Runners

JULY 2018 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK 039``````When did you last sprint?Really sprint? Armspumping, heart pounding,feet flying. Afterwards,doubled over, you suck inoxygen as the pain of theeffort subsides. You shouldbe thinking, ‘Never again’- instead, you’re smiling.‘Running as fast as possibleis exhilarating,’ says JasonFitzgerald, head coach atStrength Running(strengthrunning.com). ‘It’sa primal movement.’ Butthere’s more than fun to begained from unleashingyour inner speed demon.‘The benefits of sprinttraining include improvedrunning economy [howmuch oxygen you use torun at a given speed], fastertop-end speeds, betterneuromuscularcoordination and greatermuscular strength,’ saysFitzgerald. Jeff Gaudette,coach and founder ofRunners Connect(runnersconnect.com)agrees. ‘I believe alldistance runners shouldhave strides and shortsprints in their training,even if they’re training fora marathon,’ he says.The Transformation IssueFaster