The running workouts that build speed
Running workouts fall into five buckets: easy and recovery runs, long runs, threshold and tempo work, intervals and VO2 max, and hills, plus short strides and reps for sharpness. Each trains a different system. Mixing them well, mostly easy with a little hard, is what turns miles into speed. Below is a workout dictionary, then how to fit it all into a week.
The phrase "junk miles" usually describes running every session at the same middling pace. Real training is varied on purpose: some runs build the engine, some raise the ceiling, some sharpen the legs. Knowing what each session is for is half the battle.
Easy & recovery
The foundation. Under the 80/20 principle, most of your weekly running happens here, at a conversational pace that builds aerobic capacity without much fatigue cost.
| Workout | What it does |
|---|---|
| Recovery Run | Very easy, short. Promotes blood flow and recovery the day after hard work. |
| Easy Run | Conversational aerobic base building. The bread and butter of any plan. |
| Steady State Run | Moderately firm, faster than easy but still controlled. Builds aerobic strength. |
Long runs
The weekly endurance builder. It grows your aerobic engine, teaches your body to burn fuel efficiently, and, for marathoners, rehearses time on feet.
| Workout | What it does |
|---|---|
| Long Run | Sustained easy distance. Builds endurance and fatigue resistance. |
| Progression Long Run | Starts easy, finishes faster. Trains you to hold pace on tired legs. |
| Long Run with Surges | Easy long run with periodic faster bursts to add quality. |
| Marathon Pace Long Run | Chunks at goal marathon pace. Race-specific rehearsal. |
Threshold & tempo
Work at or near lactate threshold, which raises the pace you can hold before you fade.
| Workout | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tempo Run | Sustained ~20–40 min at threshold. Lifts the pace you can hold. |
| Cruise Intervals | Threshold broken into reps with short rests. More volume at hard pace. |
| Broken Tempo | A tempo split into segments with brief recoveries. |
| Progression Run | Gradually accelerating from easy to hard across the run. |
Intervals & VO2 max
Hard, fast repeats with recovery that push your maximal oxygen uptake and top-end speed. The ceiling-raisers.
| Workout | What it does |
|---|---|
| VO2 Max Intervals | Hard reps (e.g. 3–5 min) near max effort. Raise aerobic power. |
| Billat 30-30s | 30 seconds hard, 30 easy, repeated. High-density VO2 stimulus. |
| Repetitions | Short, fast reps with full recovery. Sharpen speed and economy. |
| Strides | Short, relaxed accelerations. Prime the legs without real fatigue. |
Hills
Strength and power built through gradient. Hills give the benefits of speed work with less impact stress.
| Workout | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hill Repeats | Short, steep efforts. Build power and running strength. |
| Long Hill Reps | Longer climbs at threshold-ish effort. Strength plus aerobic work. |
| Downhill Repeats | Controlled downhill running to build eccentric strength and turnover. |
Fartlek
Speed play, faster bursts folded into a continuous run, on feel or to a structure. Fun, flexible, and effective.
| Workout | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fartlek | Unstructured surges by feel. Playful, adaptable speed work. |
| Structured Fartlek | Fixed work/rest bursts within a run. |
| Mona Fartlek | Steve Moneghetti's 20-min session of descending reps (2×90s, 4×60s, 4×30s, 4×15s) with equal recovery. |
Famous named sessions
Legendary workouts that runners chase by name, each a benchmark as much as a session.
| Workout | What it is |
|---|---|
| Yasso 800s | 10×800m with equal-time jog rest; the 800 time in min:sec loosely predicts your marathon in hr:min. |
| Magic Mile | Jeff Galloway's single timed mile, used to estimate race paces. |
| The Michigan | A ladder alternating track reps and road tempo, escalating in pace. |
| The Lumberjack | A big continuous alternation of hard and steady blocks. A grinding strength session. |
| Deek's Quarters | Rob de Castella's eight 400m reps with a 200m float instead of full rest. |
How to mix them in a week
The main rule: run mostly easy. The 80/20 principle (about 80% of your running easy and 20% hard) is set out with its sources in that guide. In practice that means:
- One to two hard sessions most weeks, up to three for highly trained runners, per coach Jason Fitzgerald. For example one threshold or interval workout and one quality long run.
- Easy or recovery running filling the space around them, plus a true rest day.
- Strides a couple of times a week to keep the legs sharp at almost no fatigue cost.
- Hard days hard, easy days easy. The classic mistake is running easy days too fast and hard days too slow, so nothing gets trained.
How Runked schedules them
Runked builds these workouts into a personalized plan automatically, with pace targets and effort meters for each session, sequenced through phases from Foundation to Recovery. An in-app Types of Run library explains every session, and Training 101 cards cover the science behind them, VO2 max, lactate threshold, running economy, progressive overload and more. Every workout you complete counts toward your running rank, which moves only on your own runs, and feeds your fitness and fatigue metrics, so compare this month to your own last month, not another runner's mileage.
Training plans come with the same Runked PRO subscription as tracking, rank and streaks: $59.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, or $11.99 a week.
Get these workouts scheduled for you
Download Runked and start the 7-day free trial on the yearly plan for a plan that picks the right session every day, with paces and effort targets built in.
Download on App StoreFrequently asked questions
What is a tempo run?
A tempo run is a sustained effort at or near your lactate threshold. Coach Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running describes tempo pace as the pace you could race for about an hour, and recommends capping continuous tempo runs at roughly 40 minutes, building up from 10 to 15 minutes for newer runners. Tempo runs raise the pace you can sustain before fatigue sets in, and they appear throughout 5K to marathon training.
What is a fartlek?
Fartlek is Swedish for speed play: a continuous run with unstructured bursts of faster running mixed into easy running, guided by feel. You might surge to a lamppost, ease off, then surge again. Structured versions such as the Mona Fartlek, named for Australian marathoner Steve Moneghetti, fix the durations, but the spirit stays playful, flexible speed work.
What are Yasso 800s?
Yasso 800s are a marathon-prediction workout of ten 800-meter repeats with equal-time jog recovery, created by Bart Yasso and described by coach Jeff Gaudette of RunnersConnect. The idea is that your time for the 800s in minutes and seconds roughly matches your marathon time in hours and minutes, so 3:30 repeats suggest a 3:30 marathon. Gaudette notes the workout usually predicts a finish time about five minutes faster than runners actually achieve, and that solid evidence linking 800m speed to marathon fitness is limited. Treat the result as an approximate fitness signal you track over time.
How many hard workouts per week?
One to two hard sessions a week is enough for most runners, up to three for highly trained runners, according to coach Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running. The rest stays easy, following the 80/20 principle of roughly 80 percent easy running and 20 percent hard. Two quality workouts, such as one tempo or interval session and one quality long run, plus easy running around them, builds fitness while leaving room to recover.