It is strongly advised—especially for those aged 35 and over—and/or who live largely sedentary lives, to include 30-minute brisk walks five/six times a week during training. Supplementary running-specific strength training (especially lower body and core) is recommended at least twice a week—to help stay injury-free.

Training Tips

• Each week, there are up to three quality workouts—Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. These drive 80 per cent of your improvement and fitness, so make them your key training priority.
• Workouts can be shuffled within a given week, and key runs can even be moved between weeks, to accommodate personal circumstances, but strive not to break the “hard/easy” principle (quality runs on back-to-back days) or do runs of the same character in back-to-back weeks.
• Be flexible. It’s perfectly fine to adjust any given run distance by +/- 1 to 2 kilometres, and any given pace by +/- 5 to 10 seconds/kilometre. even under ideal run conditions.
• Missed runs, by more than one day, are best left behind. Re-focus and recommit to current/future runs rather than trying to play catch up and squeezing in extra volume or frequency in an effort to make up. The goal is consistency and progress, not perfection!
• Prescribed paces assume ideal conditions, both external, such as temperature, flat course, low winds, and internal—your own health, stress level, etc. Please adjust paces to reflect those circumstances and conditions. On some runs that can mean running 20 – 40 seconds/kilometre slower than target pace.
• Hills. Where average elevation is referenced (i.e. 10 metres/kilometre), use your GPS device and/or online training log to check the total “climb” of particular runs to verify how hilly/flat they are, e.g. a 12-kilometre hilly OMP should have approximately 120 metres of elevation.

Legend
OMP – Ordinary Mortal Pace. Run as strongly, smoothly and confidently as possible without overreaching. For most runners this is a little faster than marathon pace, a little slower than half-marathon pace.

WU/STR/CD – Warm-up/strides/cool down. Easy running at or slower than current LSD (Long Slow Distance) pace, done before/after hard effort runs. Strides are approximately 100 metre smooth accelerations to faster than target training pace (but not all-out sprinting).

Triple Thrill Hills – these are sets of three different distance hills, with slightly shorter recovery easy runs between hills within sets, and slightly longer recovery easy runs/rest between sets.

P1-2 Punch Progression Run – consider these two parts of a single run workout. They should always be done within 12 – 24 hours of each other, otherwise the intended benefit is largely lost. P1 is a slightly slower/easier than usual OMP run (think hilly OMP pace done on flat course), designed to leave you not fresh to start P2. The Progression Run the next day is a long run with a very exaggerated negative split. You must start slow for the first one to three kilometres (i.e. 30 – 40 second/kilometre slower than LSD pace) in order to have any chance of continually picking up speed (closing at approximately half-marathon pace). This combination run emulates the fatigue of the final 10 – 12 kilometres of a marathon, without actually running the full distance in training. This lowers injury risk and speeds up post-run recovery and teaches you how to pick up effort/pace late in the race when it’s hard to do (and you need it most).

Download a PDF of the 17-Week Marathon Training Plan

Photography by Matt Cecill Visuals

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Running form itself, or biomechanics, can be defined as the way one’s body moves through space when engaged in the act of running. But what are running form drills?

Essentially, they are a way of breaking the entirety of the running stride into smaller segments, to isolate parts of the full gait cycle, making it easy to rehearse and improve specific aspects, before putting it all back together again to define your own natural running form.

When to do them?

• Most commonly, after a 10 – 15 min easy jog warm-up, before harder, faster more intense running, such as intervals, hill repetitions, time trials and/or races.
• We often recommend practicing running form drills at least one to two other times per week, after other, usually shorter, easy runs as well, especially for newer or novice runners, to help establish and reinforce ideal movement patterns before “bad habits” become entrenched.

Why do them?

• Reduce injury risk and safely ready the body for imminent fast running.
• Strengthen key running muscles.
• Practice neuromuscular patterning for better coordination.
• Establish greater range of motion and functional flexibility.
• Ultimately to improve performance.

How to do them?

• Find a clear, straight, flat stretch of pavement, grass or running track, that’s at least 40 metres long.
• Throughout all drills, focus on tall, erect posture, and make sure your breathing is deep, full and relaxed (i.e. belly breathing). Strive for “yoga on the move” and you’ve got it.
• Gently engage your core muscles and try to limit vertical—up and down—movement of your hips. Stay “horizon quiet.”
• Perform one to three sets, 30 – 40 metres for each drill.

What to do?

There are many drills out there but here we are concentrating on the ‘big 4.’ And even if you’ve only got five minutes to spare it is worthwhile fitting them into your running schedule.

• Running A’s or “Running Skips” – start with a high-knee lift march, and when comfortable graduate to a more forceful “thrust” of the forward knee (opposite elbow back) that pulls your body forward (rather than pushing off your back foot).
• Running Bs or “Paw Backs” – tall posture, high-knee lift, gently extend lead foot to activate hamstring, and draw lead foot directly underneath hip at ground contact/weight transfer (opposite elbow back).
• Running Cs or “Butt Kicks” – hop on balls of feet, lifting heels close to glutes, emphasizing quick compact cadence.
• Running Ds or “High Knees” – hop on balls of feet, lifting knees in front of you, up close to hip height, trying to pop quickly off your feet, minimizing ground contact time.

Three great adjuncts to run form drills, often completed in conjunction with running drills, are: 

• Dynamic Mobility Exercises – leg swings, hip circles, lunges, squats and “scoops.”
• Static Stretching – quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and “ITB” (iliotibial band).
• Striders or Strides – six to seven reps of 80 – 120 metre-long gentle, progressive accelerations to “near but not” sprinting, focusing on smoothly increasing stride rate, effort and speed by the end of each rep.

As a runner and coach of over 30 years I have been practicing and instructing regular running form drills hundreds of times per year. I am virtually certain that a big part of my long-term running and coaching success is due to regular running form drills. Give them a try and see for yourself. 

A complete and extensive list, along with short video demos of each drill, is available at Marathon Dynamics YouTube channel. 

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Live a Physically Dynamic Lifestyle

Try adding either a 30+ min power walk or 20+ min slow, easy, relaxed, but short, quick-stepping jog to your routine at least 5 – 6 days per week. These activities will gently stress your lower body so it can cope with the high impact activity of running.

Run Fast Every Week

You’ve got to spend at least a little time every week running FASTER than you expect to run when racing. For best results, try the following as many times a week as possible:

During easy recovery runs, include short, playful bursts of faster running for 10 to 30 seconds – to preserve neuro-muscular quickness.

Do 4 – 5  striders before any speed work and after at least 1 – 2 other kinds of runs, every week. Striders are gentle accelerations of about 100-150 m paying attention to form and increasing cadence gradually before slowing to a stop.

Spend about 10-15 per cent of your total weekly volume running at, or faster than, current goal race pace.

Strength Train

Do run-specific strength work and/or weight training on legs, hips, core, and upper body.

Ask yourself ‘Over the past 2 – 3 years, what muscle groups or joints have given me the most grief, especially during high mileage, long runs or races?’ Try working on these specific areas during your weight training.

Run with the Right Crowd

Find like-minded people through clubs or word of mouth. It’s motivating to run with others.

For the past 20 years or so, I’ve done my weekend long runs with the same great group of ‘old farts’ who like me, have been running since our teens. I look forward to and treasure those runs for the personal connectivity and shared experience, as much as any physical benefits that accrue.

The more complete and well rounded a human being you are, the healthier you’ll be over time, and the more you’ll continue to improve…or at the very least, hold on to what you’ve got!