# How to improve at Running?



## MattofSilat (Aug 16, 2014)

I'm talking about Athletic Running here, all distances up to 1500m.

I used to be pretty good at running despite doing no real Athletic Training, but that all changed at about Year 8ish, when I was 13. Our school years are split up into 4 groups known as Houses for the competitive nature. However, my house happens to suck, so I always get put in the fast races as I, despite not being particularly fast, am one of the fastest we've got. 

I'm in Year 10 now (Well, it's in the Holidays and I'll be in Year 11 in about 2/3 weeks), so I'm 15, and I'm wondering what distance I want to run. I think that I would like to run either 800m, as I'm quite short so I don't think the short distance sprints will be very productive. I'm willing to do any training that it takes, but although I'm definitely bulking up at the moment, I've always been a bit of a push-around, especially when it came to sports. I was, and probably still am, pretty crap at sports but I enjoy playing them. I think this issue will be solved a lot as I'm training quite hard and I think I'm bulking up/getting stronger.

Upon watching the European Championships over the last couple of days, I've decided that I want to be able to be a good at a running event, 800m. I want to do 800m because there isn't anybody from my school who specialises in 800m, or atleast nobody that actually trains for running. The person who normally wins is the same person that wins basically every long distance event over 800m because he has incredible endurance. He doesn't really have any power, he's really light and pretty skinny, but because he can run at a fast speed for 800m, he is normally the one who wins it. Every other running athlete goes for 1500m, 400m, 200m or 100m, 800m seems to be the niche, so I'd like to be the one to fill it. Our next 'Sports Day' is in July of 2015, so I have about a year to train for it. 

I suppose my general question is, how do I improve?

I don't do any real endurance work, but I plan to start Running for Endurance on Monday, using this plan: The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan | C25K Mobile App

What do you think of that plan? Does it look geared more towards longer distance runners, should I go for being able to run to 800m specifically instead of the 5k, should I stop at 5k or progress to 10k in order to progress my endurance further? I'm currently thinking of just training to be able to run as far as possible, as that means that I will have endurance to spare.

As for the running itself, I'm not too keen on going to an athletic's club at this moment in time, so I'd prefer to try and train from home for now. Would you say that the most important things after endurance would be Leg Strength and Technique? Anybody got any ideas on how to improve technique from home? 

Basically, any and all tips for running 800m would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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## Dirty Dog (Aug 16, 2014)

The phrases "bulking up" and "800m race" do not belong in the same paragraph. The person you described who "normally wins" this race is exactly the sort of person who should be running it. Go watch every 800m Olympic race for the last 30 years and let me know how many of the runners match your "normally win" guy and how many of them you would describe as "bulked up". The two lists are going to be extremely lopsided.

A big bulky guy can certainly run; roadwork has been normal training for fighters of all weight classees since, well, forever. What a big bulky guy cannot do is run fast, especially over any significant distance.


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## Transk53 (Aug 16, 2014)

MattofSilat said:


> I'm talking about Athletic Running here, all distances up to 1500m.
> 
> I used to be pretty good at running despite doing no real Athletic Training, but that all changed at about Year 8ish, when I was 13. Our school years are split up into 4 groups known as Houses for the competitive nature. However, my house happens to suck, so I always get put in the fast races as I, despite not being particularly fast, am one of the fastest we've got.
> 
> ...



That mobile app I believe is the one my Sis uses. Anyway, would you not be better of going to the athletics club and asking a runner whom specializes in the 800. Sure you would get all the advice you need.


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## elder999 (Aug 17, 2014)

If you want to "bulk up" and run those distances, look at military training programs-keep up with the calisthenics, and run at all three paces, but chiefly "long, slow distance."

For the race that you've picked-a sprint, for the likes of me, rather than what some call "middle distance," the best bet is to figure out what your fastest time is *now* at at that distance, and work towards running that pace for 1500m. 

Run intervals.

On occasion, run all out: as fast as you can, for as long as you can.

You also might seek out a coach to maximize your gait for efficiency, in order to get faster.


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## punisher73 (Aug 18, 2014)

The 800m is one of the hardest distances because it is basically a long sprint.  You are going to need to improve your fast twitch fibers and focus on speed to compete well at that event.  Focus on sprint intervals, such as 4x100 with walking in between.  An idea is to sprint the length of the football field and then walk back, and then sprint back etc.

For endurance and distance, I think the 5k to couch potato program is a great beginner program to get you started.  I recommend it to anyone who has not run (or not in a very long time) to build up their endurance and distance running.  

Try to focus on one thing at a time though.  Your body is using two different types of energy sources with sprints vs. endurance.  That doesn't mean you can't train both, but just spend more time on your main focus with the other as supplemental training.


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