SINGAPORE - Are you a casual runner looking to run faster? Then you should run for the hills, literally.
There are several ways to improve your running speed, as fitness consultant Ben Pulham told some 120 participants ahead of a Nike training run yesterday evening at the Marina Waterfront Promenade.
One is to take faster steps, and the other is to take longer strides.
He told The New Paper: “Not only can low intensity hill training improve one’s aerobic and strength endurance, it also naturally increases the person’s stride length while maintaining the cadence, thus increasing the speed.”
The 31-year-old former triathlete added such training, done frequently over short distances, is a safer way to increase a runner’s speed than runs that are high in intensity over long distances, especially for novice runners.
Pulham said: “It’s a very good way and allows for more growth in your running.
“And it is an accumulative thing – you’ll get better if you do it more frequently, but with shorter distances.
“Some people get injured because they try to do too much and too soon.”
The runners were also given some safety tips on night-time running, as well as an introduction to Nike’s new LunarGlide+ 4 Shield.
They then embarked on a 7km evening training run with the city skyline as their backdrop.
The session then ended with a talk by a podiatrist, followed by a question-and-answer session and a lucky draw. The three-hour session was the last of three public training sessions in preparation for the Nike We Run SG 10K on the morning of Oct 21 at the Marina Waterfront Promenade, and the only session held in the evening.
The previous two sessions were held at the East Coast Park and at Orchard Central.
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