Looking to find out how to train for a 10K? Got a 10K on your race calendar and want to make sure you're physically prepared and mentally strong come race day? Why not pick the brain of some of the most qualified voices in the sport of running.
From increasing your running speed to avoiding overuse injuries, here are six running experts offering their 10K training tips to ensure you're physically prepared and mentally strong on race day.
More: Your Race-Day Running Guide
10K Training Tip No.1: Find a Plan
Thad McLaurin
"Do your homework. Not all 10K running plans are meant for all runners. If you're a beginner, look for a 12 to 14 week plan. Intermediate and advanced runners will do fine with a 10 to 12 week plan. Also, look at the total weekly mileage.
"Beginners, your weekly mileage should be in the upper teens to low 20s. Intermediate runners, your total weekly mileage should be in the mid 20s. Advanced runners, your mileage may reach into the 30s. More miles are not necessarily better. Quality runs such as hills, intervals, and tempo runs may not rack-up the mileage, but the conditioning they provide trumps lots of long steady-state miles."
More: 10K Training Tips From Thad McLaurin
10K Training Tip No.2: Be Consistent
Jenny Hadfield
"Be consistent. A solid 10K race is not made from a handful of good runs, but rather the sum of good, bad and sometimes ugly workouts. As you make your way through the training program, remember not every run will be your strongest. Even the world's fastest elite runners have tough running days.
"If you're having a rough day, slow the pace, and get through it. It's all part of the training process and breaking through to your running best. The great workouts will build confidence, the challenging "When-can-I-stop" runs will develop mental strength, and all of them combined will keep your momentum flowing."
More: 10K Training Tips From Jenny Hadfield
10K Training Tip No.3: Walk to Build Endurance
American Running Association
"You can walk a lot farther than you can run. Although about 15 years ago runners tried to avoid walking, with the onset of the American Running Association Marathon Training Program, walking has become an integral part of marathon training for some.
"Galloway suggests that for every four to seven minutes of running, you walk for a minute. (The slower your pace, the more often you take a walking break.) He says this stretches your endurance levels and allows you to push back the wall."