Who doesn’t want to run faster for longer? Three Peaks Fell Race ladies winner and record holder, Inov8 athlete Vic Wilkinson, reveals her top tips for keeping your pace up over longer distances.

Remedial and sports massage therapist, Inov8 athlete Vic Wilkinson from Hebden in Yorkshire has smashed no less than 12 fell running records in 2017. The most famous of those is the Yorkshire Three Peaks Fell Race in April 2017 where she flew over the finish line in 3hrs 9mins (13th overall), over 5mins faster than Anna Pichrtova’s 2008 time for this classic 23 mile ‘marathon with mountains’ over the area’s three famous summits. Vic has also won the British and English Fell Running Championships many times, including last year for the later. Train how she trains to run faster for longer!

Run faster for longer

Victoria’s super power is maintaining a fast pace for a long time – 3 hours 9 mins to be precise, her 2017 Three Peaks Fell Race ladies record. So how can we follow her lead? Vic says, wisely, “You can’t do it if you don’t train for it. And you have to train for it by doing it! There’s no actual plan written down that will definitely work – every one is different, enjoys different training and has different time constraints, so see what works for you.”

1 Do Fartlek

This is the most important one. In a group do an hour’s run of no set session – if someone feels good they go off the front, if someone says sprint to that tree you sprint, but between those efforts keep the speed going without letting your heart rate (HR) drop. This type of session is also known as tempo running – maintaining a fairly high HR, not your max but around 75%, so you’re just under your lactate threshold, so that your body can cope with producing lactate but then stay in lactate without having to get your HR right back down to recover. Increase the session time for longer speed endurance training.

2 Try hills & biking

Hilly runs, reps and biking help you push up your HR for longer too. Especially hilly mountain biking or road cycling. Find out how to use cycling in your running training here https://wordpress.com/post/wildgingerfilms.co.uk/789

3 Eat & rest

It’s important to fuel up right as well. You need to take on enough nutrition but not the wrong type of food – so your basic healthy eating guidelines apply here, reducing processed foods and eating plenty of fruit, veg and lean protein. Take rest days and prioritise 7-8 hours sleep too – you’re not going to do a fast 3 hour run if you’re tired. 

4 Race!

Racing helps because hopefully it’s above what you would train at, but be wise and don’t put in too many.

Kit Vic wears:
Inov8 Wrag (Buff at neck) amzn.to/2F9YdRn
Inov8 Race Ultra Skull running hat amzn.to/2qUiiq5
Inov8 Thermoshell insulated jacket amzn.to/2qUQVMv
Inov8 Base Elite 140 L/S baselayer amzn.to/2Hoh3Xc
Inov8 AT/C 3QRT TIghts amzn.to/2HkT4fr
Inov8 X-Talon 230 amzn.to/2HmVaeZ

The kit I wore/used:
Columbia Parallel Peak II Beanie hat amzn.to/2HkmdY8
Trail Running Ruff (Buff at neck) www.trailrunningmag.co.uk/ruff/
Inov8 AT/C Long Sleeved Baselayer amzn.to/2JkPf6H
Inov8 AT/C Stormshell waterproof jacket amzn.to/2K9z90D
Berghaus Tephra down jacket amzn.to/2Fbejdw
Inov8 Trail Talon 200 amzn.to/2K8Tbbx

If you purchase anything on Amazon through the above links I get a small kickback at no cost to you – so THANKS if you do this 🙂

Transparency: As per usual for all outdoor journalists, I was sent this kit to test out free of charge. I am not paid to wear and review this kit and I provide trusted, independent reviews just as I did as editor of Trail Running magazine 2010-17.

My camera kit:
GoPro Hero5 amzn.to/2waU5Bt
iPhone 7 amzn.to/2w952U5
Audio-Technica Omni ATR3350 Lavalier Mic amzn.to/2jnUCa2
GoPro Tripod amzn.to/2jrjX2Z
Slik Master large tri-pod amzn.to/2jsoLoT

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