This post contains affiliate links.
Track running can feel challenging when starting out. There are a lot of things to remember and a lot of the time you’re running competitively, which can feel daunting at first. It certainly was for me.
But never fear. In this article, I will attempt to walk you through nine top tips which would give you a great head start in the world of running track.
Runners Advice
Before I jump into my advice, I wanted to see what advice other track runners had for somebody who’s just starting out. So I headed on to an online track and field forum. Some of the runners who weighed in had this to say:
“Work hard in practice, and listen to your coaches! If you haven’t started running yet, or don’t have an indoor season, start now. Have faith in yourself, and remember the hard work will always pay off.”
ApartmentShoddy5916
“Anyone who wants to be good at track, can be good at track. Especially in high school. I would recommend finding a good strength and conditioning program and sticking with it.
I personally don’t like being a one sport athlete, but doing a sport in every other season to help keep you in shape.“
mvteubes12
“Training is hard, and it will hurt. All worth it. Good luck.”
askedtoinputusername
With all this advice in mind, let’s jump into my top tips for how to get better at running track.
1. Schedulle Your Track Runs
Running tracks are great. They are so great in fact that you are unlikely to be the only person who’s running on them at any given time. If you are able to, it is best practice to schedule your runs on a track at a time when the track will be by as empty as possible. This is especially true when you’re starting out and may need a lot more time to get into the swing of things.
When trying to figure out the best time to run on a track the best place to start is by an information board or on a website for the club that operates the running track.
2. Strength Train
Many people would try to argue that to get good at track and field all that you should be doing is practicing track and field running as much as possible. A lot of the time, strength training can be overlooked for this reason.
However, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that strength training is just as important as running itself when it comes to getting better at track. For example, this study from the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at endurance athletes who did strength training over 9 weeks. The study found that doing lots of strength and power training could significantly improve time surrounding a 5K track run.
If that wasn’t enough, this study from the international Journal of Sports and Medicine also looked at the difference that explosive power and endurance training can make in running. This time, the runners trained only for 8 weeks. However, results still showed that strength training for running could offer some great neuromuscular improvements.
3. Start Slow
It can take months and sometimes years to get good at track. For running in general, it takes around 3 months to see any kind of results. For this reason, it’s a good idea to always try and start slow and expect that your performance will build up gradually.
The big risk with diving straight into training and giving it your all immediately is that your body may not be used to it. For example, if you haven’t run in a very long time and try to do nothing but 100m track sprints in your first week of training, there’s a good chance that you’ll become injured and unable to train any further.
By taking things nice and slow you, can increase your chances of sticking with your program and getting better at running without risking serious injury. A good rule of thumb for when you start running and need to take it slow is to try and run at a conversational pace – which is essentially the pace where you’re able to hold a conversation with another person.
This method helps you work at a lower percentage of your maximum effort so that you can build up your performance gradually. If you’d like to learn more about talking when running, I’ve written an entire article that includes opinions from other runners. You can find it here.
4. Little and Often
Training consistently and regularly is way more effective than doing a huge amount of training in one go and stopping for a while. For example, doing a 3 hour track workout on one day and then not doing any further training for the next 2 weeks because you’re so tired will not help you to get any results.
According to Wake County Athletics , someone who’s getting ready for track trials and needs to improve their running ability should be looking to do a distance workout 4 to 5 times a week.
By decreasing the amount of time and effort you put into any single workout, your muscles will be less fatigued and able to take in oxygen-rich blood. It also makes it really easy to get into a routine and push yourself to run every single day.
Furthermore, giving yourself a set amount of time to train can be great when trying to fit your track run training into your busy schedule. Check out these tips I wrote on running before work for more advice on fitting your workouts into your time.
5. Mix Up Workouts
There is not one single type of training that will make you automatically better at track. Instead, it’s a much better idea is to mix up your workouts so that you can improve in a variety of areas which, when put together, will make you a better track runner.
Generally speaking, if you’re wanting to get better at running track then you will need to be training in these three main areas:
- Long Distance Running – Unlike a marathon, distance running for track runners is typically anywhere from 400 m to 3000 m plus. By practicing long-distance running on a track, runners can expect to build up their joints and develop resistance to fatigued muscles so they can run faster and harder without getting tired when it comes to racing on track.
- Strength Training – We’ve already spoken about the importance of strength and conditioning when it comes to getting better at running track. On average, someone wanting to get better at track should aim to practise around 2 to 4 times a week. These workout should incorporate the whole body but should largely be focused around the legs. Examples of great exercises when strength training for track running include body weights workouts like press-ups, squats and lunges.
- Running Drills – Probably the most important of all when it comes to getting good at track. Typical examples of running drills that will help you increase your track performance include interval runs, tempo runs and sprints.
6. Learn Basic Track Etiquette
When you first start running on a track, there are basic rules that are good to know so that you can run efficiently and correctly alongside other runners. The main things to remember when considering track etiquette are:
- Running anti-clockwise – Unless told otherwise, the vast majority of track runners will be running anticlockwise on a running track. Running in this single direction stops people from colliding with one another.
- Be aware of other runners – One of the most common problems when it comes to running on a track if you are surrounded by many others who are also trying to better themselves. By being conscious of your surroundings and paying special attention to anybody close by, you can remain respectful to other runners whilst also bettering yourself.
- Pass runners on the right- It only makes sense if you’re running anticlockwise to pass runners on the right, which would be on the outside of them.
- Fastest runner goes in the first lane- runners who are fastest should look to be in either the first or second Lane as it is unlikely that there will be anybody to overtake them. On the other hand, runners who are slower or simply doing a warm-up or cool-down should stick to the outer lanes of the running track.
7. Avoid Wearing Headphones
I find this difficult to say because I love running with headphones when running. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with wearing headphones when you’re out on a trail or road running in a safe place, it can be dangerous to wear headphones when running on a track because you’re so close to other runners.
If something goes wrong and you’re not able to hear other runners, this could turn into something really dangerous.
What’s more, whilst music is great and can help motivate you, it could also distract you if your main goal is to get better at running on a track. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic I’ve written an entire guide on running with headphones – the do’s don’ts in best practises.
8. Warm Up
When you start running track it can be easy to fall straight into the workouts at hand without giving yourself the proper time needed to warm up. This is something that I still struggle with and unfortunately the other day I pulled muscles in both hamstrings when attempting to take on a 5K without doing any stretching before.
The good news is that stretching before running on a track doesn’t have to take that long. According to Yale Medicine, runners only need to spend 5 to 10 minutes stretching before going out for the run.
If you’d like more of a step-by-step guide on how to stretch before running then check out the video below.
9. Practice Visualisation
We all know that it’s important to focus on what we can physically do to get better at running track. But there is something to be said for the mental aspects too.
Visualization has been proven time and time again by runners as something that helps them increase their chances of getting better at the sport. By visualizing yourself doing well at achieving the desired outcome, you can get your mind into the right mental state to drastically improve your performance.
There are many different ways that a runner can practice visualization. Examples include imagining yourself finishing at an excellent time, preparing for the race, and running at a perfect pace.
SECRET TIP! – Find a Club
When trying to get better at track, there is only so far that you can go alone. By training alongside others, you can benefit from constructive criticism as well as external motivation. You’re going to need both if you want to get better.
The good news is that track and field sports are so popular that almost all cities will be complete with some kind of athletics program you can get involved in. Perhaps the reason you’re reading this article is because you’re already in one. If that’s the case, consider finding someone that you can run alongside as often as possible.
Want to learn more about how to get better at running track? The video below comes with some excellent top tips.
Gear To Consider
One of the things that I love about running is that you don’t need a lot of kit to get started. That being said, if you’re looking to get better at running track, I would reccomend the below as a bare minimum.
