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Feel the need for speed? Marathoners share secret to beating your personal best


Way back when—think the 1970s—there were far more distance runners capable of maintaining high speed than there are today. Sure, we’re breaking records. But the depth just isn’t there. So what was their secret? Long and slow, says the Huffington Post.

1975 Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers and third place finisher Tom Fleming were friends who trained together back in the day. Their goal: “To go out and train more than anyone else.” They didn’t run crazy fast sets though. In fact, they hardly ever trained at their top speeds. In fact, they typically ran about a minute slower than their marathon pace. But boy did they run. At their peak, they ran 210 miles a week—that’s 30 miles a day!

We’re not telling ya to go out there a break in a new pair of running shoes every day. But if you’re looking to increase your speed, there’s a lesson to be learned here. Whether you want to beat last year’s mile time or are training to beat a personal track and field best, here’s a tactic to consider: run slow, but run more. “Fitter equals faster,” says Fleming. “The speed will come from running lots of miles.”

Why does it work? Well, when you try to run at your fastest speed 24/7, you end up putting too much stress on your body. But when you focus more on distance than speed, you build up your strength and aerobic capacity, which allows you to run faster than ever when you really need to.

Are you a runner? Tell us your personal best in the comments!

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by Brittany Taylor | 2/1/2016
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