THE NEED FOR SPEED

If you’re a distance runner, you might think you don’t need to practise your all-out speed. But a new study suggests otherwise. Increasing your ‘speed reserve’ by doing all-out 50-metre sprints promotes stiffer tendons, longer bundles of muscle fibres and better neuromuscular signalling – developments associated with more efficient running at slower speeds. Try 8 x 50-metre sprints at the end of an easy run to get some speed in your legs.