Health & Fitness UK – September 2019

RUNNING

EXPERT EXPERT

RUN EXPERT

Saucony ambassador Charlotte Arter,

British 10,000m champion and Parkrun

record holder, answers your questions

Q

How can I get faster at running

5Ks and 10Ks?

A

‘Although it may seem tempting,
don’t just run full pelt as often as
possible. It’s very hard for your body to
recover quickly from that, so a more
measured, consistent approach is best
to help you avoid injury and build up your
fitness, speed and endurance safely.
‘I’d recommend you aim to do three
to four running sessions a week: giving
yourself time to recover is vital. I train
on the track on a Tuesday, doing 5K- or
10K-specific training. These sessions
should be just over “threshold pace”, so
the same pace or faster than your 5K or

10K pace. For 10K training, I do sessions

such as: 20 x 400m with 45 seconds’

recovery between each repetition, or 8 x

1k with 90 seconds’ recovery. Obviously,

this is much more than the average runner

would do, so try a few reps and gradually

add on another rep when you feel ready

to. For 5Ks, you could try 6 x 2 minutes

with 90 seconds in between or 10 x 1

minute with a short rest between each

rep, for example.

‘On Fridays, I do a road run at threshold

pace (this feels a bit uncomfortable but is

a pace you can maintain for the duration

of the session). This can either be done

continuously for 20 minutes or so, or

break it up into two or three reps of 10

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minutes, with 90 seconds between reps.

On Sundays, I do a long, easy-paced run

of around 14 miles. Make sure this run

is longer than the event or distance

that you’re training for and at a pace

where you could hold a conversation

with someone.

‘The important thing is to have variety in

your training. You could also incorporate

some light weight training into your

regime, to boost your power and speed

and help avoid injury. Don’t be a slave

to your watch – adapt your training to how

your body feels that day, and do lots of

events to help you learn how to pace

yourself – I’ve had some of my best results

when I haven’t been wearing a watch.’ WORDS:

Emma Lewis MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: iStock

Charlotte Arter does longer training runs in the new Saucony Ride ISO 2 running shoes (£120; saucony.co.uk)