Strides
A stride is a short, controlled acceleration. You ease up to fast but relaxed running over a few seconds, hold it, then ease off, about 15 to 30 seconds in all, and walk or jog until you feel fresh. A few at the end of an easy run, in the warm-up before a workout or race, and the day before a race keep your legs quick without adding fatigue. This is general training guidance.
What a stride is
Build smoothly from easy pace to fast, relaxed running over the first few seconds, hold it, then ease off and glide to a stop. The effort is fast but in control, never an all-out sprint: it should feel good and fast, about 100 meters, and you should feel you could run a little faster. A newer runner aims for about 90 percent effort, because trying for 100 percent turns into overreaching, and that is how people get hurt.
Walk or jog between strides until you feel fresh, usually one to two minutes for a runner at the advanced end and about double the stride time for a newer runner, for example 30 seconds easy after a 15 second stride.
How many, and how often
The dose rises with experience and weekly mileage.
- New runners and returners: 10 to 20 seconds at about 90 percent effort, with double the recovery, a couple of days a week after easy runs. Add strides before you add any interval workout, and add an occasional interval session only after three to four weeks of comfort.
- Most amateurs running under 50 miles a week: 4 to 8 strides of 15 to 30 seconds, twice a week. A recreational 5K runner can do them every week, all year, in the same way a long run is a weekly habit.
- Higher-mileage and advanced runners, 5K to 100 miles: 4 to 8 strides of 20 to 30 seconds, two or three days a week, at the end of easy runs.
- Elite marathoners: a set after every easy day that is not a workout or a long run, four or five days a week, for example 5 x 20 seconds at 5K to 3K effort with 40 seconds of rest.
- Masters, over 50: peak power falls with age, and very short hill strides plus lifting such as squats can hold it or improve it, so keep strides in the week.
Where they go in a run
Put strides where you are warm and not tired: at the end of an easy run, or inside its second half. They also go in the warm-up before a workout or a race. Elite 5K to half marathon runners often finish a threshold workout with about 5 x 30 seconds once they are loose.
Flat or uphill
A newer runner starts on a hill, because the impact on the joints is lower, and moves to flat ground later. At the advanced end, hill strides and flat strides sit side by side, and short hill strides keep top-end power all year even in a plan with a lot of threshold work. See the guide on hill strides.
Why they work
Speed work improves running economy, so easy running gets faster at the same effort. That is why strides help a beginner as much as an elite.
Strides are also the power stimulus of a runner's week: short, fast and low-impact, they train quick, forceful contact with the ground without the cost of a hard workout. They keep your legs quick through a long stretch of easy running.
Strides before a race and in a taper
Goal distance changes the answer.
- 5K: warm up from easy to hard, because a 5K is at pace from the gun. Do dynamic mobility, two easy miles, then 4 to 6 strides, finishing the strides within 5 to 10 minutes of the start. In 85 to 90 F heat do four, so your heart rate does not climb before the start.
- The week of a 5K: slow easy running lowers muscle tension and strides, sprints and hill sprints raise it, and tension decides whether you feel flat or responsive. Do the bigger hill sprints earlier in race week and not the day before. Strides the day before and in the warm-up bring the pop back.
- 10K, half marathon and marathon: 4 to 6 strides of 20 to 30 seconds the day before, preferably uphill because the injury risk is lower. Race week often follows travel, so the aim is pop in the legs without an injury, and the set stays short.
- Ultra: strides the day before are highly individual. Some runners want them and some do not, so use what you know works for you.
Safety
Strides are usually the fastest running in an easy week. Warm up with easy running first, ease in with a handful, keep the effort controlled and not maximal, run them on smooth ground where you can see your footing (or on a gentle hill), skip them if an ache or twinge sharpens when you pick up the pace, and stop the set the moment your form falls apart. The day before a race, keep the set to four to six and prefer an uphill.
Common questions
How long should a stride be?
About 15 to 30 seconds, roughly 60 to 100 meters. A newer runner does 10 to 20 seconds, and a 30-second rep is closer to a workout. The effort matters more than the exact length: fast but relaxed, never an all-out sprint.
How fast should I run strides?
Fast but smooth and in control. A newer runner aims for about 90 percent effort. You should feel you could run a little faster.
How many strides should I do, and how often?
A newer runner starts with a couple of days a week after easy runs, six to eight reps of 10 to 20 seconds. Most amateurs running under 50 miles a week do 4 to 8 strides of 15 to 30 seconds twice a week, and higher-mileage runners do them two or three days a week.
Are strides a hard workout?
No. They are part of an easy day. Each one is short, followed by recovery, and the set stops when form fades.
Should I do strides the day before a race?
For a 5K, yes. For a 10K, half marathon or marathon, 4 to 6 strides of 20 to 30 seconds, preferably uphill because the injury risk is lower. Ultra runners differ, so use what you know works for you.
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