Frankly speaking

A system to help structure those repetition sessions.

Introduction

Repetition running (reps) forms part of the training of many distance runners. However, structuring a session can seem like an impossible task, simply because there are several possible variables. The main ones are:

the length of each rep
the speed of each rep
the number of reps to be carried out
whether we do them as single set or multiple sets with a break between
the recovery between each fast stretch
the form that the recovery takes (lie down, stand still, walk, jog, easy run etc.).

So we seemingly have an infinite number of options to choose from, even before we add in complications such as varied pace within reps, sessions involving more than one distance, where we are in the distance running year and what surface we will run on. You don’t always have to do reps on a track. We could choose a particular distance, blast off on rep 1, wait until we’ve got our breath back and try again. But if we do, the reps will probably get slower and the recoveries longer. In the end, we’ll just grind to a halt and lose whatever purpose we had for the session (if indeed we had one at the outset).

So do we have a way of rationalising this sort of training? Fortunately, help has been at hand since the early 1960s in the form of the multi-pace system developed by that well-known (and often much-feared) GB coach Frank Horwill (hence the title). In the 1970s and 80s, it was a vital part of training people such as Seb Coe (and he didn’t do too badly), and it’s still widely used today. In this article, I’ll try to explain how it’s applied in our group; as usual, these are my personal views.

What is multi-pace training?

We base this system on the athletes' performances over distances – 800, 1500, 3000, 5000 and 10,000m. PBs are, of course, set in competition, so we probably want to make some allowance for the fact that sessions won't quite achieve race pace. Not everyone will have PBs over this range of distances, but we can make a reasonable estimate by applying the 4- or 5- second rule. That is, by taking the time for each 400m over (say) 800m and adding 4 or 5 seconds to give us the lap times over 1500. And so on, up or down across the full range. There's no science behind this, but it's good enough for our purposes.

How do we structure a session??

It's impossible to give an exhaustive list, but we can set out the basic principles and give a few examples.

First, we need to decide on the session's objective – anything without an objective falls under the definition of "junk", and we don't want that.

Let's do some examples first.

High-end aerobic

Here we are trying to increase the speed at which an athlete can run before acid levels rocket skyward. High-end aerobic means fairly high-volume sessions based on 3000, 5000 and 10000 paces. So, for example, with a set of 1 km reps at 5000 pace, an athlete ought to be able to manage at least 6 (i.e. a session volume of 6 km) off a recovery of no more than 2 min (and probably much less for faster runners). We tend to emphasise this work more during winter and frequently use road, grass or cross-country circuits. Long reps on a track can be soul-destroying, and sessions can all too easily fall to pieces. We can't always apply a specific pace in such cases, but we can use the basic principles of multi-pace to help structure the session.

Some prefer to use large numbers of shorter reps; 20 x 400 is a favourite with 60 sec recovery. I have to say that I'm not keen on this one, physiologically it may be OK, but there is also the mental aspect to consider – in a race, we don't get a break at the end of every lap.

Competitive distance running requires mental toughness, and in my opinion, this is better developed using longer reps of not less than 2 min in duration. However, we can develop the mental side using shorter efforts if we use a much more active recovery, running at half the pace of the faster stretch (which is much faster than a jog). This session is the basis of the so-called "new interval running" (although the format dates back to Emil Zatopek in the early 1950s). You can find a comprehensive description on the New Interval Training website. We've used this a lot with our senior athletes in a session involving four continuous pairs (1 min at about 3 – 5000m pace – 1 min at half pace). I like to finish this set with 30 sec at a faster than 3000 pace, so the athlete runs continuously for 8 min 30 sec. Three of these sets with a generous recovery between are relevant to 5000m racing – not just my view but that of athletes who've also done it.

Acid tolerance

Acid tolerance is to do with speed endurance, which we can improve by using longish reps such as 500 or 600m or even a bit longer. In contrast to high-end, high-volume aerobic work, here we are thinking of a small number of reps (say 3 or 4) with ample recovery of 5-7 min. The speed, however, will be faster, 1500 pace or better for a session of 4 x 600m (so a total session volume of 2.4 km). Again, not something to use on younger or less experienced athletes.

We can also increase acid levels by using shorter reps such as 200m and operating at 800 pace or quicker.

A big single set off a short recovery will not work at this pace, but this is where the use of sets comes in.

Doing 3 or 4 reps off a short (30 sec) recovery is tough, but if the athlete has a 5 -7 min break, then a second set and maybe even a third is doable.

Sustained speed

Sustained speed does overlap with acid tolerance but involves shorter reps of about 1 min. It is important here to keep the quality high throughout the session, so a reasonable recovery of around 2 min 30 sec is advisable.

Sustained speed is a 'track season' session done at 1500 pace or a bit quicker and is not that suitable for younger athletes (under-17s and below). The pace of this session means that when done as a single set, 8 reps is usually enough for ordinary mortals.

A track is not essential for this sort of work. When TP was unavailable during the covid epidemic, we adjourned to Wittenham Clumps. We had a very successful and demanding session on a roughly 400m circuit (with a hill involved, of course). The athletes got a massive amount out of themselves, far more than if they had been on a track – as one so aptly put it, the track would have been "a stress I don't need". Since then, we've been back for more of the same on several occasions.

Putting the session together

From these brief examples, I hope you can see how having first determined its purpose, a rep session needs to balance up speed, rep distance, the overall volume of the session and duration and type of recovery. As a rough guide, the overall volume should be at most twice that of the distance whose pace you've selected and will often be less than that. At the same time, unless you are practising pace judgement (which is a different thing altogether), it makes little sense to have a total session volume of around the pace distance. As an extreme example, asking athletes to run 8 x 200m at their 1500 pace with 3 min between is not achieving anything – a session volume of only 1600m with 21 min of sitting around thrown in.

And yes, I know this sounds incredibly regimented, but it's important to time the recoveries and the reps themselves. It's amazing how what starts as a generous recovery appears to get shorter as the session goes on.