Ben Parkes' Speed Rebuilder

Workout - Ben Parkes' Speed Rebuilder

• 12min @ 8'00''/km
• 6 lots of:
  • 1.0km @ 5'00''/km
  • 2min rest
• 6 lots of:
  • 200m @ 3'30''/km
  • 1min 10s rest
• 7min 30s @ 8'00''/km

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Ben Parkes walks through a tough track session in “MARATHON TRAINING TRACK SESSION - this REALLY hurt after TWO months away!!” We’ve outlined the structure and how you can run it yourself. The full video covers the nuances.

Key Points

• After two months off, Ben turns to K-repeats—a classic interval approach—to measure his fitness and build speed. Want to learn more about interval training? Our guide on Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them breaks down the science.
• The session uses 1-kilometre repeats at approximately 3:10–3:15 per km. For Ben, this sits at his current 5K race pace—an important intensity for building speed endurance. Want to nail that speed? See Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time for proven strategies.
• Warm-up runs easy and conversational—roughly 1 mile of light jogging—to keep the heart rate down and prepare the body.
• Rest between repeats stays short (around 2 minutes) to maintain the challenge while keeping it realistic after time away.

Though Ben uses this for marathon prep, the benefits span shorter distances too. The speed and endurance you build apply to 5K, 10K, and beyond. K-repeats show up regularly in 10K training—our guide on Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance shows how.

Workout Example

1. Warm-up: ~1 mile (≈4 laps) easy jog, HR in zone 1–2.
2. Main set: 6 × 1 km @ 3:10–3:15 / km with 2 min easy jog recovery between each repeat.
3. Cool-down / turnover: 6 × 200 m strides (fast-leg-turnover) with a brief jog back to the start; use these to bring the legs back up after the hard repeats.

Tip: Run 800m repeats at the same pace if 1 km feels unmanageable; if you’re running faster, aim for 3:00–3:05 / km.

Closing Note

Try this session and adjust the paces or distances to your current fitness level. Load your splits into the Pacing app, nail the workout, and keep chasing that marathon goal. 🚀

References

• MARATHON TRAINING TRACK SESSION - this REALLY hurt after TWO months away!! - YouTube (YouTube Video)