PUBLISHED 09/03/2003
As runners, we all want to increase our endurance, but we're often referring to two different things. The beginning runner wants to go farther--from 2 miles to 4 miles, then to 6. More experienced runners don't see much point in running farther. (Isn't 26.2 miles far enough?) These runners want to improve their speed-endurance--the pace at which they can cover substantial distances.
Fortunately, you can have it both ways. You can follow training plans that build the length of your long runs, and others that improve your speed-endurance.
Using such workouts, thousands of runners have dramatically improved their endurance. Craig Beesley, a beginning runner, extended his longest run from 30 seconds to nearly 3 hours. Doug Underwood, a successful marathoner, wanted to lower his best from 3:50 to 3:30 to qualify for the Boston Marathon. And Deena Drossin, the American 10-K and cross-country star, wanted nothing less than to run the marathon faster than a legend, Joan Samuelson.
All three runners achieved their goals. Each used a different method. Which raises the point that exercise physiologist Kris Berg explains in his recent article, "Endurance Training and Performance in Runners," in the journal Sports Medicine. "After decades of studying ways to improve endurance," says Berg. "I'm leaning more than ever toward the great gestalt of mind-body wisdom, and encouraging runners to do what feels right."
In other words, different strokes for different folks. We're not all the same. Genetic researchers refer to "high responders" and "low responders." Sometimes we need to take different paths to reach our goals.
On the following pages, you'll find seven endurance-boosting strategies that have worked for a range of runners. Not all will work for you. But one or more will, and that should be enough to significantly increase your endurance, which means you'll run stronger and easier than ever before.
