Herald Sun/CityLink Run for the Kids 2018: Steve Moneghetti’s week six training guide

AS RUN for the Kids draws closer, champion marathon runner Steve Moneghetti reveals the secret to finishing the race as fast as you can.

IN my travels to various running events around the country, the most common question I get asked is how do I improve my times?

Lots of people improve naturally when they begin to run but find after a few months, they stagnate and get frustrated with this lack of development.

When I delve into their training, I find out they go for a run at the pace they race at for a few runs a week. This gets your body good at running at that set pace but no faster.

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Champion marathon runner Steve Moneghetti reveals the secret to finishing Run for the Kids as fast as you can. Picture: Hamish Blair

To see continued improvement, you need to do specific work at a faster pace than you are currently racing at.

Obviously, you cannot do that for the whole of your intended event distance so you do it for short bursts with a necessary recovery period.

Not only do I want you to finish the race but also for you to do it as fast as you can. The speed session in the training for Tuesday this week is the ­secret to making this happen.

After doing a short warm-up either from the location or to get to it, you then do a lap of the oval at a quicker pace than normal followed by a walk or jog lap to allow your body to recover and you repeat this four to six times or two or three for the short-course runners.

A short warm-down to finish is vital to let your muscles ease out of the session. By week’s end, you will have transitioned from jogger to runner.