Coaches Outline Speed Endurance Training for Runners
Running coaches define speed endurance as the ability to maintain pace and explain how runners can build it through specific workouts, strength training
Sifan Hassan's marathon victory at the Paris Olympics exemplified speed endurance, the ability to maintain pace over a long distance. Coaches say this quality is trainable for all runners, not only professionals.
Alison Marie Helms, Ph.D., a certified running coach, defines speed endurance as the ability to maintain speed over a given time or distance. Ben Delaney, head of training at New York Road Runners, agrees it is a critical component for distance runners, not only sprinters. Helms states that developing speed endurance can improve overall fitness, VO2 max, and running economy. Delaney adds this leads to better race performance, endurance, and leg strength. Mentally, it prepares runners to push through fatigue.
Build a Strong Aerobic Base
Helms says speed endurance requires a strong aerobic base. She recommends an 80/20 training split, where 80 percent of weekly mileage is at an easy pace and 20 percent focuses on high-intensity work. For a runner logging 20 miles a week, this could mean 16 easy miles and four miles of speedwork.
Structure Your Speed Workouts
Most runners should do one to two structured speed workouts per week during race training, according to Delaney. He warns that more is not better and advises against doing them on consecutive days. The type of workout depends on the goal race.
| Race Focus | Recommended Workout | Pace/Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Sprinting | 200- to 400-meter repeats | 90 to 95 percent of max speed |
| 5K | 400- or 800-meter repeats | At or slightly faster than mile pace (VO2 max) |
| Marathon/Half Marathon | 1,000-meter or one-mile repeats | At or slightly faster than race pace |
Helms also recommends Yasso 800s for marathon preparation. Delaney notes it typically takes four to six weeks of consistent speedwork to see results.
Develop Strength and Power
Kelvin Gary, C.P.T., CEO of Body Space Fitness, says building strength endurance is foundational for speed endurance. He recommends starting with lighter weights for higher reps (12-20) to build stability, then progressing to weights allowing 8-12 reps for strength endurance. He suggests most runners lift two to four days per week, cycling between strength and endurance phases.
Gary and Helms both emphasize the importance of power development through plyometrics. Helms suggests adding plyometrics once a week. A 2024 systematic review in Sports Medicine found combining strength training with plyometrics may improve running economy, especially for runners at paces of 8 minutes per mile or slower. Recommended exercises include box jumps, medicine ball slams, and kettlebell swings.
Train Compound Movements
Gary advises runners to focus on compound exercises that work the upper and lower body together, such as a reverse lunge with a single-arm cable row or a step-up with a single-arm dumbbell press. He calls the core and upper body part of the "propulsion system." Delaney agrees, stating that working the entire body holistically helps it sustain increased training stress.
By integrating these strategies, runners can work on holding their goal pace stronger through the final miles of a race.
