Stamina is so important in running and to improve it there are several elements that need to be combined. First is consistency, basically run and keep running on a regular basis. Next is distance. You all know my opinions on this, go further and you will go faster eventually. The Long run is the next piece of the jigsaw. This needs to be as long as possible and if you can add a bit of tempo all good, most important though is time on feet. Next some gym work on conditioning wouldn’t go a miss. I’m not talking about big weights here but cardio workouts, light weights , high repetition. Concentrate on the core muscles and we’re not into weight gain so lots of sit ups, planks, burpees, press ups, medicine ball work  and leg strengthening . Now sprinkle in some off road work. This is better than your normal straight line concrete run as it improves the aerobic endurance as well as ankle strength and stability. On a good trail you have to watch ever step and this makes the whole running process so much more testing. Don’t worry about pace too much as you’ll end up on your backside; more important to feel the benefit of the constant ‘stepping’ from foot to foot as you navigate the trail obstacles.  (see image below with right knee bearing the brunt of not concentrating!)

All this talk of off road trail running has me excited. Me think Kings Park for some trails lunchtime. Living the dream guys, living the dream…

…and there’s more… while enjoying my lunch time trail run through Kings Park I thought I need to add hill work to my stamina improving workouts.  The benefit of hill runs is as well as being bloody hard work, which is always a good sign, they tend to be a bit more forgiving than say a temp or threshold run. If you’re on tired legs  and add speed you’re dancing with the devil. A good hill workout, even on tired legs, will give you the benefit of a time spent in the higher heart zones (between Threshold and VO2 max!) without the risk of injury.  It’s not to say a good tempo and/or threshold is also good for building stamina but you do run the risk and these should be set aside for when you are fresh.