How to Accelerate Properly While Running

Accelerate your running

• 1

  Ease into a workout or a race. Start from a jog and accelerate until you are at your comfortable pace. Make sure to use your arms when you run.

• 2

  Check your acceleration. If after three to five minutes, you are still breathing hard and panting, you have accelerated too quickly, or you are running faster than your body can adjust. Slow down until you reach a comfortable pace or to your race pace.

• 3

  During a workout, after you have reached a comfortable running pace, you can try accelerating to improve your pace or shorten your race time. The best way to do this is to go just a little faster than your current pace. Breaking into a sprint in the middle of your run or race can cause you to lose stamina, and end up with a slower time or quitting the workout or race early.

• 4

  At the end of a workout, it is always great to give a little more, and accelerate through the finish. You should be less than 3 minutes away from the end of your run when you start accelerating. Start your acceleration by going a little faster than your current pace and increase to a full sprint. If you practice sprinting through the end of your workout, this burst will give you an edge during a race when you are competing neck & neck with another runner.

• 5

  A great way to help train your body to accelerate is to add interval training one or two times per week to your workouts.