[This is a guest blog by Jan Alexander. Jan is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. His athletic background includes running, cycling, triathlon, and basketball. He is currently taking part in the Athletic Lab Coaching Mentorship program.]

Distance runners from the 5k to the Marathon have no shortage of options to guide training decisions while peaking for that next big race. Many programs provide interval workouts to challenge the aerobic pathways needed to hammer a chosen race distance whether that be a 5k or full-on 26.2 marathon distance. These interval workouts are all incredibly valuable at preparing runners for grinding out the effort to hit that next PR (personal record), while an overlooked and undervalued training adaptation for distance runners is developing pure sprint speed.

Studies have proven that sprint speed is a predictor of top performance in distance running events. Sprinting improves running economy by making your top speed faster, which means that when you get faster, the pace you ran that felt hard before feels less hard. On top of that, sprint sessions are downright fun! While running track in high school, I envied the sprinters who ran for a few seconds, and stood around for what seemed like eternity. Here, we will dive into why you should add sprinting to your training plan and give you some ways to fit sprints into your weekly mileage without sacrificing volume.

Why You Should Add Sprint Training Sessions

Sprint training can provide training benefits beyond just adding variety to your routine. As David Roche and Megan Roche, MD make clear in their book The Happy Runner, “Running economy is influenced by biomechanics, neuromuscular circuitry, and aerobic development (Roche et al 2019).” Running economy is defined as the energy demand for a given velocity of sub-maximal running or how hard a runner has to work at a given speed below their top speed. The theoretical benefit of sprint training as a means to increase your running economy to improve distance running results is simple. Get faster at your top speed, and your speeds at less than top speed follow. Sprint training is the most efficient way to improve the biomechanics and neuromuscular circuitry for improving your top speed. If you want to run faster, you must run faster. As the Roche’s also write in their book, and I can speak from my personal experience, runners tend to focus too much on aerobic development (Roche et al 2019).

According to a study published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, researchers found significant correlations between both 5k and 10k season best times with both 100m and 400m sprint times. However, they found no relationship between the aforementioned race results and V02max (Yamanaka, et al 2019). There are some limitations to this study as it applies to broader populations. The study had a small sample size of 12 male athletes who were also national top-level athletes. Conversely, they also did not test any correlations of sprint speed to race distances longer than the 10k. With that, it seems entirely possible that we aren’t considering the adaptations that sprint training can have amongst the broad spectrum of abilities within the running community or amongst the range of racing distances popular in the running community.

With sprint training, we place a higher emphasis on building our running economy. Also in The Happy Runner, the Roche’s point out an example where researchers tested Paula Radcliffe’s (world record holder in the marathon) V02max in 1991 when she was a teenager at 70ml/min/kg, and in annual tests thereafter marked no observable improvements while she got immensely faster. The authors surmise that “Radcliffe’s running economy improved about 15 percent, so she did too (Roche et al 2019).” Since a VO2max test measures the amount of oxygen the body uses while at max effort, the test can indicate an athlete’s aerobic capacity, yet has limitations in assessing the full capabilities for any individual. With an understanding of aerobic capacity and the correlations running economy can play in the development of faster aerobic race results, it becomes clear that incorporating speed sessions to an endurance training plan of any distance will drive results. This improvement affects any athlete, at any training level, by simply raising your max speed ceiling.

One of the simplest reasons to add sprint training sessions to your weekly mileage is variety. Running creates compounding stress on the same muscle groups, but it can also be mentally challenging to run the same routes week-in and week-out. If an athlete is training within a demanding work/life schedule, they will prioritize convenience to ensure they meet their weekly volume quotas. This can mean running the same loop close to home or work repeatedly not only throughout a week, but sometimes within the same daily running session. Adding sprint sessions can give the athlete a new challenge, and is an easy way to add intensity to a training plan. Another bonus is that with sprinting, there is no need for any extra equipment, just a surface long enough to cover the required session distance.

How and When to Add Sprint Training Sessions

There are many ways that sprint sessions can be added to your weekly training plan. Most training plans include strides at the end of one of the shorter sessions, so some sprint work is already being added to most athletes’ weekly mileage. However, to see the greatest adaptations to sprint work a more strategic and thoughtful approach will improve sprint performance further. In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that looked at over 1400 subjects, across 48 previous studies, found that specific sprint training methods improved the speed of athletes for all distances (Rumps et al 2019). For distance runners, the goal should be to train both acceleration and maximal velocity.

One method for adding sprint sessions to a training plan is to schedule one to two sessions per week during an athlete’s base building phase, preferably by replacing the stride sessions if those are part of the training plan. I suggest incorporating the sprint session at the beginning of the training session after an adequate warm-up. By inverting the day’s plan, you give the athlete the opportunity to give the most quality to the component of training which is most beneficial. In a well designed training session, sequencing should see speed and power units ahead of any strength and endurance units. So if an athlete is planning on a general aerobic or slower paced run on a training day, prioritize the speed session at the beginning to gain the most value out of the day’s session. In other words, do the higher priority and harder stuff first.

If an athlete is already doing strength sessions in the gym during a training cycle, short sprint sessions can be added to these workouts. As long as overall training volume is taken into consideration, adding a quality sprint component to the beginning of a gym session, where an athlete is working on other power components, can be an effective method. This tends to stack the sessions that induce the most tissue damage in the same day to allow for adequate recovery time. Be sure to monitor the athlete if using this training approach. Each athlete is different, and adding too much to an individual session can cause overload. It’s better to do a little bit of that high quality work if more is going to sacrifice overall training quality. Listen to the athlete and adjust as necessary. Follow the session sequence from above with speed and power before strength and endurance. That means begin the session with sprint work before getting into any strength work for the day.

A third place to add a short sprint session to a training plan is during what is known as a quota day. A quota day is typically a shorter, easier run at the end of a week that an athlete uses to fulfill weekly mileage quotas. These typically fall the day after a long run, and two days before a quality interval session. The timing suggestion for adding these sprint sessions is to ensure a full day of recovery from any other hard session prior to and directly following the workout. This ensures full recovery before a workout that induces heavier tissue damage. Again, follow the sequencing as if you were adding these to base building runs where the sprint session is included at the beginning of a run. It’s all about priority and making sure you don’t come into a sprint session with pre-fatigued muscles and risk injury.

Speed Training Options

There are two different sprinting skills that require training, and they have different session characteristics. Those skills are acceleration, or the ability to gain speed in a short amount of time, and maximal velocity, or the highest possible sprint speed you can achieve.

To train for acceleration, you can use a variety of methods that include short distance sprint accelerations, resisted runs, or hill sprints. The goal should be to keep each repetition at or under 30m and to allow for around 1 minute of rest for each 10m of sprinting or 1:20 to 1:40 work to rest ratio. Total volume for a session should not exceed 300m and take into consideration athlete experience level, total training volume, and time constraints.

Acceleration workout session:

Perform the following sets and reps at a max effort level, and use a two point start position. A two point start position is starting with both feet on the ground in a stance similar to a football wide receiver prior to the snap. For athletes with injury history or returning from injury, use a “drop-in” to start (a skip into the sprint start) to reduce the force of starting from standing.

  • 5 times @ 10m w/ 1 minute rest
  • 2 minutes rest then into
  • 4 times @ 20m w/ 2 minutes rest
  • 4 times @ 30m w/ 2 minutes rest

To train for maximal velocity, you can use methods that include assisted sprints, flying starts, and sprint-float-sprints. The goal should be to keep each repetition at or under 60m and to allow for between 2 to 4 minutes of rest between reps or 1:20 to 1:40 work to rest ratios. Total volume for a session should not exceed 300m.

Maximal Velocity workout session:

  • 6 times @ 15m flying sprint with 30m run-in w/ 2 minutes rest

Sprint training can seem like an incredibly daunting world to venture into for endurance athletes, but it doesn’t have to be complex to be effective. As studies have proven, this can be one of the most beneficial training sessions for endurance athletes at all levels. It requires very little time and even less equipment. Just start small and build these sessions into your training plan as the body adapts. Most importantly, have fun with it. Running really fast on a field or a track will make you feel like a pro athlete, and it beats running that same neighborhood loop for the billionth time. More importantly, it will make you a faster runner and running fast is essentially the goal whether that be over a distance of 100 meters or 100 miles. So, get out there and channel your inner Usain Bolt. Who knows, maybe you were a sprinter all along.

References

  • Yamanaka, Ryo; Hayato Ohnuma; Ryosuke Ando; Fumiya Tanji; Toshiyuki Ohya; Masahiro Hagiwara; and Ysuhiro Suzuki. (2019). Sprinting Ability as an Important Indicator of Performance in Elite Long-Distance Runners. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 15, 141-145. HTTPS://doi.org/10.1123/spp.2019-0118
  • Rumps, Michael C.; Robert G Lockie; John B Cronin; and Farzad Jalilvand. (2015). Effect of Different Sprint Training Methods on Sprint Performance Over Various Distances: A Brief Review. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(6), 1767-1786. http://journals.lww.com/NSCA-jscr
  • Roche, D; M. Roche, MD. (2019). The Happy Runner: love the process, get faster, run longer. Human Kinetics