June 5, 2025, 5:48 pm | Read time: 7 minutes
Running training involves much more than always running the same route straight ahead. True progress only comes with variety in training. It can literally pay off to explore new paths—and draw inspiration from other sports.
Many runners face a familiar dilemma: Despite intense training, noticeable performance improvements fail to materialize. They invest a lot of energy, use expensive heart rate monitors, track their runs via apps, or follow well-thought-out training plans–yet progress remains elusive. So how can you actually bring more speed to your running training? FITBOOK spoke with Petra Wassiluk, a former German long-distance runner.
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Overview
Realistic Goals and Moderate Training
“Many runners set goals that are too high, putting themselves under pressure that leads to frustration. This not only tires the mind but also causes physical injuries.” Petra Wassiluk has encountered such cases countless times in her work as a coach. The Darmstadt native won seven German championships as a runner and competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the 5,000 meters. Four years later, in Sydney, she ran the 10,000 meters.
Today, the sports science graduate teaches beginners and ambitious athletes that a good runner shouldn’t always run straight if they want to progress faster. And she teaches moderation. For example, in Wassiluk’s training group, there’s a man in his early forties training toward the dream goal of many runners–running a marathon. But when he receives a plan for a speed session from the coach, which states 10 times 800 meters in 4:30 minutes, he always runs the first five or six stretches at a pace of 4:20 minutes. “And then he’s exhausted for the rest of the session.”
Listen to Your Body
More is better–many amateur runners work under this misconception and fall into a performance slump. “Many runners can’t manage to listen to their bodies,” says Petra Wassiluk. They push through their program even when it’s not feasible, putting themselves under immense stress by constantly checking their stopwatches.
Sample Training Plan for 4 Sessions per Week
To improve, you first need one thing: consistency in training. A basic weekly structure for an ambitious runner with time for four sessions might look like this:
- Endurance run with integrated technique session (6 kilometers warm-up, then 15 to 20 minutes of running technique, 2 kilometers cool-down).
- Endurance run (8 to 12 kilometers).
- Speed session (interval training, tempo run).
- Long endurance run (15 kilometers or more, adjusted to the specific race goal).
With such a structure, you train three-quarters in the aerobic zone, meaning the zone where more oxygen is taken in than given off.
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Good Runners Don’t Just Run
But if you want to run fast, you can’t just run. Core stabilization should be part of every training program. Half an hour once a week is the minimum, but if you want more than just to ease your conscience, you should increase the frequency. Doing thirty minutes twice a week does a lot of good for your body. Those who are even more disciplined can subject themselves to a daily “Tagesschau session.” That means strengthening all important body parts for 15 minutes while watching the news.
Core stabilization always trains the entire body, from head to toe, so to speak. “A stable core makes you fast,” says Petra Wassiluk. The stronger the legs, the better the runner can push off the ground, as it’s about minimizing ground contact time. A good running step should sound like “tap-tap-tap” and not “shuffle-shuffle-shuffle.” Additionally, a strong core ensures that the body doesn’t “wobble” while running, but that energy always flows in the direction of movement.
Programs for good core training are available at FITBOOK, among others. Most exercises don’t require weights; your own body weight is entirely sufficient. However, the number of repetitions is high. Or you hold the tension for several seconds. Resistance bands can enhance the effectiveness of the training, and even water bottles can serve as weights for exercises on the home carpet.
Variety in Training Brings Fun and Progress
Now back outside, to the running track. And here the rule is: Bring variety into your routine. If you always run the same route, you’ll eventually just go through the motions and get fixated on times. (“I was four minutes faster the day before yesterday, darn it”).
The beauty of running is that you can do it (almost) anywhere: street, forest, track, meadow, terrain, beach. Take advantage of this. Combine training with a landscape experience. Just run up a steep hill; it strengthens your leg muscles and teaches you to use your arms actively. A hill run is also good for motivation–reaching the top with a racing heartbeat feels great. It doesn’t hurt to push yourself hard sometimes, driving your pulse to 180 beats per minute.
Also interesting: Trail Running–those who also run off-road benefit in multiple ways
Trail Running Trains Lightness
Leave the paths and run cross-country, jump over fallen trees and streams, dodge bushes, and weave around obstacles. Such challenging terrain forces you to run lightly, almost prancing, with short ground contact time. You train your leg strength, reaction time, and agility. Ultimately, you have to concentrate more during trail running than on a path to avoid falling. Roots or holes in the ground lurk everywhere. The more you focus on the terrain and your light-footed run, the less you check the stopwatch, reducing time pressure. Running through the terrain is the most original form of running.
Include Running ABC in the Training Plan
Training lightness in the terrain is one way of technique training. The other, equally necessary, are separate sessions from the “running school” (also called Running ABC). This should also be part of every good weekly plan. The classics include:
- Butt kicks
- Knee lifts
- Sidesteps
- Skippings
You can also draw on exercises from soccer training. Here, training lightness is part of the standard program. Not every runner needs to buy a coordination ladder; a few empty yogurt cups lined up about fifty centimeters apart will do for sidesteps. First eight times from left to right, then in the opposite direction. You can prance backward and forward around the cups, jump over them–many things are possible.
The railing that usually runs around a sports field can also be used. You can “dive” under it–sometimes from the left, sometimes from the right. Or hop over it with side jumps. Always hold onto the railing with both hands, then go over it left, then right.
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Record Your Running Style with Your Phone
“If you want to know what good running style looks like, you can get inspired by professional runs on the internet,” advises running coach Petra Wassiluk. And to compare how far you are from this optimum, it’s worth running in front of a mirror. This way, you can spot arms flailing to the side or hanging, waddling feet, a wobbling head, heavy stomping, or that the foot lands too far in front or behind the knee.
And one last tip: If possible, use different running partners. It doesn’t hurt to run with people who are slower. You don’t lose anything by doing so; in fact, you relax.
But it also doesn’t hurt to train with faster runners to challenge yourself. However, it should be with performance categories where you can still keep up, literally. It would be pointless, frustrating, and overwhelming for someone aiming to run 10 kilometers in under 40 minutes to train with a colleague who breaks the 30-minute mark. Light-footed running would no longer be possible.