HOW TO RUN FASTER? – 5 TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR SPEED

If you are a runner, and you are running for more than a few months, then you are probably wondering “How to increase running speed?”. 

This question is especially asked by people who are not satisfied with just running recreationally. They want something more. If you dream of running a marathon or half-marathon and want something more than just the satisfaction of running the distance, then it’s time to learn how to run faster. 

How to do it? What workout and exercises are the best? You will find this information in this article! We will show you some tips on how to run faster. Do not delay it any longer! Run faster not only on short distances but also on long distances. Increase your speed!

How to run faster?

You won’t run faster if you base your training only on running longer distances. Unfortunately, you’ll have to tire yourself out a bit more, skip to short distances again, but perform them more intensively. You should remember, that now only running is important if you want to increase your ability. You will also not do without strengthening exercises and those that stimulate deep muscles. 

Are you wondering why? The answer is very simple. 

It is because muscles are the foundation.

I. STRENGTHENING TRAINING – WILL MAKE ANY RUNNER STRONGER

You do not believe that this kind of exercise can make any difference when it comes to faster running? If so, then look at the sprinters. They have ripped abdominal muscles, legs, and arms. Moreover, their legs are extremely strong. When it comes to running faster, the key is strong legs and arms. They are also the driving force. Their intense work helps you accelerate and maintain the right posture. The whole thing translates into better running speed. The hands help in gaining speed and in maintaining it. And their movement is already coming out of the body.

How to run faster? 

• Running is not only about legs. You should also strengthen your arms. It’s an important part of the workout. The arms help in gaining more speed and in maintaining it. Their movement comes out of the body. 
• You cannot escape from additional training. The most important ones are the strengthening training. Why? They will stimulate fast twitch muscle fiber, as well as those that increase the strength of slow twitch muscle fiber.

II. RUNNING STRENGTH TRAINING – WITHOUT IT YOU CAN NOT MOVE ON

How to run faster? You should not skip this part of the workout. It’s an important part because this training will increase your legs and abdominal muscles. What is more, it improves dynamics, rolling, and coasting, which improves both running speed and endurance.

Training is not only an obligatory element of your workout routine. Remember that these exercises can also be fun. I am sure that you remember most of the exercises that were used back at school, during the P.E lessons. These include all types of skips, and various combinations of skips with each other – single-leg skips, technical marches, multi-jumps, as well as running up. 

III. DISTANCE VS TRAINING

How to increase speed in running? It’s important to know what distance you want to run faster. We will show you different distances and 2 ways to effectively improve the speed at them. Are you curious? Then read the examples below!

How to run faster at 3 and 5 km? 

Are you wondering how to increase running speed on these distances? VO2max intervals will help you develop the right speed. 

Do you want to run faster? Bet on intervals – in addition to speed, they will improve your aerobic capacity. 

How do they differ from tempo endurance, which we mentioned before? 

You run short distances, but intensively, because you run at the speed you want to run for 3-5 km. Because of this, you need to maintain a steady pace. In this case, if you see that at the end of the run you started to slow down, it means that you started too fast, and you need to start at a lower speed. Repeat the sections according to your level of advancement. 

If you want to take a break, do not stop running. Move from running to trotting for about 3 minutes. You will regain some strength and start to run at your speed again. 

As you can see, the training varies slightly depending on the distance. Focus on tempo endurance and intervals. 

Nevertheless, it is always most important to determine your starting speed. This knowledge allows you to arrange your exercises accordingly. 

How to run faster at 10 km?

Running 10 kilometers is not an easy task, and certainly many people will find it difficult to reach such a distance. Especially people who have recently started running. It may not be a huge distance, but many runners have trouble maintaining speed along the route. You may think: “Ok, I’m running steadily, I could run even faster.” However, with every kilometer, your speed decreases. 

If you want to run faster and maintain an adequate and consistent speed throughout the course, then you need to do Tempo Workouts for improving your tempo endurance. Such training may also be an interval. As a beginner, make your running speed slightly lower than the target speed for 10 km.

• Do 3 repetitions for 2-kilometer stretches.
• The break is a jog of about 3 minutes.
• As you become more advanced, increase either the number of repetitions or the distance traveled (e.g.: 2 x 4 km).
• In this exercise, the most important thing is to maintain the same speed throughout the session. So if you slow down at the end, it means you took off too hard.

The whole difficulty is to choose the right distance and time to run it. Fortunately, you can calculate this.

The VO2max intervals described below will also be helpful in improving your 10 km performance.

IV. HAVE FUN WITH FARTLEK 

You are probably wondering: “What fartlek is?”. This word comes from Swedish and literally means “speed play” – it’s like playing around with speeds, so you run at different speeds at different sections of the route. 

The idea in Fartlek is to practice your speed while running a certain distance, e.g. 6-10 km. So don’t ignore the trotting sections, and use them to rest as much as you can to survive the fun.

It differs from intervals because you don’t take breaks. You run all the time. Just once slower, once faster. The stretches, as well as the change of pace, are up to you. For example: once it will be a 12 km pace, then a marathon pace, then a 4 km pace, then a trot, and then a 90% run for a 100-150 m stretch. You can ask, “When can I rest?”. You rest during trotting. 

The main idea of this kind of running is to practice your speed while running a certain distance.

Let’s say you run 8 km to see how fast you are. You should not ignore trotting sections and use them to rest as much as you can to survive this “fun” workout ;). 

V. REMEMBER ABOUT REGULARITY – ONLY IN THIS WAY YOU WILL ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL

You have to remember that if you want to achieve your goal then you should train regularly. Regularity is the base! This is why, if you want to compete in some kind of competition, you should do not only long runs but also 1-2 times a week do: 

• tempo endurance, 
• strength and power training,
• intervals, 
• running strength exercises. 

Make sure you don’t do this type of exercise day after day. It’s best to intersperse them with general slower runs. If you want your workouts to be fruitful, you can install apps on your phone. These are very useful because they will show you intervals, distance, time, and your progress. 

Now you know how to increase running speed! We showed you 5 tips on how to run faster. Probably it will be difficult for you to reconcile all this. You can always switch the training, for example, one-week intervals, then tempo endurance, and then running strength exercises. You should also remember about breaks and proper recovery to prevent injuries and stay in good shape. Thanks to that, you will see better results! Start exercising today and make you run faster!