Snakes & panthers
Training details
Start time: 6:15pm start. Please arrive warmed up (10-15 minutes easy).
If you can run 5K in under 19:30 (men) and 22:00 (women) please come to our semi-coached training sessions on Tuesday evenings.
Please provide some information about you here for our coaches.
The current training block starts Tuesday (2 Sep 2025). It’ll be 5 weeks long with the aim to improve your road 5/ time and targeting a time trial (e.g., race or parkrun) on 4th Oct.
Meet at the Bellemoor Triangle: (what3words: ///flats.forms.modest)
| Tue | 10k | Hill sprints |
| 2-Sep-2025 | 8 × 400m (60 sec rec) @ 5k pace + 4 × 800m (80 sec rec) @ 10k pace | 6 x 8 sec |
| 9-Sep-2025 | 2 sets with 5 min easy between: 4x 400m [1min active rec] + 2x 800m [1min active rec]; all @ 5k pace | 6 x 8 sec |
| 16-Sep-2025 (self-led) | 5x 1k @ 5k pace [2min active rec] | 6 x 10 sec |
| 23-Sep-2025 | 3-4x “Golden Mile” @ 5k pace [3min active rec] | 8 x 10 sec |
| 30-Sep-2025 | 1200m @ 5k, 3 min easy + 6x 400m @ 3-5k (90 sec), 3 min easy + 6x 200m fast (jog back recovery) | 6 x 12 sec |
Some other thoughts on how to improve your times
Key points:
- Most likely you will want to increase your mileage. Check out the table* below to get an idea of where you should be heading for your average weekly mileage.
Units are in km. The original units are miles; however, I believe such high mileage is overkill for many of us and you are served better spending time cross-training to avoid injury and whole-system fitness.
(*Source: Hudson & Fitzgerald; Original units are miles.). - Please don’t follow the ‘10% increase per week’ rule blindly, come and talk to me first.
| Target race | Beginner | Low-key competitive | Competitive | Highly competitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5k | 20-30 | 25-35 | 40-50 | 50-60 |
| 10k | 25-35 | 30-40 | 45-55 | 60-70 |
| Half-Mara | 35-40 | 35-45 | 50-60 | 70-80 |
| Mara | 40-50 | 50-60 | 60-70 | 80-90 |
- You will benefit from structured, progressive training and technique feedback.
- You should aim for two longish runs a week: a ‘mid-week’ run of 80-90 minutes and a long run of up to 2.5 hours.
- Do not neglect your cross-training for injury prevention. Strength and conditioning (tuesday sessions or the gym) and flexibility work (e.g., yoga) are vital! Cycling and rowing are great complementary sports.
Typical meeting locations:
Common: Just inside the entrance, opposite the Bellemoor Tavern pub on Hill Lane (what3words: ///flats.forms.modest).
Sports Centre Changing Rooms: (what3words: ///jets.robots.guards)
