Week beginning 19th January 2026

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Hello everyone,

Another fantastic week of running in the bag. With no snow around, it definitely made things more enjoyable.

Our marathon runners have been putting in some serious mileage, and we rounded off a strong week on Saturday with a really solid cross-country session at Aldersley. Great effort from everyone – the consistency is showing.

This week’s focus

This week we are once again focusing on longer aerobic reps to continue building that engine. Tuesday keeps the aerobic work ticking over, and the weekend session introduces controlled tempo running with hills to build strength and efficiency.

This is still about laying foundations, not sharpening yet. From late February you will be able to start enjoying some faster, sharper work, so stick with it and trust the process.

Tuesday session

Warm up and ready to go – 6:50pm, Cranmere Avenue

  • 10 minutes tempo

  • Then 10 × 700m on / 100m float

This is a continuous run, meaning you keep moving the whole time.

  • The 700m “on” sections should feel controlled and steady

  • The 100m float can be jogged or walked depending on fitness and fatigue, but keep it moving and recover actively

We did this session before Christmas, so some of you will be familiar with it. The aim is to stay relaxed and smooth rather than pushing the pace.

Saturday session

Warm up and ready to go – 9:30am, Bantock Park


Click me for Loop

Main set:

  • 1 × 1 mile

  • 1 × 2 miles

  • 1 × 1 mile

  • All off 2 minutes recovery

Then:

  • 8 × 15 second hill sprints

Some runners will do fewer reps, and I will confirm this during the week.

This is a strong aerobic session that sits below lactate threshold. You should feel in control throughout, able to hold good rhythm and form. The effort should feel steady and sustainable rather than hard or race-like.

If the reps start to feel uncomfortable, forced, or you find yourself counting down the distance, you are probably running too fast. The goal is to build aerobic strength and efficiency, not to test fitness in one session.

Pacing guidance

Before the session, ask yourself:

  • What is my mile or km pace for

    • 5K

    • 10K

    • Half Marathon

    • Marathon

At this point in the year, anything faster than 5K pace is generally unnecessary. The reps should sit between 10K and marathon pace, depending on your goals.

Extra note on Thursdays

If you are feeling mentally tired of aerobic efforts, it is absolutely fine to skip a tempo run on Thursday. Instead, consider an easy one-hour run and, in the middle, include something like:

  • 10 × 1 minute at around 5K pace, or

  • a mix of 30 second and 1 minute efforts

These should feel controlled and snappy, not all-out. Do not push down towards 3K pace yet – that sharpening will come later.

Marathon runners

  • Run the 1 mile reps around half-marathon pace

  • Run the 2 mile rep slightly under marathon pace

  • You may jog or float the recovery if that suits you best

Everyone else

  • Aim to run between 10K and half-marathon pace

  • Take a standing recovery, as you will be running quicker on the reps

Some of you will complete:

  • 1 × 1 mile + 1 × 2 miles only

I will message you directly during the week to confirm this.

As always, be patient, run within yourself, and remember this block is about building strength and confidence over time, not proving fitness in a single session. Keep it real and don't over complicate it!

Great work everyone – keep it going.


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