Before you walk, you need to crawl. Before you run, you need to walk. The funny part is, many people think of winning marathons before they run their first event. If it was that easy to run fast, everyone would be doing it. Even if winning is not your goal, you would always want to improve on your personal best time. Here are a few tips to improve your running speed.

Speed Training

The most effective method for me has been the speed training. There are a few ways this training is done. One way is to set a point A and B, then run between the points in incremental speeds. Another way is to run in one direction and walk the other, incrementing the speed each time.

Tempo Run

You can consider this method the opposite of speed training. Tempo run requires you to run at a steady pace for a set time or a set distance. People like to split the speeds into warm up, main and calm down times. Run at slow steady pace during warm up and calm down. And run at increased but steady pace in main period.

Interval Training

This is something similar to speed training where you fix the lap time or distance A to B. Here the running speed is not in focus. Interval training can be a mix of various styles of the run, that work on different muscle groups. High knee, butt kicks, lateral run, and reverse runs are some variations you can try.

Cross Fitness

Now, this is one of the most underrated aspects of training for running. A lot of runners I know, do not bother with even warm up and calm down workouts. Mixing up other workouts is not just a way to stay injury-free but also important to stay agile. And this agility leads to faster and smoother runs. You can try cycling, swimming, strength training, weight training, or hardcore CrossFit workouts to achieve this agility.

Fartlek

Non-runners often think of Usain Bolt as a symbol of running. When you say marathons or jogging it gets looked down upon. This is sometimes because slow runs are boring to some people. And often about the delay in seeing results. Sprinting is more exciting and effective for those who are short of time. Fartlek is a technique where you sprinkle sprints in between your long run. It is a great way to train for faster average running speed.

Hill Training

When I was living in Chennai, I would often run on sand, to learn balance. Hill running is another way to learn balance and push your body to exert. Since it becomes difficult to keep up your normal pace on hills, it tends to push you. Running up and down the staircase is a good alternative as well. The biggest reward is, the moment you are off the hill, your legs move much freely on the plane roads.

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