Do Treadmills Train You for Track?

Running events in outdoor track and field usually range in distance from 100 meters to 3,200 meters at the U.S. high school level and from 100 meters to 10,000 meters at the U.S. college level. Preparing for a sport that's contested in the spring means training during the winter, and in many parts of the U.S., you may have to take to the treadmill during inclement weather.

  1. Treadmill Basics

    • Most motorized treadmills are capable of belt speeds of 10 miles per hour, or six minutes per mile. Many models reach 12 miles per hour, or five minutes per mile. Both of these speeds are faster than the majority of distance runners are capable of sustaining for 5K or longer, but fall short of typical sprinting velocities.

      Importantly, the belt of a typical treadmill can be elevated to a grade of up to 10 percent -- far in excess of what distance runners will encounter on all but the most grueling of courses. Writing for Running Times Magazine, coach Greg McMillan points out that because you don't encounter air resistance on a treadmill, you should incline the belt to 1 percent to replicate outdoor running on the flat.

    Training for the Sprints

    • If you run the sprint events -- the 100, 200 and 400 meters as well as the hurdles races -- you'll probably be strongly reliant on the belt-elevation feature of your treadmill to get the necessary training. Since hill repeats are essentially speed work in disguise, you can do several workouts a week in which you set the belt at a grade of 3 to 5 percent and do repetitions of about 20 to 30 seconds with the belt speed set at 10 miles an hour or so, depending on your natural speed and fitness level. Six to eight such bouts per session with several minutes of easy jogging in between make for excellent speed-building.

    Training for Middle Distances

    • The middle distances include races from 800 meters to one mile. Preparing for these requires a blend of speed work and basic stamina work. For stamina, run three to five times a week for 20 to 40 minutes or more at a pace that allows you to hold a normal conversation. For speed, McMillan suggests doing four sets of the following: 400 meters at easy run pace, 400 meters at 15K race pace, and 400 meters at 3K to 5K race pace.

    Training for Long Distances

    • The longest standard track distances are the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. To get ready for these, so as much easy distance work as you can handle while focusing on longer, comparatively low-intensity repetitions on the one or two days a week you'll do event-specific training. UK Athletics coach Brian MacKenzie advises setting the belt at a 3 percent incline and doing three or four three-minute reps at 10K race pace with a three-minute easy jog in between. Over time, increase the number of reps to six to eight.