This article presents a list of cheap running watches. These are basic starter watches that are suitable for beginners or casual joggers, but probably won’t have the features needed for advanced training. If you are looking for a more advanced watch, you can learn about the more advanced features in our running watch guide. You can also visit a collection of our favorite running watches if you would like to buy a running watch.

Perhaps the most important piece of running equipment after shoes and shorts is the running watch. With a watch you can record how long your runs take and compare your times against past efforts. Using time as a benchmark, you can use your digital stopwatch to determine if you are getting faster and fitter.

Digital sports watches handy too, when competing in an event such as a fun run, or even multi-sport events involving other activities like running, swimming (if the watch is sufficiently waterproof), skiing, rowing and bike riding.

If you are starting out then you are probably looking for a cheap running watch.

If you are wondering what is the best watch to buy, here are a few tips on choosing the right cheap digital watch:

• Ensure that has a clear, readable screen that is viewable at an arm’s length – the digits should be large and clear enough that they are comfortable to read while running
• The buttons should be easy to press while on the run
• A cheap sports watch for running should cost no more than $35 USD and in most cases you canl expect to pay around $15 USD

Want some suggestions?

We have compiled a list of our 10 favorite discount watches for runners.

To quickly recap, these watches don’t have many advanced features.

If you are looking for a discount running watch that is a little more advanced, visit our top 10 favorite cheap running watches with running features. These will cost a little extra, but all support session/lap recall and interval timers.

But if you just want something “cheap and dirty” to get you going quickly, the featured watches on this page will do the job quite nicely for basic stopwatch timing.

Top 10 Discount Running Watches For Men and Women

Price:$14.88

TIMEX MEN’S 1440 SPORT DIGITAL WATCH T5J561/T5J571/T5J581 This Timex1440 is a cheap men’s watch that integrates technological innovations with contemporary details. Featuring a large digital display that is suitable for both casual wear and sporting activities, the Timex 1440 watches are one of the industry’s best affordable time-pieces. Indiglo Night-Light 24-Hour Chronograph 24-Hour Countdown Timer Dual Time Zone & Daily Alarm Water Resistant – 50 Meters (165 Feet) 2 Year Battery Life One-Year Warranty

TIMEX WOMEN’S 1440 SPORTS MAGNETISM WATCH T5B821/T5B831 Fitness smart women have really taken to the Timex Magnetism 1440 ladies sports watch – a sleek, svelte and nicely shaped watch designed for small wrists. The Magnetism presents a clear digital display that is easily viewed while on-the-move. Both stylish and affordable, the Magnetism can as easily be worn in the gym as it can with casual dress. Indiglo Night-Light 24-Hour Chronograph Dual Time Zone & Daily Alarm Water Resistant – 50 Meters (165 Feet) 2 Year Battery Life One-Year Warranty

Price: $19.95

TIMEX WOMEN’S MARATHON MIDSIZE WATCH

T5D681 T5J451 T5J441 Price: $26.95 Price: $39.95 Price: $39.95

Indiglo Night-Light 24-Hour Chronograph with Runaround Alert Pulse Calculator and Bar Graph Indicator Daily Alarm & Day Display & Dual Time Zones Water Resistant – 50 Meters (165 Feet) One-Year Warranty The Timex Marathon watch may cost a little more than the Magnetism, but it offers a few extra niceities. In addition to the standard Timex 24 hour stopwatch the Marathon features 10-12 preset timers with runaround alert plus a pulse heart rate calculator and graph indicator. In terms of size and looks, the Marathon will suit a feminine wrist and looks the part both on the sports field or in your casual day-to-day life. Buy this watch if you can benefit from more sports features than the 1440 watches.

CASIO MEN’S DIGITAL SPORT WATCH W756B-1AV The Casio W756B-1AV is a cheap mens watch that looks and is robust enough to take a beating as you would expect from a Casio sports watch. In addition to a basic stop watch, the W756B-1AV features down-time recording which is quite useful when stopped at traffic lights or when otherwise interrupted. This watch also features 9 countdown timers which makes it suitable for interval training workouts. While this cheap black watch might be a handful for the beginner, once mastered the extra features are a nice addition at a supurb price, plus it features an ultra-long lasting battery. Stopwatch with 1/100 sec accuracy. Elapsed time, event timer, injury timer Auto LED Light with Afterglow World Time – 29 Time Zones (48 cities) 9 Interval Counliown Timers Daily Alarm & Hourly Chime 10 Year Battery sports timer Water Resistant to 100m (330 feet)

Price: $19.96

Price: $10.95

CASIO WOMEN’S DIGITAL WATCH One for the ages, this model Casio watch has been in production for years and features the original retro design – an affordable, durable, water-resistant timepiece constructed without unnecessary buttons or frills, the LA11WB-1 is a cheap sport watch that is perfect for the woman who wants to get down to running, without fuss or nonsense. Water Resistant Daily Alarm Counliown Timer 24 hour Stopwatch with 1/100 second accuracy Hourly Time Signal Auto Calendar Accuracy: +/-30 seconds per month Battery SR1116W Approx. battery life: 2 years

FREESTYLE MEN’S ROCKWAY WATCH While the button configuration on this watch might take a bit longer to get used to, the watch works and looks great. Of all the discount running watches for men, the Freestyle Rockway 712011 features 30-lap memory per session, an especially useful function for the beginner who might, in future want to try some interval training sessions. At $24.99 on Amazon this discount mens watch is a steal for the runner who wants a few extra feature. 30 Lap Memory Chronograph & Counliown Timer Dual Time & Alarm Night Vision Backlight Display Durable Polyurethane Strap Water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet)

Price: $24.99

Price: $49.00

NIKE TRIAX SPEED 10 REGULAR WATCH The snug fitting Nike Triax WR0124-001 features a unique angle and S-shape that allows for optimal viewing while on the move, making this one of the more ergonomically friendly among the discount running watches. The chronograph keeps a running time and stores up to 10 laps. The five interval timers also allow you to set goal times and compare your actual times against them. This watch is perfect for runners at a beginner or intermediate level. Data mode tallies Total Time, Lap Times, and Best and Average Laps 10-lap Chronograph One Touch Backlighting Five Interval Timers Water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet) 2 Year Warranty

TIMEX IRONMAN TRIATHLON 30-LAP TRADITIONAL WATCH We would be hard pressed NOT to include a Timex Ironman on a list of discount running watches. The Timex Ironman has a 20 year track record originating from the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon Event when it aquired the “Ironman” brand back in 1986. Today Ironman watches are the best selling sports time-pieces and for good reason. The Ironman watches have an intuitive design that has been proven over the years, suiting both beginners and those who want to move up to an intermediate level. Top pusher gives easy access to lap and split times INDIGLO® Night-Light with Night-Mode Stopwatch, 30-lap recall, 99-lap counter 24-hour counliown timer Alarms, Reminders & Dual Time-Zone Water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet)

Price: $28.00

Price: $18.75

ARMITRON MEN’S CHRONOGRAPH SPORT WATCH If you seek a discount mens watch that is the center of attention, the Armitron Men’s Chronograph Sport watch may be for you with two distinctly loud color schemes in options – red or blue. Buy this watch for it’s looks. At $18.75 US on Amazon, the Armitron 40-6769 watches make a great starter watch, but you will probably want to upgrade when you get into more advanced training. Instalite Night Vision Display Chronograph Mode, 1/100th of a sec accuracy with Lap/Split operation Counliown Timer Day of week, Date and 12 or 24 hour time Dual Time Zones 24 Hour Alarm Hourly Chime Water Resistant to 50m (165 feet)

ARMITRON WOMEN’S DIGITAL SPORT WATCH This cute looking digital sports watch from Armitron is a discount ladies sports watch that is simple, stylish and delivers on the basic functions. Buy this watch for it’s looks, it is a great model to get you started on your running and fitness program. Instalite Night Vision Display Chronograph Mode, 1/100th of a sec accuracy with Lap/Split operation Day of week, Date and 12 or 24 hour time Dual Time Zones 24 Hour Alarm Hourly Chime Water Resistant to 50m (165 feet)

Price: $14.99

For more Discount Watches, the Discount Watch Store carries over 3500 styles of watches from over 50 watch brands. Come choose from our large collection of watches today.

If you’ve spent time among endurance sporting folk, you may have heard the term VO₂ Max.

VO₂ Max is a sporting jargon term. It is a popular measure of an athlete’s performance, but what does it mean and how is it relevant to your own performance and fitness program?

VO₂ Max is defined as the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport and utilize oxygen during intense or maximal exercise.

It is commonly used as a benchmark of an athlete’s capacity to perform sustained exercise and is linked to aerobic endurance.

In scientific VO₂ Max is measured as milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight. In simple terms it is essentially:

How fast you’re sucking in air when running full speed!

To measure VO₂ Max accurately, an athlete is usually tested on a treadmill wearing a special mouth-piece that measures the volume of air inhaled. The speed of the treadmill is increased gradually and as intensity increases so do does oxygen consumption until a point is reached at which increased intensity does not result in greater oxygen consumption.

The rate of air intake at this point is an athlete’s VO₂ Max.

This measurement is considered the best indicator of an athlete’s cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. The theory goes, the more energy you use when running hard, the more ATP energy you can produce. ATP being Adenosine Triphosphate, a chemical compound that breaks down to release energy responsible for muscle contraction.

Endurance athletes typically have very high VO₂ Max values, so if you participate in any type of endurance sport: running, riding, skiing, chances are, your VO₂ Max will be much higher than the average person’s.

Comparisons

To get an idea of where an individual stands in the grand scheme of things, here are some comparisons:

• Average young untrained male: 45
• Average young untrained female: 38
• Competitive club athlete: 70
• World class male athletes, cyclists and cross-country skiers typically exceed 75
• Five time Tour de France Winner Lance Armstrong: 85
• Three time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond: 92.5 (reportedly at his peak)
• Cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie 96
• A Thoroughbred horse: 180
• A Siberian sled dog: 240

All values are measured in ml/kg/min

How to Change Your VO2 Max

VO₂ Max has a genetic component, but can also be increased through training by increasing both training volume and intensity. This will be harder if you’re already quite fit because you may already be close to your genetic potential. You may also not be genetically disposed to increases in VO₂ Max in which case no amount of training will make any difference.

What Other Factors Affect VO2 Max?

Your VO₂ Max will generally decrease past the age of 20, decreasing nearly 30% by age 65. This can be offset by training. Your gender is also a factor, the average male generally have a higher VO₂ Max than the average female.

Your VO₂ Max will also be slightly lower at a higher altitude because there is less oxygen.

VO₂ Max and Athletic Performance

VO₂ Max is not a guarantee of elite performance, but an indicator of an athlete’s potential for aerobic endurance. In terms of performance and especially winning a race, many other factors come into play such as training load, biomechanics, muscle fibre types, lactate threshold, mental strength, tactics, preparation and intelligence.

VO₂ Max Treadmill Test

How to Find Your VO₂ Max

As we have touched upon, measuring your VO₂ Max accurately requires an all-out effort (usually on a treadmill or bicycle) performed under a strict protocol in a sports performance lab. These protocols involve specific increases in speed and intensity of the exercise and collection and measurement of the volume and oxygen concentration of inhaled and exhaled air. This determines how much oxygen the athlete is using.

An athlete’s oxygen consumption rises linearly in relation to exercise intensity to a point where the aerobic threshold is reached. After this occurs, consumption plateaus out, even if the intensity is increased. This plateau marks the VO₂ Max.

There are a variety of alternative methods used to estimate VO₂ Max, but none are as accurate as direct testing.

This is a running related article. If you wish to shop for a running watch, you can Buy Running Watches Here.

I came across an article the other day with a couple of tips that I think can improve the average distance runners performances, yet are shunned by many.

These two activities are hills and speed work.

Yeah, yeah I can hear your groans and complaints already, but in years of running I have seen that these two unpopular activities can go a long way to promoting a runner’s strength, speed and lactate threshold giving a runner an edge over his competitors who ignore these types of sessions.

When you are done reading, be sure to check out our article, the Six Fundamental Exercise Types of The Long Distance Runner for examples of other types of endurance training.

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Two Secrets For Improving Long Distance Running Times by Scott Malin

Building up endurance for long races by turning in countless hours of distance running is only one aspect of reaching your goal. Running is a sport that must be learned just like any other. It requires more than simply jogging around a lot. When you learn to utilize all avenues of running instead of doing only long, slow distance runs, you can improve your cardio capacity, teach your muscles to work more efficiently and cut your distance times down drastically.

Secret #1 – Hills
Hills are an excellent way to vary the terrain and difficulty of a run. Mixed hills can add a much needed dimension to a long distance run, allowing different muscle groups to function at anaerobic levels for a short period of time. In addition, hills (especially trail runs) promote the use and strengthening of the ankle. Ankles are a seldom talked about part of the body until a runner comes up with a sprain, yet they are essential for balance and stabilization, especially as runs become longer. Running hills can help in the following ways:

• Stronger push-off power
• Improves stride frequency
• Develops control and stabilization (downhill running)
• Promotes strength endurance
• Helps to develop maximum speed
• Improves the bodies ability to handle lactic acid
• Improved hip flexibility

Secret #2 – Sprints
Sprints are an extraordinary way to improve your distance running speed. Contrary to what some distance runners may think, sprinting and distance running do not need to be at odds with each other. They work wonderfully well together and offer up a more balanced training regime. Sprinting will increase your lactate threshold and promote better blood flow to the muscles. Simply put, getting more nutrients in and taking more waste taken out makes it easier to go longer distances. Sprinting benefits are:

• Increased running speed – allows for faster distance runs
• Raise the body’s lactate threshold- allows you to run faster before lactic acid forms
• Improves blood flow to the muscles- more oxygen reaches muscles allowing for better function
• Improved aerobic capacity- allowing the body to utilize oxygen more efficiently for prolonged periods of time.

Long distance running can be very rewarding but if you, like many others find yourself stuck in a plateau, why not give one of these options a try. You will be amazed at the results!

If you would like to learn more or find other great articles on health, fitness and nutrition, please visit: http://www.dynamicsofmotion.com

Scott Malin is a widely respected expert on the subject of fitness, strength, and nutrition. To learn more, please visit: http://www.dynamicsofmotion.com

As a runner, I have always built up my mileage slowly and incremental with a simple pattern:

• Three weeks of buildup, each week is 5km (or about 3 miles) more mileage than the last
• The fourth week is a recovery week (typically about 80% of current load)

This has worked well over the years. It is a slow buildup, but has consistently helped me build up my base mileage without major injury.

There is the 10% rule of course. I actually did not discover the 10% rule until recently.
The 10% Rule in case you haven’t encountered it either, says that you can increase your mileage safely by 10% per week. So if you are doing 20 km this week, then next week you can do 22 km. The week after 24.2 km and so on.

The other day, while revising my own training program, I came across a system that goes a step further. Best-running-tips.com feature an article on how to safely build up your mileage.

The author argues that the 10% rule is too general and doesn’t work at extreme ranges on the mileage spectrum. For example if you are an athlete who can manage 100 miles per week. By following the 10% rule, you’d be doing 110 miles the next week then 121 the following week. Those sorts of increases are way too big, even for someone at that level.

At the other end of the spectrum if you’re doing 10 km per week now. Then the 10% rule says you can safely increase to 11 km the next week followed by 12.1 km the week after.

While this would probably be a safe increase for you chances are you’d be selling yourself short!

The author offers a simple system that goes beyond the 10% rule and my simple system. I will present an overview, but I highly recommend you go and read the full article.

Rules to increasing mileage safely:

• Increase the length of half of your runs

  Do not increase the length of all your runs at once. Instead, increase the length of about half of your runs. When you do four workouts per week, then increase the length of only two of your runs. When you run three times a week, increase the length of every second run

• Increase with only one mile (1.6 km) at a time

  Be cautious with adding too many miles to one workout at once. You can make fantastic progress by only adding a mile at most to a workout.

• Apply the hard/easy principle

  Done a long run once? Then next time do a shorter run.
  Make your body work to make progress. But let your body recover as well !

• Make every fourth week a rest week

  Every fourth week cut back your mileage to about 75 % of what it was the previous week. This gives your body a chance to recover. After a tough week, going back to 75 % suddenly seems so easy. That way, you build up your resources again and you get ready for the next few tough weeks. Build in rest weeks. You need them.

These rules may not work for everyone. Athletes invariably come in all shapes, sizes and levels of ability, so one training program or method definitely won’t suit everyone, but the general structure can certainly be used as a guide when used in conjunction with a broader training program.

If you are starting out, I would always recommend you find a good coach or fitness instructor to help you out and can back up their fitness tips with their wealth of experience and knowledge. An experienced eye can help you get on the right track faster than learning things the hard way.

In this jaw-dropping piece and another longer article Mark makes a compelling argument against the popular belief that endurance/cardio training is a healthy thing. He claims it will decrease rather than increase your life expectancy. Mark is not one to beat around the bush and argues that endurance training speeds up the aging process “almost as fast as watching TV, drinking sodas and eating potato chips”.

Of course, this goes against the conventional wisdom that fitness is good for you and I must confess, it really got me re-thinking my own belief system. Mark argues the fact that human beings are not designed to work for extended periods of time at 80-90% VO2max.

“Our two primary energy systems are: (1) fat-based, which allows for long slow steady walking across the Savannah (or the Queen K after dark); and (2) ATP-based, which gave our ancestors 20 seconds of balls-out sprint speed to escape the charging saber tooth tiger (or let grandma lift the ’67 Ford truck off gramps when the jack failed).”

It’s a reasonable argument – he goes onto say our bodies are among the best in nature at adapting to hostile environments and self-destructive lifestyles. Essentially he class endurance sport as “hostile” to how our bodies are naturally designed to function.

Being a keen and enthusiastic endurance athlete most of my life, this was naturally a startling point of view! But for some reason what Mark was suggesting didn’t quite ring true. Maybe it was because I am now running more km’s per week and training as hard as I have in years… (my come-back phase sure) I am competing at high intensity levels, (albeit over shorter distances than an Hawaii Ironman), yet I have not felt this good in ages and certainly feel nothing but better for the experience! So here I’m thinking “am I missing something?”

After close examination I think I nailed the flaw in the argument. Mark went on to say:

The problem with many, if not most, age group endurance athletes is that the low-level training gets out of hand. They overtrain in their exuberance to excel at racing, and they over consume carbohydrates in an effort to stay fueled.

The key word here is “overtrain”.

In the comments of the second article a reader challenges Mark:

“It sounds to me like you experienced a classic case of overtraining and overuse injuries, and are now claiming high intensity cardio as the problem.
The problem was not the intensity at which you worked, but rather the frequency by not allowing your body proper rest and recovery. All exercise is beneficial (low intensity aerobic, high intensity aerobic, very high intensity intervals) to overall health. However, you must recognize the intensity and frequency at which you work and allow your body time to recover and grow stronger.”

To which Mark replies:

Not sure you got the message here. Of course I overtrained. That’s what many many marathoners and triathletes do.

Yes it is true that many marathoners and triathletes do overtrain, but this would suggest a more accurate premise for the article should be: over-(not cardio) training is detrimental to health/aging.

In Mark’s second article he speaks of the negative effects of his training:

The first signal I had that something was wrong was when I developed debilitating osteoarthritis in my ankles…at age 28. This was soon coupled with chronic hip tendonitis and nagging recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. In retrospect, it is clear now that my carbohydrate-fueled high-intensity aerobic lifestyle was promoting a dangerous level of continuous systemic inflammation, was severely suppressing other parts of my immune system and the increased oxidative damage was generally tearing apart my precious muscle and joint tissue.

It wasn’t so clear to me at the time exactly what was happening – in fact it was quite confusing, since I was doing so much of this so-called “healthy” aerobic exercise – but I had no choice but to give up racing, unable to train at anywhere near the intensity required to stay at an elite level.

For young and enthusiastic (and successful) athletes the mistake of over-training is a common one. To improve as an athlete, one must gradually and progressively stress your body harder in training. This process is called Progressive Overload. You do this by increasing both intensity and volume, over time.

Obviously the ideal way is one that maximizes results and minimizes injury. The key is a slow build-up and adequate rest between training sessions. If you increase the intensity or volume too rapidly or do not get adequately rest you are overtraining. Overtraining is a bad thing, that can increase your risk of illness, injury and the motivation to train. Mark’s account of his experiences clearly suggest he was in overtraining territory.

The logic of the last paragraph also strikes me as flawed: Mark claims he was “unable to train at anywhere near the intensity required to stay at an elite level”.

Firstly, while Mark was in overtraining territory he is right, his body would be physically weaker and his performances would have dropped accordingly. He simply would not have been able to train at a high intensity.

But part of the game in being an elite athlete is managing your training load. This means listening to your body and adjusting your training according to what your body is telling you. So if Mark were in overtraining territory as an elite athlete his responsibility at that point should have been to train less intensely not more!

By listening to his body and backing off he’d have recovered his strength, health and would have been back in shape in relatively short order (depending on how much damage he’d done to himself).

So while Mark certainly made some interesting and thought-provoking points, in my humble opinion he should be blaming overtraining for his drop in health, not cardio training.

I do not mention anything about planning a structured training program which is more important, but I intend to address this in a future article.

So you want to improve your running times, but don’t quite know how to go about it?

Running can be a confusing sport when starting out. I would highly recommend finding an experienced coach when you do so.

But it is important to understand the basics of a structured running program. I will not talk much about structure here itself. That is a topic for another article. How you structure your overall training is a very individual thing and will depend on both your current fitness level and your specific goals. Again a good coach can help a lot here.

Here I explore the fundamental training types, the “building blocks” if you will of distance running training.

The long run
The staple diet of the long distance runner, the long run is essential for developing your stamina. It works your aerobic system, aerobic meaning “with oxygen”. The goal of aerobic exercise is to improve oxygen consumption by the body or how good your body converts oxygen into energy. The long run is an essential training run for all but the most speed-oriented sprinters and some would say even sprinters could benefit from one or two long runs each week. (Good luck getting them to do it!)
Depending on your level of fitness about 60-80% (but not all) of your overall training should be long slow running.

Intervals
Ok, intervals are where training starts to become more complicated, and much harder.
I would not recommend you start interval training until you have a strong aerobic foundation behind you (which you can achieved through long runs).

Intervals consist or relatively short repetitions of distances with a period of rest between efforts. Common interval distances are: 200m, 400m, 800m, 1000m, but can be as short as 50m and as long as 3k. Interval training is usually done on a 400m running track, but this is certainly not a hard-and-fast rule. An interval session can be done on any surface, road, grass, track or forest trail.

Unlike the long run, interval training works both your aerobic and anerobic systems to different degree depending on the repetition distance and the recovery time length.

You typically work more of your anaerobic (without oxygen) energy systems when the repetition distance is less than 800m and you are running fast and more of your aerobic system is worked when the distance is over 800m or you are running at a more controlled pace.

Anaerobic means “without oxygen” and occurs when you are running so fast, your muscles can no longer produce enough energy through the aerobic energy system. When this happens, different energy systems in your body kick in and you’re said to be running “anaerobically”

The goal of (fast) intervals is to adapt your body to the higher demands and your leg muscles to faster turnover. Over time this will make you a much faster runner. Even if your focus is primarily on very long distance events such as marathons, intervals an important part of any serious endurance runner’s program.

Hills
This is one is often met with scorn when suggested. If there’s one certainty in life (besides death and taxes of course) it’s that runners despise hills. But like all forms of training, hills are an acquired skill and really aren’t that bad once you get used to it.

A rather obvious benefit of hill workouts is that they make you better at running hills! An advantage in hilly courses.
But they also have the advantage of making you quicker over a level surface. In hill running, the athlete is using their body weight as resistance to push against, so the driving muscles have to push harder, improving leg-muscle strength.

Hills, when done at the right level and with the right consistency will strengthen your tendons and ligaments over time and reduce the chance of injury. Hill training can also be considered an alternative to working your leg muscles in a gym and because you are performing the act of running and will quite naturally give you a much more event-specific form of workout!

Hills can be incorporated into both intervals and your long run. Generally the same principals that apply to intervals apply to hills. Hill repetitions can be both aerobic or anaerobic (typically they’re somewhere in the middle), but unlike interval the goal of hills is to work leg strength rather than out-and-out leg speed.

Tempo runs
The classic tempo runs involves a 15 minute warm-up, followed by at least 20 minutes at around your 10k pace (it should feel challenging, but manageable), followed by a 15 minute cool-down. This pace should be close to what is called your lactate threshold, where your aerobic system meets your anaerobic one.

Often tempo runs can be done in conjunction with a long run. The goal is for your body to “learn” race economy – running at a fast pace for relatively long periods of time. Over time, tempo runs will increase your lactate threshold, a good thing, as it will allow you to hold a fast pace for longer periods.

Fartlek
Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play’. It consists of erratic bursts of speed followed by aerobic recovery periods. It is essentially a random interval session, but instead of full rest in between repetitions, aerobic exercise is used at about the pace of a long run.

The goal of fartlek is to work aerobic and anaerobic systems interchangeably which trains the body to handle changes in pace. Fartlek is idea for preparing the athlete for sudden changes in pace in race conditions.

This kind of session is great for groups of runners, where each member takes a turn at setting the training. The beauty of a fartlek session is it can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it and is one of many fun exercise ideas for making your training more enjoyable and less monotonous.

Racing
Strangely not many runners think of racing as a form of training, but it is and is perhaps even the best form of training out there. For nothing prepares you for the stress of racing than well… racing. Racing is where you get to combine all the other forms of training against other runners in a competitive environment. No other form of training quite compares.

In fact I’d go so far as to say if you do no other form of training, simply competing in one race each week will improve your fitness and performances immensely. While I certainly don’t recommend this “program” I consider this form of training head-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of effectiveness.

So there are the basic training types for the long distance runner. All of the types of training listed here except for the long run should be started only after you have done adequate warm-up exercises (a 10-20 minute jog) and stretching. This is because warming up and stretching before a high intensity workout will reduce your chance of an injury significantly. The long run is different because it is at a lower intensity, so the risk of injury is low throughout the run.

I believe some core strength work should feature in ALL runner’s training programs.

But What Exactly is my “core”?

While not a text-book definition, your “core” is defined as your body minus legs and arms. Most of your core muscles are found in the mid and lower back regions, the belly and some of your hip region.

In more technical terms, the major muscles areas include:

• Internal and External Obliques
• Multifidus
• Erector Spinae
• Transversus Abdominis
• Diaphragm
• The Pelvic Floor muscles; and
• Rectus Abdominis

Why Build My Core? Shouldn’t I Just Train To Get Faster?

Yes, it is true that the best form of training for running is the pure act of running itself, but there are many additional benefits to be hand from incorporating some core strength work into your program in addition to a schedule of pure running training.

Runners tend to focus on activities they think will return direct and obvious benefits from. Typically this means piling on as many kilometers as possible in a given week. I purport a broader and more balanced approach to all training factors will give you more consist performances in the long term, plus reducing your chance of injury.

I believe that all runners do at least some basic core strength work on a regular basis, say on a fortnightly basis at least.

Some direct benefits of core strength include:

• Improved balance – balance is an important factor for a runner in all situations, but especially when running off-road in rough terrain
• Better posture – the core muscles play a major role in improving posture, which in turn will improve your running technique which will in turn further reduce the chance of injury.
• Improved efficiency – you will be more comfortable in your stride and more efficient which means you will increase your endurance potential and not get so tired
• Increased stability – a more stable frame will result in less wear-and-tear on muscles, further reducing injury risk

How to improve core strength

Improving core strength is about selecting the right exercises for your individual needs.
You are a unique individual, so your program will vary from the next runner, but a good fitness instructor can set you down the right path.

Don’t expect to see instantaneous results, you will more likely see a slow improvement over time, but if you are persistent and stick to a regular schedule you will most likely be feeling a lot better sooner rather than later, not only in terms of your running, but in your general health and well-being too.

Some ideas to get started:

Yoga or Pilates
Work your balance, flexibility and torso strength. Pilates involves, stretching and calisthenics. Many moves in this discipline involve holding your torso in place while moving limbs in different directions. The practice of Yoga involves postures improving well-being, vitality and body flexibility. Plus Yoga gives you an excuse to try out those yoga pants

Gym Sessions
At a gym you can find a personal fitness instructor to set you a program or give you feedback. This can only be a good thing as core strength is very much an individual process, but like dating, it’s worth spending some time finding one who is a match. A personal trainer will identify exercises for target specific muscle groups and will set you a custom program.

Floor exercises
Floor exercises are highly recommended, not only are they easy to do, but don’t require equipment, so you can do them in the privacy of your home. You will need to have a good understanding of exercises are the most effective for the muscle groups you are trying to target. If you are not sure you should see a fitness instructor, at least for an initial consultation.

Cross training
Running by itself is not the most effective way of improving core strength, so participating in another sport might appeal to you. Just ensure you do it sensibly as some dynamic sports (like skiing) increase your chance of injury. I don’t do a lot of cross training as I prefer my activity to be event-specific. If you are keen to do some cross training, following the general principles of running is helpful. That is start off slowly when trying a new type of training that works muscle groups that aren’t normally used.