Events Specific Training and Racing

Event Specific Training

Cross Country training and racing. : Off- road running; Fell, Hill & Trails

Marathon and Half Marathon Running. : Ultra Distance & Trail Running

Distance 5000m & 10,000m Track plus 5k, 10k & 10 mile etc on Road

Middle Distance, 800m, 1500m, 1 mile & 3000m, inc 3000m Steeplechase on track.

N.B. Look at which energy systems your main goal event uses, then that will form the basis of what you focus on in your training, particularly on key sessions.

Ok this will not be every run, as the basics of endurance running remain the same.

Just slight variances on a day to day and seasonal basis.

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Adjusting your training to the event

Along with individualising the training to each persons strengths and weaknesses, training should be tailored to the event that will be focused on.

But I must say that on a general basis, there will not be and should not be, a huge difference between all endurance runners in the emphasis for a winter build programme.

Obviously it's still an individual thing in terms of application relative to your training background, the stage you are at and your actual winter goals.

There are more winter road races these days, as well as trail races, so a traditional six months cross country build to championships, gets tweaked around a bit.

But as I say, the basic autumn / winter build, training objectives are pretty universal.

Event specific training involves training at the actual pace your going to race, and being comfortable with it.

It also means that there is some training on the race surface, weather conditions, race rehearsals, starts and finish imitations, day of week & time of day as the race.

Cross country and off road races involve, various nuances such as twists and turns, uphill and downhill, mud and water etc. These all have to be familiarised in training and learned how to be comfortable with.

How do you do this?

Simply look at which energy systems your main goal event uses, then that will form the basis of what you focus on in your training.

For example a 1,500m runner uses about 20% of his or her anaerobic system during the race, while a 10k runner would use less than 5%. So it only makes sense that there is much less focus on anaerobic training (lactate tolerance and anaerobic capacity) work throughout the year for the 10k runner as opposed to the 1,500 runner.

The 5,000 runner would use more anaerobic work than the 10k runner, but less than the 1,500 runner.

(Now this is in general, you have to take into individual considerations, for example if a 5k runner has a strong aerobic capacity but a horrible anaerobic capacity, then he might do almost as much or as much as a normal 1,500m runner would do.)

The other reason the 1,500m runner would need to do more anaerobic training is because the overriding rule is that if you want to race at a certain pace, you have to practice at a certain pace.

Thus, many anaerobic workouts are done at 1,500m race pace, pre-competition.

While the easier pace 5k and 10k race pace sessions as VO2max sessions are slower, thus there will probably be a bigger emphasis on that for the 5k runner.

Now, how do you translate this into the training programme?

Well a 1,500m runner might do 1, and maybe rarely 2, anaerobic training sessions a week during the Competition period, while a 5k runner might do one every week or 10 days.

The 10k man might not start them until later, maybe 4 weeks out, instead of 6 weeks out from the first big race, and do them less frequently, maybe once every 10 days.

This is an individual thing though, and planned to fit around your lifestyle, training opportunities & circumstances and also your racing preferences.

You also have to adjust the other systems of training too.

A 1,500m runner might do more shorter faster LTP runs right at LTP pace, while a longer distance runner might do sub maximum LTP runs at slightly slower than LTP pace but for a longer time.

Also, LTP runs might have more emphasis throughout the season and for a longer period of time.

For instance instead of doing maintenance LTP sessions, the longer runner might do full blown LTP sessions.

The same can be said with VO2max. VO2max sessions could be emphasized for a longer period of time for the longer runners and even done more frequently.

In making a training programme, it's all about the art of putting it together.

You have to mix and match based on a number of things.

Firstly individual athletes have varying differences and the focus should be on maximizing your strengths and improving your weaknesses.

After you do this, then you further modify the programme based on the chosen event that you are going to be primarily racing. Then tweak the individual workouts based on the athletes preferences of workouts.

You don't need to force yourself to do something you hate day after day.

(Now there will be times when you are forced to do workouts you don't really like because they are necessary, but this shouldn't happen week after week after week).

For example, if you hate the track, switch most of your VO2max sessions to off track sessions.

You can get the same thing accomplished and might enjoy it more, thus having a better session.

So whether Cross Country Fell, Hill or on Trails.

or likewise Marathon and Half Marathon Running on roads.

Ultra Distance & Long Distance road and Trail Running.

Distance 5000m & 10,000m Track plus 5k & 10k Road

Track Middle Distance at 800m, 1500m & 3000m, inc 3000m Steeplechase.

They all need periods of event specific training, and I will go into more detail for each event separately.

Created by Dave Rodgers 2014