Track workouts aren’t just for sprinters or high school track teams—they’re a powerful tool for runners of all distances, from 5Ks and 10Ks to half marathons, marathons, and even ultras.
No matter what distance we’re training for, getting faster is almost always part of the goal and well-planned track workouts can play a key role in helping us hit those race day paces.
Track workouts are a type of interval training that alternate bursts of faster running with periods of recovery—whether that’s a jog, a walk, or full rest. As a running coach, I recommend introducing interval sessions once an athlete has built a solid aerobic base.
If you’re brand new to running, spend a few weeks focusing on easy runs to build endurance and confidence. Once that foundation is in place, you’ll be ready to start adding track workouts to your routine.
Let’s break down how track workouts work, when to use them, and how to perform some of my favorite sessions step-by-step.
What Are Track Workouts?
Track workouts are interval training sessions1Billat, L. V. (2001). Interval Training for Performance: A Scientific and Empirical Practice. Sports Medicine, 31(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200131010-00002 that alternate between hard running and easy running or rest.
They can improve running speed and running economy,2Barnes, K. R., & Kilding, A. E. (2014). Strategies to Improve Running Economy. Sports Medicine, 45(1), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0246-y develop proper running form, promote a quick leg turnover (cadence), and increase overall strength3García-Pinillos, F., Cámara-Pérez, J. C., Soto-Hermoso, V. M., & Latorre-Román, P. Á. (2017). A High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)-Based Running Plan Improves Athletic Performance by Improving Muscle Power. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(1), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000001473 and endurance.
Some of the most common track workouts include 200-meter, 400-meter, 600-meter, 800-meter, kilometer and mile repeats, ladders, pyramids, and goal pace intervals just to name a few.
The type of track workout you do will depend on your current running goal and training cycle.
These sessions are often performed on a standard outdoor track (measuring 400 meters around) or a standard indoor track (measuring 200 meters around). These distances can vary depending on the track you have access to.
And if you don’t have access to a track, you can adapt any loop or straightaway that gives you enough obstacle-free distance to perform the intervals.
Track Workouts 101: How to Do Them the Right Way
Warm Up
A track workout should always include a thorough warm-up to get your muscles and joints primed and ready to go.
For your warm-up, jog at an easy, conversation pace for 10-20 minutes (or more), depending on your fitness level and weekly mileage requirements, followed by five minutes of dynamic stretching.
Dynamic stretching running drills consist of exercises like walking lunges, leg swings, Frankenstein walks, butt kicks, high knees, and bounding.
A warm-up ensures top running performance during your workout. If you don’t warm up before running at a hard effort, you’ll spend your first few repetitions warming up and not be able to run at the indicated paces or effort levels.
The Workout
After thoroughly warming up, follow the detailed instructions for your track workout.
Let’s take a look at an example:
- Kilometer Repeats at Race Pace:
- 5 x (1000 meters at race pace / 400-meter recovery jog)
How you gauge your effort will depend on your training method: heart rate, pace, power, or rate of perceived exertion.
Your race pace will depend on the distance you are running and your fitness level. Let’s give an example of a 5K race pace of 5 minutes a kilometer or 8:03 per mile. If you don’t have specific paces, you can also use RPE, (rate of perceived exertion), which for a 5K race, would be a 7-8/10.
- Run 1 kilometer (two and a half laps on a standard outdoor track) at your race pace.
- Follow each 1000m rep with a 400m recovery jog or walk (between 1-2 on the RPE scale)
- Repeat this five times.
Cool Down
The cool-down after your repetitions is as important as the warm-up.
After reps of faster running, you’ll want to gradually bring your heart and breathing rate back down to baseline. Jog or walk for 10-20 minutes after you have completed your session.
How Often Should I Incorporate Interval Training Into My Training Plan?
I recommend that runners with a solid base who have not done speedwork before should add only one session of track workouts per week.
Two weekly sessions are ideal for more experienced runners. Again, this will depend on where you are in your training cycle.
Do not schedule both track workouts consecutively; be sure to have a recovery run, rest day, or active recovery day between them.
If you overdo it with intense running workouts, you will increase your risk of injury and impede improvement. We want to see great results; rest is essential to that process.
How Can I Adapt These Workouts To My Training Level?
Before we dive into my favorite track workouts I use for my athletes, let’s discuss the scalability of these sessions and how you can adapt each one to your fitness level, whether you are a beginner runner or an experienced runner in the middle of an advanced marathon training plan.
#1: Increase or Decrease the Number of Repetitions
In most track workouts, there is a hard work period followed by a rest period, repeated for a certain number of repetitions.
Depending on your fitness level, you can raise or lower the number of repetitions of each interval.
Example: Instead of ten 400m repeats, you can do five if you are a beginner or 12 or more if you are more experienced.
#2: Adjust the Interval Length
Whether you are working in distance or time, you can adjust the hard interval by increasing or decreasing it.
Example: Instead of running mile repeats, you can lower them to kilometers or raise them to 2K repeats.
#3: Adjust the Rest Interval
Here, you can play around with a couple of different factors.
You can either increase or decrease the distance or time of the rest interval or adjust the indicated effort level.
Example: If the rest in your 400m workout is indicated as “easy running” to recover, but you need to walk, walk! Depending on the objective of the workout and how intensely you are running the repeat, you may need to rest completely.
Play around with these different factors to find your sweet spot. But remember, these workouts are supposed to pull you out of your comfort zone so you can reap the benefits of that hard running.
The Best Track Workouts For Distance Runners
#1: Straights and Curves
This is a workout for a runner just starting out with speedwork and can use it to build up to harder sessions.
- Warm up
- Run the straightaways on the track hard and walk the curves
- For starters, repeat 8-10 times, and build up to more reps
- Cool down
#2: 400m Repeats
On most outdoor tracks, 400 meters will be one lap around the track, so these are easy to keep track of.
- Warm up
- 10 x 400 meters hard (8 on the rate of perceived exertion scale, or think 5K race pace or a bit faster) / 2-3 minute recovery jog (or walk, or complete rest)
- Cool down
#3: 800m Repeats
Now, let’s double it.
You’ll feel a big difference between 400- and 800-meter intervals. The 400s will feel more explosive, and the 800s will be more of an endurance workout where you really have to hold on and sustain that hard pace.
- Warm up
- 4-5 x 800 meters hard (8 on the rate of perceived exertion scale, or think 5K pace or a bit faster) / 3-minute recovery jog (or walk, or complete rest)
- Cool down
#5: Ladder Track Workout
You can run these intervals anywhere between 6-8 on the RPE scale depending on your fitness level.
- Warm up
- 400m hard / 400m recovery jog
- 800m hard / 400m recovery jog
- 1200m hard / 400m recovery jog
- 1600m hard / 400m recovery jog
- 2000m hard / 400m recovery jog
- Cool down
You can also run this ladder by starting with the longer distances and working your way down to the shortest distance.
Fartleks (speed play), tempos runs, and race-pace runs can also be done on a track to run in a controlled environment.
Track workouts are an efficient way to add quality work to your training plan and see impressive improvements.
To ensure you don’t over or under-do it in terms of training, check out our very own database of marathon training plans for your next big race:
So happy to have ‘run’ across this article.
Not only does it give me lots of ideas for planning track workouts for some folks who are new to the track and/or running, it makes ME want to head out for a track workout… which is saying a lot!