Want to improve your 5k or 10k personal best (PB)? Try this beast of a session lasting just over 30 minutes. The last three intervals should feel tough as they’re quicker than the first three. This gets you used to running when fatigued and helps develop your mental strength – after all, the secret to a good race is being strong in the second half.

The session:

5 minutes warm up
Warm up at an easy pace with the treadmill set at a 1% gradient.

3 minutes at 10k PB pace
Set the treadmill at a speed that reflects your fastest 10k pace or race day target. For example, if it takes you 60 minutes to run 10k flat out, the treadmill would be at 10km/hr.

90 seconds jog recovery
Bring down the pace and jog to recover.

Repeat x 3 sets

3 minutes at 5k PB pace
Now take the treadmill up to your fastest 5k pace or race day target. This should be quicker than your 10k pace. So if you can run 5k in 27 minutes, you’d be taking the speed up to 10.9km/hr.

90 seconds jog recovery

Repeat x 3 sets