How to Boost Running Speed: The 9 Most Important Steps

Running is an incredibly rewarding sport. It’s also incredibly hard, especially when you’re just starting out. The good news is that over time, running can feel much easier and more natural. If you’re new to running or if you’ve been running for awhile, there’s a good chance you’ve started to wonder how to run faster and more easily. Luckily, there are a number of accessible tips and tricks that are proven to improve running speed and form over time.

In this post, I’ll discuss those tips. I’ll also talk about how I’ve used these recommendations to boost my own speed, shaving over 1 hour off my marathon running time.

How I Boosted My Running Speed

I ran occasionally in high school and college, with occasionally being the operative word. However, I always enjoyed my sporadic runs. Plus, I was very admiring of my brother who had completed a marathon. After I finished college, my brother asked if I wanted to run with him each week.

These weekly runs inspired me to start running more frequently on my own. I started with just a couple of 25-minute runs each week. These runs always felt incredibly hard, perhaps because I never warmed up (more on that below). However, after 6 months of running together, my brother and I decided to train for a half marathon. As a result, I began to run more regularly.

At the time, I was sure I would never, ever run a full marathon. Doing so sounded absolutely horrible. That all changed after I ran the half marathon. “Now you need to run a full one,” my brother told me. Running a half marathon was so satisfying that I decided he was right. I started running 4 times a week and ran my first full marathon in 2016, a few years after I first started. I completed that marathon in about 4 hours and 20 minutes and felt truly terrible most of the time.

Fast forward to November 2022. I ran my 7th marathon in 3 hours, 24 minutes, and 30 seconds, qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which I’m participating in in April 2025. I also felt incredible for the first 18 miles. What had changed in that 6 years? A whole heck of a lot. Each of the tips below played a huge role in my running improvement.

The Importance of Warming Up and Cooling Down for Running Speed

When you have limited time, it’s difficult to take extra minutes out of your day to warm up and cool down. After all, it’s hard enough to make time for the run itself. However, even just 5 minutes of warming up and 5 minutes of cooling down before and after a run can make a huge difference in the ease and speed of your run. Warming up and cooling down can also reduce your risk of injury.

How to Warm Up

So how should you warm up? Before a run, aim to do at least 5 minutes of dynamic stretches and bodyweight movements. With dynamic stretches, you hold a movement for about a second.  These movements can include squats, lunges, hip bridges, planks to downward dogs, calf raises, jumping jacks, and more. Because I’m a good upstairs neighbor, I don’t do jumping jacks in my warmups. However, all of the other movements are in my regular warm-up rotation.

The purpose of a warm-up is to get your blood flowing and muscles limber. If your legs feel like two bags of cement during the first 10 minutes of your run, there’s a good chance you didn’t warm up enough. If your muscles are stiff and cool, you’ll likely notice slower running speed and worse form. You also increase your risk of injury because your muscles will be less supple and responsive.

How to Cool Down

After your run, aim to cool down with static stretches that you hold for 30 seconds or more. Static stretches will help lengthen muscles and prevent knots. As a result, static stretching makes your next run easier because your muscles will be less tense. You can see my post on stretching for more ideas for dynamic and static stretches.

What if you don’t have 5 minutes to warm up and 5 minutes to cool down? Personally, I’d prioritize the warm-up. You can even try doing calf raises while you’re multi-tasking. As silly as it sounds, you might do lunges when walking from one room to another. Throw in a few squats or jumping jacks while waiting for your kids at the bus or for your computer to load. And consider doing your cooldown when you’re watching TV at night or scrolling through your phone.

Warming up can have an immediate positive effect on your running speed and form. In the long term, both warming up and cooling down can also improve your running by corresponding to more limber, less sore muscles. And by decreasing your risk of injury, they help ensure you can put in the time and practice that are so important for running speed and efficiency.

Putting in the Time (and the Miles) to Improve Running Speed

Indeed, putting in the time is, in my experience, the single most important thing you can do to improve your running speed over time. Researchers found that runners experience a boost in speed when they start regularly running 20 miles a week. They experience another boost when they start running 40 miles a week. And running speed tends to spike again for those dedicated enough to run 60 miles a week. Likewise, running speed generally increases for those who run 5-6 days a week, compared to those who run fewer days.

I’ve found these recommendations correspond with my own running experience. Once I started regularly running 20 miles a week, I became a much stronger runner. When I qualified for Boston, I was running 40 miles a week. That was also the first time in my 12 years of running that I hit that volume. I’ve never gotten to the point of running 60 miles a week, nor do I want to, so I can’t speak to that.

However, I also noticed a big boost in my running when I moved from running 4 to 5 days a week. Indeed, my mile time improved by about 30 seconds, which is a pretty massive boost. Even better, running started to feel much easier once I ran 5 times a week compared to 4.

Consequently, if you want to improve your running speed and efficiency, you may benefit by increasing the miles you run and/or the number of days you run. Doing both is likely to give you the most bang for your buck.

Strength Training and Running Speed

Even before I qualified for Boston, I noticed that my speed improved with almost every marathon I ran. Indeed, for years, my speed improved by about 15 minutes from one marathon to the next with no leveling off. These improvements started before I was increasing my mileage or running days and before I started regularly warming up and cooling down. How did that happen?

One factor at work was strength training. After my first two marathons, I started spending more time on hobbies that involved strength work, including kickboxing and climbing. I didn’t go into these sports thinking they would help running. I started them because they looked fun and empowering. However, it was no coincidence that as I built my muscles, my speed improved as well.

The Benefits of Strength Training for Running Speed

Researchers and personal trainers find that strength training is key for running performance. The muscles in our legs are, of course, pivotal for running speed. However, so too are the stabilizers in our core muscles that help us stay upright. Plus, the muscles in our arms help pull us forward.  

Additionally, strength training helps prevent injury by reducing muscle imbalances. In our day-to-day lives, we frequently strengthen some muscles more than others. This may be because of an old injury, crossing our legs at our desks, hunching over, and more. Bad posture and form and old injuries can make it so that we rely more on some muscles than others. Strength training can help correct these imbalances by evenly working our muscles.

Of course, it’s important to ensure that you are not over-working your body. If you are running and strength training, it’s important to fuel properly, warm up before and stretch after, and take rest days. Aim to take at least one rest day per week and try to not strength train the same muscles on consecutive days. In other words, arm day should be followed by leg or core day. If you want strength training ideas, check out my post on running and strength training.

Follow a Training Program

A great way to build up your running speed and motivate your training is to sign up for a big race. However, many new runners who sign up for their first marathon or half marathon are tempted to just wing it and develop their own training plan. That was the case for me. You might have run a 10K before and felt like you worked up to 6 miles or even 10 miles just fine without a training plan. The problem is that it’s very different working up to 26 miles compared to working up to 6, 10 or even 13 miles. The process is not linear or fast.

As a result, it’s best to follow a professionally-designed training plan that has been proven to help runners successfully work up to marathons or half marathons. For beginner and intermediate runners, I love Nike’s training plans. They’re accessible, flexible, and pretty fun. Indeed, they’re what I used to train for most of my marathons.

For advanced runners, the Boston Marathon Training plans are excellent. Run with Hal is another great option that you can tailor to your running level. However, I found Run with Hal wasn’t flexible enough for me. Consequently, I haven’t pursued those plans reliably. My running days change week to week, and the Run with Hal app required me to specify which days I run, which I personally didn’t like. Regardless of which you choose, having a training plan can make a world of difference and take the guesswork out of your training.

Hire a Certified Running Coach

If you have the resources to do so, a certified running coach can help you develop an even more tailored running program for a big race or specific goal like runnign faster. While I haven’t had the resources to do this, I’ve always wanted to hire a coach. After a personal training session, a coach can help you identify issues with your running form and target an exercise and training program to your needs and goals. If you’re hoping to set personal records, this can be a worthwhile investment.

To Improve Running Speed, Run Slow to Moderate

Many people believe, understandably, that to get faster they should spend a lot of time running fast. In fact, the opposite is largely true. To become a more efficient runner, you should spend 80% of your time running at an easy pace. There are a few reasons for this. First, running fast most of the time is a recipe for injury and soreness. Both of these will majorly hurt your running speed down the line.

Second, running at a steady pace where you can maintain your breath is key for developing a strong foundation in cardiovascular fitness. On easy runs, your body relies on fat for fuel burning, which can lead to better weight management. Our bodies also use fat very efficiently for energy. Plus, your heart and lungs are the major players in supporting your endurance.

In contrast, when you run fast, your body relies more on carbs. Additionally, you depend more on your leg muscles to power you forward. When you’re running fast enough to struggle for breath and your heart rate is spiking, your cardiovascular system won’t get the same endurance workout and might get overly taxed.

Consequently, incorporate at least a few easy days into your running routine. Not only will you likely enjoy those days more, they’ll give you a lot of bang for your buck.

Incorporate a Weekly Speed Run

While 80% of your running should be slow or moderate, about 20% of your running should be fast if you’re hoping to reach faster speeds. Slow and moderate running increases your endurance and cardiovascular fitness. However, speed training workouts build stronger muscles.

Hill Speed Runs

Consequently, if you run 5 times a week, you should aim for one of your runs to focus on speed. When you’re starting out, a good way to do this is with hill sprints. Hill runs put less pressure on your muscles and joints (at least while running uphill). This means you can boost effort with less increase in injury risk.

Personally, I love hill runs even though I have a lot of running experience. As someone who is injury prone, I like the lower pressure of uphill runs. Plus, it’s easy for me to do a tough hill run within my neighborhood just by going up and down some of my local hills a few times. Of course, this is easier for me to do in very hilly Seattle compared to someone in, say, the Midwest. However, if you have a hill nearby, you might try looking into speed run options.

The great thing about speed runs is that there are many ways you can do them. Again, hill runs are an option. Even within hill runs there’s tons of variety, from running up a hill at full speed for 30 second intervals, to running up a longer hill at a slower speed, and more.

Tempo Runs

You can also try tempo training. Tempo runs means sustaining a tough but doable pace for a longer period of time. The tempo run pace is a faster pace than your easier run, but slower than a sprint. It generally falls around your 10K pace.

Interval Runs

Or you can do interval runs on a flat surface where you alternate between a slower and faster running speed. This is classically known as high-intensity interval training. Fartleks (a Swedish word for speed play) are a particularly fun type of interval training that generally involve speed intervals of varying lengths. You can find many different speed training options in 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon training plans.

Add in a Weekly Long Run

I’ve already prescribed a lot: one speed run day a week, four-ish easy runs a week. However, if you have the time and flexibility to do so, you may want to make one of those easy runs a long run. Longer runs are a great way to boost your endurance training. They get you out of your comfort zone, both mentally and physically.

As a result, running longer distances can prepare you mentally for race day. They also help build up your cardiovascular fitness. Indeed, long distance runs build strength and promote adaptations that allow your body to better transport oxygen to muscles, improving running efficiency over time.

Long distance runs don’t have to be 18 miles. Simply take the number of miles you run per week and allocate 40% of those miles to a long run. For example, if you run 20 miles per week, your goal would be to add an 8 mile run to your running routine and split the remainder 12 miles between 3 easy runs and a speed run. You should also work up to that 8 miles from your current longest distance, adding about 10% of distance to your long run each week until you work up to that point.

Work on Running Form to Improve Running Speed

Good form is pivotal for your running technique and for getting the best results in your performance. Indeed, running with poor form can lead to an increased risk of injury.

There are a number of things to keep in mind for proper form. First, try to maintain good posture with your upper body standing tall. Bend your elbows at 90 degrees and try to maintain an easy front to back (rather than side-to-side) arm swing.

Additionally, try to maintain a quick but shorter stride. Landing your foot strike too far in front of your body can increase your risk of injury and hurt performance. Try to strike with your mid-foot and then push off lightly.

Finally, engage your glutes. As one of my favorite Peloton instructors, Adrian Williams, says, “Take your butt with you.” This is also where your strength training comes in handy. Having a strong lower body, including strong glutes, can majorly improve your running game. Plus it can reduce your risk of lower body injuries and low back pain.

Other Factors That Affect Your Running Speed

Sometimes you may notice that you’re much slower or faster than usual and you have no idea why. Flukes happen. Sometimes we just feel super good or super bad. There are also factors that can make a big difference in our running speed that we have more or less control over.

For one thing, if you menstruate, the time in your cycle can make a big difference in your exercise performance. You can check out my post on the role of hormones for exercise if you’d like more information.

Additionally, hotter and/or more humid weather are more taxing on your body than mild weather. On hot and/or humid days, it’s especially important to hydrate, get in your electrolytes, and take a water bottle or hydration pack with you.

Some people also find that the time of day makes a big difference in their running performance. In general, most people find that their running performance is better in the morning. However, this may vary for you.

Likewise, what you eat before a run (even the day before a run!) can make a big difference. If you ate a meal that was rich in fiber and/or fat right before a run, you may notice that your run is much harder because those foods are harder to digest. Try saving high fat and/or high fiber foods for a couple of hours or more before your run so you don’t deal with stomach cramps and indigestion. In contrast, eating carbs before your run can give you a boost of energy and fuel.

Final Thoughts on Boosting Your Running Speed

Boosting your running fitness level is super empowering. There’s nothing like going into race day knowing you’ve put in the hard work to get to the finish line with strength and power. Plus, it comes with benefits for your heart, lungs, and muscles. However, the most important running speed is the one that you enjoy. There’s no point in becoming a fast runner if you don’t ultimately enjoy it. I hope this post helps you find more joy and reward in running.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider liking, subscribing, or sharing with others. It’s always a big help! Interested in related posts? Check out my posts on eating for recovery, running gear for any weather, how to get started running, and how to train for a marathon.

Finally, remember that I am not a personal trainer or medical professional. Before starting a new exercise plan, speak with a professional.