ball of your foot, with your foot directly under your hip and facing forward in a straight line. The ability to turn your legs over quickly is created by the amount of force you apply to the ground. This springboard effect drives the leg back up and propels the body forward.
- Introduce specific leg speed training
Going for shorter runs than your usual distance will allow you to focus on improving your speed. Leg speed training is a neuromuscular workout rather than cardiovascular training, so train over distances that do not leave you out of breath. Instead, you should warm up and cool down with an easy run and then focus on doing 6-10 short sharp sprints at around 80-90 percent of effort..
How to increase speed in long distance running
If you want to focus on reducing your long distance running times, you need to take a slightly different approach. Training to run long distances more quickly is a balancing act. If you do too much speed work, you’ll lose endurance, but if you run too many miles, you could lose your leg speed. So how do you get it just right?
- Add speed work to your usual run
Doing weekly speed work is essential to increase your running speed, but it shouldn’t replace your long-distance work. Instead, build speed training into your long-distance runs by picking up the pace for the last 30-seconds of every mile. That will help to prepare your body to run quickly even when you’re fatigued.
- Do one interval workout per week
Interval training consists of fast running alternated with periods of much slower running to allow your heart rate to decrease. If you’re new to interval training, then start with four to eight cycles of fast running, with each burst of speed followed by one minute of easy running. As you get more used to this type of work, increase the distance of your fast run until you’re running quickly for up to two minutes and double the amount of easy running between each repetition.
Here are a few more sample interval training workouts to help you build that speed.
- Add an extra day of easy running
Your goal might be to increase your running speed, but the last thing you want to do is lose that long distance endurance that you’ve worked so hard to build. That’s why, if you can, it’s always a good idea to add an extra day of long-distance, easy running into your training just to keep that base level of endurance there. If your weekly long run is six miles, then four miles would be a great length for your weekly easy run.