Sprinting for Distance Runners

Many distance runners get stuck in a stagnant routine of easy miles, threshold workouts, and long runs. While those are foundational pieces of endurance training, we can’t forget the opposite end of the spectrum: leg speed, power, and movement efficiency. The best endurance athletes in the world are far more powerful and purely fast than most people realize. Distance runners should be sprinting and drilling at least once per week. It’s one of the simplest, yet most overlooked opportunities for improvement I see in athletes.

Drills and sprinting develop power, muscle recruitment, tendon stiffness, and muscle tension (deep dive here); all of which improve form and efficiency—resulting in “free speed.” In short, we’re making movement more efficient, meaning we can run faster at the same effort. Yes, the main way to “get faster” is to improve the metabolism’s ability to use fuel (traditional aerobic training), but we’re leaving valuable seconds on the table if we neglect sprinting and drills.

While free speed is great, I’d argue the greatest importance is the improvement in form, which is a foundational piece to sustainable training development. Drills and sprints get you moving and interacting with the ground in stronger, more efficient ways. When you’re “moving well,” it’s easier to safely add training load on top. Think of a car with a strong chassis—it can go longer and faster without breaking down. In contrast, a runner with poor movement patterns is reinforcing inefficiency every time they run, especially on easy days where form can get “lazy” and “slow”. The antidote to the 80%+ of running that is deliberately slow and relaxed is exposure to these “high-value” postures we see in sprinting. The implementation of drills and sprints is a great way to dose in these “high value” postures. Once an athlete is moving efficiently and strongly, it is much easier to increase their overall training load, since they aren’t applying load to a shaky movement pattern. To summarize: sprinting and drilling are crucial for improving efficiency, refining movement patterns, and building a strong foundation for aerobic development.

So how do you safely add them into training?

Drills are easy to implement, since the demand is lower than sprinting. I have athletes do them at least twice per week as prep before strides, workouts, or even after an easy run to put some pop in the legs. I’ve included a basic drill set you can follow below.

Sprinting requires a more measured approach because the demands are so high. It is crucial to strategically layer in sprinting. Start with a week or two of just drills to prep tissues and joints. From there, I always introduce hill sprints first—less landing force, less hamstring extension, and much safer overall. A good place to start: 4–6 hill strides at 90–95% effort, less than 10 seconds each, with at least 90 seconds of full rest. The goal is quality movement, not for these to “be hard.” You shouldn’t be aerobically taxed at all from these. If you are, take more rest.

At the same time hill strides are added, I introduce flush strides—relaxed 15-second pick-ups at the end of an easy run. These aren’t all-out sprints but still get athletes near mile- or two-mile-pace. They should feel fast yet relaxed—never forced. After 4–8 weeks, flush strides can progress into flat strides with standing rest. For most distance runners, this progression—hill strides, flush strides, flat strides—is enough.

For athletes racing 800m–5k, or those with more fast-twitch profiles, we can to go further. Once an athlete can handle 6–8 near-max hill strides, they’re ready to progress to flying 30s on flat ground. These are extremely high quality and should always be done fresh—not at the end of a workout. Think: after an easy run, or as a pre-workout primer. For example:

• 5 miles easy → drills → a few relaxed strides → 4x30m at 90% with 2 minutes rest.
  
  
• Or: 2 mile warmup → drills/strides → 4x30m @ 90% with 2 minutes rest → 8x1000m at LT1.
  
  

Sample Sprinting Progression

Week 1: Drills twice
Week 2: Hill strides x4 @ 85%, flush strides x4
Week 3: Hill strides x5 @ 85%, flush strides x5
Week 4: Hill strides x6 @ 90%, flush strides x6
Week 5: Hill strides x6 @ 90%, flat strides x4
Week 6: Hill strides x7 @ 95%, flat strides x5
Week 7: Hill strides x8 @ 90%, flat strides x6
Week 8: Hill strides x8 @ 95% (enough for most athletes), flush strides x6
Week 9: Hill strides x2 @ 95%, 2–3x flying 30 @ 90%, flat strides x6
Week 10: Flying 30 x4 @ 90–95%, flush strides x6
Week 11: Flying 30 x5 @ 90–95%, flat strides x6
Week 12: Flying 30 x6 @ 95%, flush strides x6

Basic Drill Set

• A skip
• B skip
• High knees
• Butt kicks
• Side shuffles
• Karaoke
• Straight-leg run
• Skips with arm circles
  
  

Drills and sprinting should be foundational for distance runners. They require so little time—ten minutes, twice a week—but the benefits are massive. Don’t get too stuck in the traditional endurance mold. Put some energy into the other side of the spectrum: speed, power, and movement.

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