Long Run

Execution

1. Warm up with 5 minutes of brisk walking, then settle into an easy rhythm slower than feels right for the first 2 kilometers.
2. Hold a pace where you can speak a full sentence the whole way, because this is a volume session rather than a race.
3. Keep the cadence around 170-180 steps a minute and land under your hips.
4. Drink every 20-25 minutes, and on runs beyond 75 minutes take about 30-60 grams of carbohydrate an hour.
5. If the breath or the legs go, mix in 1-2 minutes of walking and carry on, because a long run does not have to be unbroken.
6. Grow the long run by at most about 10% a week and take an easier week every three to four weeks.
7. A first long run for someone already running regularly sits at 30-40 minutes, not counting the 5-minute walking warm-up, and any walk breaks you take still count toward that time; only then does it grow under the 10%-a-week rule.
8. In hot, humid weather run early morning or late afternoon, shorten the distance and drink more. Chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness means stopping and seeing a doctor.

Quick cues

• Run the first kilometer slow.
• Full sentences the whole way.
• Drink before you feel thirsty.
• Walking breaks are allowed.
• Get home still able to walk.

Common faults

• Fault: Running the long run at tempo pace

  Fix: Use the talk test and accept a pace slower than you expect, especially in the first half.

• Fault: Carrying no water on a long run

  Fix: Plan a route past water stops, or carry a handheld bottle and drink every 20-25 minutes.

• Fault: Jumping the distance straight back up after a week off

  Fix: Come back at about 70% of your recent longest run and build from there.

• Fault: Wearing chafing clothes with nothing to protect the skin

  Fix: Pick seamless kit and use anti-chafe balm on the inner thighs and underarms before you start.