Running tracks. They’re the reserve of the super serious spike-wearing brigade, right? Wrong. Alongside the lycra-clad elites are plenty of normal runners looking to speed up. Hitting the track is great for boosting top-end speed, developing your lactate threshold, improving your form and technique, and providing a mix and motivation for your training – and that really does help you run faster.
A track is a fixed distance (400m), meaning it’s perfect for understanding pace and effort. It’s a very controlled environment, meaning you can structure a specific workout and be able to get feedback on distance and time and see progression as a result of training. Tracks are made for speed, and faster running is good for you. It keeps your motor-neuron pathways sending speedy signals to fast-twitch muscle fibres, keeps your joints, tendons and ligaments more reactive and responsive, and helps with running posture and form.
Even a self-proclaimed ‘one-paced road plodder’ would benefit from faster running – and the track is the ideal place to give it a whirl.
What to wear
When you first set foot on a track, it can seem like a hard surface. Take your time with any footwear and surface progressions. Just because you’re stepping on the track, it doesn’t mean you should step out of your normal trainers. A radical move from your normal running trainer to a super light track spike isn’t advisable and could result in injury or at least very tight calves. Try running on the track in your trainers first, then progress to a lighter training shoe, then a racing flat and, if you really get into it, a track spike.
Racers or spikes?
A lightweight pair of training/racing shoes means that your feet will feel the contact with the track, you’ll have better proprioception and you’ll be more in tune with your footstrike. Racing trainers are typically much lighter than your robust, heavy, cushioned, supportive mileage shoes so will help you feel light and fast for track workouts. Lighter shoes have also been shown to be more efficient and energy saving. They are, however, less supportive and have reduced cushioning, stability and control.
Running spikes take the lightness and minimalist nature even further. A classic track spike is wafer thin and light providing only minimal protection but increased traction and responsiveness through the addition of a spike plate at the forefoot.
Track technique
You don’t need to run differently or change your running style when running on the track. However, it is a great place to perfect your posture and form and become a ‘tidy’ runner with balance, poise and control.
■ Keep your hips high. Run tall. Imagine you are reaching upwards to place your head in an imaginary baseball cap just above you.
■ Run confidently. Keep your eyes at horizon level, head high (not chin up), arms swinging laterally by your sides, increase your leg cadence and your stride rate and look and feel great.
■ Relax – don’t strain. You don’t need to screw your face up in a sinewy smile to run fast. Instead, keep your head, neck and shoulders still, relaxed and in control. Relax from the eyebrows down.
Track Training
■ Run the shortest distance
On a track this means that you run on the inside of Lane 1.
■ Keep an even pace
While running on a road, the course often dictates your pace as you have to navigate left and right turns, uphills, downhills and even wind. However, running on a track is all about learning how to hold a steady pace each lap.
■ Commit to it
Track running takes courage and commitment. You’ve got to get your mind ready to invest the effort to reap the rewards. Don’t just hop on the track and run around for a few laps. Aim to hit it with purpose.
Try these track sessions
- 400s
6 x 400m (with 50% timed recovery). Run 400m (1 lap) in the inside lane at 80%+ effort level. Your pace should be fast but controlled. Take 50% of the time it took you to run the 400m as rest (eg. a 2min 400m = a 1min rest period) and repeat a total of 6 times. - Pyramid
800m – 600m – 400m x 2. Run 800m, with 200m walk recovery. Run 600m, with 200m walk recovery. Run a flat-out single lap 400m, walk one lap as recovery. Repeat. - Speed 200s
5 x 200m with a lap walk recovery. Run 200m flat out. Walk a lap slowly to recover and repeat x 5. A real speed session. - Pace change 600s
200m at 75% effort – 200m at 85% effort – 200m at 95% effort. Progressively build the intensity of the run throughout the 600m. Take 400m walk/recovery and repeat x 4.
