“I don’t think limits.” ~ Usain Bolt

Do you want to run fast? Do you want to run a new PR?

At some point in our development as runners, no matter our skill level, we want to run fast. We want to toe the starting line of our next race and set a new personal best.

Speed, acceleration, velocity, all words that make us want to jump up and go! But there is more to becoming a fast runner than tying up your shoes and attempting to run fast.

What you get out of life is an exact reflection of what you put in. This same principle applies to becoming a faster runner.

If all your efforts only go into moving your legs faster in hopes to become a fast runner, then that’s what you become. You become a runner who HOPES to run faster.

The point is this: If you want to run fast, than you have to practice running fast. You have to live the life of someone who runs fast. But it takes time, and it takes commitment, and it requires you to push a little further every day.

To run faster, you need to…

• Structure training
• Commit to training
• Build our base with long distance.
• Learn good form
• Change breathing patterns
• Practice speed: strides, finish strong, tempo,   fartleks, hills
• Tweak training as you adapt
• Boost your lactate threshold
• Strength train
• Recover
• Eat healthy
• Sleep good
• Track your progress

It seems doable, right? Sure it does, but we get caught in a huge dilemma. A dilemma that creeps through the running world along with other misconceptions that hurt our progression.

What do I mean?

Well, we not only want to run fast, but we want results as fast as possible. Growing up with technology has made instant gratification a way of life. For example, 75% of people abandon a website that takes longer than four seconds to load!

On that note, if we don’t achieve it fast enough then we quit faster than how fast we started in the first place.

But luckily I have the answer to your dilemma.

How do you become a faster runner in very little time?

Easy, learn from those who are faster. If you find someone who runs faster and do what they do, you will likely run faster. This is your quickest path to success.

The key to success is to model the best!

So to have you running as fast as possible, I had to bring in help. I brought in some of the fastest professionals around.

As you probably have guessed from the headline, seven professional runners will share their wisdom with you.

I asked them the following question:

What is your number one tip on how to run faster?

Note: This is definitely one of the best collections of expert running tips out there. When you see the contributors, you will understand why.

So without further ado, I bring to you, the FAST, professional runners!

Tianna Bartoletta

~Professional Track Athlete for NIKE. 2x Olympian 3x World Champion 3x Gold Medalist 4x 100m World Record Holder

“Eliminate any unnecessary action taking place behind you. Like allowing your legs to cycle all the way up to your butt! It takes up so much time and is unnecessary! If you get your legs in front and run taller with better posture and higher knees, you’re not wasting as much energy or time! As a result, your times should be faster because you’re not spending so much of it in the wrong direction.”

Connect With Tianna:

Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake

~Professional Track Athlete. 1x Olympian 1x World Champion.

“My number one tip on how to run faster would be ensuring you are consistently training at a high level and are mentally disciplined. Reason being, anyone can complete a workout, but at what level you complete it at is the real factor to how much you get out of it. It is about consistently being able to train at a high level regardless of the circumstances. It all starts with one’s mental tenacity, the commitment to cause, and their discipline. The ability to get up every day and tell yourself, “I want to be the best sprinter, the best athlete, and the best version of myself possible” is vital for you to get better.”

Connect With Nethaneel:

Jasmin Stowers

~Professional Track Athlete for NIKE. US Indoor Champion.

“A lot of athletes do not take into consideration the role of nutrition and how it plays a critical part in speed and performance. What you put into your body fuels you for your workouts and competitions. When I transitioned from college to a professional athlete, I wanted to run fast. The number one way I did that was by fueling my body with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean meats. Through this, I was able to lose excess body weight, which translated to becoming more lean, powerful, and faster. Eating healthy is a major key to a successful athletic career. You will feel better and your time will start dropping!”

Connect With Jasmin:

Charlie Grice

~Professional Track Athlete for NIKE. 1x Olympian 1x World Champion.

“Be consistent in your training. It’s better to run less but avoid injury as opposed to go crazy with your training and then have a few weeks off.”

“Build up your training slowly. It is far better to progress your training. For example, I increased 10% each year, which is how I progressed each year from 3:42.00 to 3:33.00 for the 1500m.”

“Find training partners. Running is solitary, and it’s a lot of fun to run with your friends and catch up on what they’ve been up to.”

Connect With Charlie:

Martyn Roone

~Professional Track Athlete. 3x  Olympian 3x World Champion.

“I’ve never had raw speed, but I’ve hit some pretty fast times by improving my technique.”

“Frontside mechanics is the way forward. I’ve found by focusing on bringing my knees up in front and pushing down hard into the ground directly under my body, automatically I move forward. The quicker I do this, the faster I run. The key is not to lean forward or let your feet flick behind.”

Connect With Martyn:

Sarah True

~Professional Triathlete. 2x Olympian.

“I see too many runners run too hard for their base or easy runs and struggle to hit hard paces on their hard workouts. Rather than doing every run at a certain speed, try to have a clear delineation between workout speeds and your pace for base miles and recovery runs. Doing hard run workouts will make you a faster runner, but only if you have a solid mileage base to support it and allow yourself to recover adequately.”

Connect With Sarah:

Alexa Efraimson

~Professional Track Athlete for NIKE. 2 x Track Championships.

“On running faster, the most important thing for me isn’t even the running portion. It’s everything else in your life. One of the biggest lessons I have learned in my professional career is that all the little things make a big difference in the end. This includes nutrition, sleep, rehab & prehab, hydration, etc. You can be doing all the workouts great, but if you aren’t recovering correctly or recovering enough, you aren’t prepping your body.”

Connect With Alexa:

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. A fast set of tips on how to run fast from a set of extraordinarily fast professional athletes.

As you begin to apply their tips, remember, speed doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes we train for months only to take a few seconds off our pace. And the faster you become, the smaller the margin becomes.

Furthermore, as much as speed is a physical endeavor, it takes mental strength to progress. It takes mental strength to eat healthy every day! It takes mental strength to train until your tired then train some more! It takes mental strength to make large sacrifices for small gains!

Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth, said:

“Dreams are free. Goals have a cost. While you can daydream for free, goals don’t come without a price. Time, effort, sacrifice, and sweat. How will you pay for your goals?”

The fastest man on earth tells us the same. It takes sacrifice to reach our running goals. It takes commitment, and it takes a whole lot of hard work.

But if you stay on track, learn from the best, and apply what works for you, the results will come. You will find your legs moving faster than you could have ever imagined. Because, yes, dreams are free. But with time, effort, sacrifice, and sweat, your dreams not only become a possibility, but they also become a reality. Yes, they become a dream come true!

Remember…The key to running fast is to model those who run fast! And don’t forget to check out 6 Endurance Pros Reveal Their #1 Tips To Increasing Running Stamina

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