As a coach I am a big fan of doing shorter distance interval training. Reps like 200 metres or 400 metres allow us to run at a pace that we just can’t achieve over the longer reps.

If we want to improve our pace across distances like 5k, then at some stage in training we are going to have to run faster, and the shorter reps provide that perfect opportunity.

If you are relatively new to interval training as well, then this is a good way of introducing yourself to running at a quicker pace, but also at a higher RPE.

12 repetitions of 200 metres is a perfect starting block. If you have access to a running track then it’s easy to measure out the distance as you’ll be doing half of the track for each rep.

If you don’t have this luxury, then finding a safe environment, such as a park, is an ideal alternative. I like to find a small loop for myself or my runners, then each time you repeat the rep, you know exactly how far you have to go.

If you choose to do the session on an out and back route, you might find yourself constantly glancing at your watch to see how close you are to reaching the next 200 metre mark and that can effect your mindset and your running form.

These shorter rep sessions are a great opportunity to work on your running technique. Certain things like your posture, ensuring you are running tall, working on your cadence and increasing your foot turnover, or making sure your arms are not crossing over the centre of your body.

Over a shorter distance when we are running faster, our form does tend to improve. If we do enough of these sort of sessions then those good habits should creep into your longer distance running and those times will also improve.

As always make sure you do your warm up cool down either side of the session to earn all those training points. And of course enjoy, it’s good fun be able to run at faster speeds that we are used to.