How to run faster?

[Times10]

I have been doing couch to 5k, and did my first Parkrun yesterday (5km). It took me almost 45 minutes to do the laps. I would love to get faster, but I don’t know how to do so (apart from more running).

I’m 30kg overweight (66 lbs) and haven’t run this much since school (I’m mid 30s) so any tips would be really helpful! Thanks!

Im not an expert at all but I think you need to keep running intervals like on the Couch to 5k but with faster / slower running rather than running / walking. You need to include some sprints rather than just running along at a steady space. You will be able to find training programmes online and if necessary apps that you can build your programmes. There’s one called Run Interval that I have. ( on it is a programme called Mona Fartlek which sounds like a joke but is a programme of this type)

I second a combination of intervals/fartlek training and one slow long run a week.

Congratulations on your first parkrun!! Hope you found the community spirit kept you going. I think it's a fantastic initiative.

Well done on your first Parkrun - your Saturdays will never be the same again! I used to take 43 mins but am now down to 32 mins (along with losing 3 stone) Main tips would be to keep going every week, try and fit in a run or two during the week as well and as well as focusing on fitness, acknowledge the mental health benefits too (I found this quite motivational) Keep on running!

well done for finishing c25k!

it took me a year from starting it to running 5k below 30 minutes.

short answer: practice, keep running
long answer: intervalls. use one of the runs to speed up in sections of your run. good luck

You will naturally get faster as it was your first one. Well done btw!

I was similar vs your time when i started, over the first few months i naturally dropped about 10 mins.
I am short and reckon 30mins ish for 5km is fairly decent
Work on technique, breathing, pacing and rhythm in the nect few weeks.
One thing i also found helpful was to track someone slightly ahead and push to overtake them.
Once you've got 2-3 months inder the belt you will have dropped a decent amount of time naturally. I'd then look at adding a shorter run on wed (?) Doing intervals or farlek. Also practice running up slopes. This helped me crack the 30mark.

Well done - that not a shabby time for your debut.

You learn to run faster by practising running faster. Start off a bit like C25K - go for your 30 min run, and within it it, try 3x 90sec of hard effort, then go back to an easy jog until you get your breath back and feel comfortable again.

Do this at least one run a week - aim initially to do more repeats of the 90sec hard effort, with shorter recovery time in between.

Running up hills can also help - the extra 'load' helps make you fitter.

It's worth adding a strength and conditioning session weekly - it wont help you run faster in the same way as the running intervals will, but it will make you generally stronger and that always helps.

IME Hill training helped me. Sprint up hills and walk down. Repeat 6-10 times depending how much you can do. Do this once a week.

I also find when I've put on weight I run slower. Try to lose weight too, by looking at your diet.

I agree with the PPs too, over time you probably will get faster naturally if you keep going. Well done for completing your first parkrun, you still lapped everyone on the couch.

Thanks for all the encouragement!

I love the idea of having lapped everyone on the couch 😁

I do have a local hill, and I’ve just walked it, and it looks like it’s 2.5km to do the circular route, so will try running it during the week.

I’ll definitely try replacing the walk intervals with faster runs on my normal route too.

First, congratulations on your first parkrun and finishing C25k. On getting faster, give yourself time - you will naturally speed up as you do more running but you need to build up steadily. The generally accepted wisdom is 80% slow easy running (to build aerobic fitness) and 20% faster training like intervals. Building in a bit of strength training will help with speed too, as well as potentially helping with avoiding injury.

I have started and stopped C25k a number of times due to various reasons. I have had difficult year - worked through out covid in hospital, got covid in October and took a while to fully recover. Wanted to take up running so started running 4 weeks ago. Did 4km in 33 minutes - which according to google is a fast paced walk. It is good to know that your time improves as I was quite disheartened after the run thinking that I will never get better at this. Op- thanks for starting thread, hopefully I can get some tips as well. I would love to do 10K if possible.

I managed another 5km run, but with half going up and down hills, so was just as slow, but a much harder run. Got Parkrun tomorrow and will see if that will help improve my time a tiny bit.

I’m pretty sure I’m slower running that if I fast walked! When I did the Parkrun I was overtaken by someone power walking!