One of the most challenging parts of running a 10K or half marathon is the final few kilometres. If you started out too fast, you will be struggling to finish, and even if you followed a smart pacing strategy, the last 3kms feel tough. It’s likely that you, like most runners, have watched your goal finish time slip away during the last km or so of a 10K or 5kms of a half marathon. If that’s you, this workout from RUNKEEPER will help you stay strong through the end of a race.

A fast finish run may appear easy on paper, but don’t let it deceive you: you will be huffing and puffing by the end. A fast finish run teaches you how to speed up at the end of a run, a task that can be as mentally challenging as it is physically demanding. In exchange for running at a hard effort at the end of this long run, you should feel stronger and more confident in your ability to push hard during the final km or 3 of your next race.

lockdown run

HOW

A majority of this run is done at an easy pace, which is ideal for building endurance. 

The final 10 minutes are where the real workout kicks in: run these last 10 minutes at a hard effort, or what feels like an 8 out of 10 (with 1 being a light jog and 10 being an all-out sprint). Your breathing should be noticeably laboured and you should be able to only speak in short phrases at the start of the 10 minutes and just a word or two at a time by the final few minutes. This level of effort should correspond with your goal 10K pace. 

The Workout