It doesn’t matter whether you are relatively new to running or if you are an experienced marathoner, we all share the same goal of making our runs easier, our times faster and reducing our chances of getting injured.

Many marathon training programme encourage a more is more training plan, throwing on mile after mile in order to build endurance and strength. But one of the most popular and innovative training programs actually challenges that mindset, proposing that runners will do far better for themselves if they put in fewer miles and instead add in a couple of days of cross training. The program is called Run Less Run Faster, and it is one of the most popular programs around.

Ebook

Available in paperback, hardback, as an audio book or an Ebook, The Run Less Run Faster program is published through Runners World magazine, which is viewed as one of the foremost resources for runners of all levels. The authors of the book include experienced marathon runners, marathon coaches, and experts in physiology.

Couch to 10K Schedule

The Couch to 10K training program is a sensible, measured, ten week program that provides a step-by-step method for people who are not in shape or who haven’t run a long distance in a while to work up to running in a 10K race.

Whatever your motivation for participating in this type of event, whether it’s because you need a goal to help you get yourself back into shape or if you’re running because you want to support a particularly charity, working up to the 10K miles equivalent of over six miles is not something that you should just jump into.

The program keeps you on a very controlled plan that builds up your endurance and strength methodically so that you never take on more than your body can handle. It suggests that you use the track of a nearby high school or college because that will provide you with exactly measured distances so that you can be sure of how far you are going and watch yourself progress.

Whatever week you are in, the program will have you alternating between walking and jogging, slowly building up the amount of time that you walk and run, then slowly adjusting the timing so that you are running more than you are walking. Finally, after ten weeks you are able to run the 10K distance.

Couch to 10K in 10 Weeks

The schedule for the Couch to 10K training program is set up so that you can plan out your participating in a 10K by beginning the program ten weeks before your race. The first week’s program has you alternating walking and running half a lap each four times, so that you have completed one full mile.

Over the next ten weeks you will increase slowly, until you are finally nearly up to the 10K miles total of 6.4, running around the track for five miles. Once you’ve accomplished this, you’ll have the confidence to go the extra mile and have completed your goal without any pain or stress.