Training

How to Get Faster at Running

Published September 1, 2026 By SUBNONE

Run more, and run most of it slowly. Why easy running is what makes you faster, which single hard session to add each week, and what matters less than you'd think.

A runner accelerating along an empty athletics track

The short answer: run more, and run most of it slowly. The counterintuitive part is that the fastest route to getting quicker is doing the majority of your running at an easy pace, with one harder session a week. Runners who try to run every session fast improve slowly, if at all.

Why running slowly makes you faster

Easy running builds the aerobic base that everything else sits on: more capillaries, better fuel efficiency, stronger heart, tendons and bones adapted to load. That takes volume, and volume is only possible at a pace you can recover from.

Run everything hard and you cap your weekly distance at what your recovery allows, which is not very much. You also arrive at every session tired, so the hard sessions aren't hard in a useful way — just tiring.

The common framing is roughly 80 percent easy, 20 percent hard. For someone running three times a week that means two easy runs and one harder one.

The single biggest change

Slow your easy runs down. Most people improve simply by doing this, without adding anything.

Easy means conversational — full sentences out loud. It will feel too slow at first, and slightly embarrassing. Do it anyway. See what an easy run is.

Then add one hard session a week

One. Not three.

Tempo runs build the ability to hold a strong pace for longer. Roughly 20 minutes at a comfortably hard effort — you can speak a few words, not a sentence. Best for 5K and beyond. See what a tempo run is.

Intervals develop speed and efficiency. Short hard repeats with recovery between, for example 6 × 400m with 90 seconds jogging. See what interval training is.

Hills are a good starting point for both. Run hard up a moderate hill for 45 seconds, jog down, repeat six to eight times. Lower injury risk than flat speed work because the incline limits your speed for you.

Alternate between these rather than doing all three. One quality session a week is plenty for most people running three to four times.

Run more, if you can

Total weekly volume is the strongest predictor of improvement. Going from three runs a week to four, all else equal, will make you faster.

Add distance gradually and add it to easy runs, not hard ones.

Things that help more than people expect

Consistency over months. Twelve unremarkable weeks beats three brilliant ones followed by a layoff. This is the real answer, and it's unglamorous.

Sleep. Adaptation happens during recovery, and sleep is most of that.

Strength work. Twice a week of simple lower-body and core work tends to improve durability and running economy.

Cadence. Many runners overstride. Taking slightly shorter, quicker steps often feels easier and reduces braking forces.

Things that help less than people expect

Shoes. Watches. Supplements. Stretching before runs. Deliberately changing your running form based on something you read — form generally improves on its own as fitness does, and consciously rebuilding it often introduces new problems.

How long it takes

Beginners often see substantial improvement in the first six to twelve months. After that, gains get slower and more incremental, which is normal rather than a sign of doing something wrong.

Progress also isn't linear. Some weeks you'll be slower for no discernible reason. Judge over months.

A note on pushing hard

Persistent fatigue, runs that keep getting harder, disrupted sleep or loss of motivation usually mean too much intensity and too little recovery. The answer is more easy running and more rest, not more effort. If it persists, or you have any health concerns, speak to a GP. General guidance, not medical advice.