CUH&H welcomes runners of all abilities and focuses on training for distance running over all disciplines – cross-country, track, and road to name a few.
In the winter months, our main focus is cross-country running with opportunities to compete at Varsity at the end of Michaelmas term (November/December) followed by British Universities (BUCS) and the National Cross-country championships in Lent term (February).
Come spring our attention shifts to the track, where many CUH&H members prepare to compete for Cambridge University Athletic Club (CUAC) in the distance events at BUCS and Varsity Athletics in Easter term (May).
We also boast a thriving road-running scene, with many training for 5km all the way up to marathon distances throughout the year.
This page contains most of what you need to know about the training on offer. So if you’re eager to find out more or if you’ve ever asked yourself ‘why am I doing this?’ read on! If you are just taking up running or if, at present, you are looking to run purely for general fitness and relaxation, you should check out the beginners’ page.
Types of Training #
Easy Runs #
Without going into too much exercise physiology, running very quickly cannot be continued indefinitely because lactic acid builds up in the muscles, causing the pain you all know too well and forcing you either to slow down or stop. Easy runs are called ’easy’ because they are run at a pace that you can maintain for a long duration. That is, at a pace that is fast enough to initiate gains in fitness but not fast enough to cause any lactic acid build-up. They are relaxed runs, you should easily be able to hold a conversation, in which you feel you could continue for a lot longer than you actually set out for.
Notice that they always fall between the harder workout days. This is because easy runs have a second purpose: they help your body recover from the tougher sessions by promoting blood flow in the muscles which prevents soreness and injury. When you run hard, microscopic damage is caused to soft tissues. Gains in fitness are only achieved by your body recovering from, and over-adapting to, this damage. It is thus vital that sufficient recovery is taken between hard sessions.
‘Easy’ pace will differ for runners of differing levels of ability and fitness. It is for this reason that separate groups are formed on these runs: fast, medium and slow. So come along and there will always be a group to run with. We use many different routes so it is a great way to see parts of Cambridge(shire) that you never knew existed. As you get fitter, feel free to try out the faster groups. The relaxed nature of the runs also means you get to chat to each other too!
To sum up, easy runs are important for 3 main reasons:
- They improve your cardiovascular fitness along with the strength of specific running-related muscles.
- They help your body recover from the more intense sessions without tiring you out for the next one. Indeed they are often referred to as recovery runs.
- They improve your economy and make you more efficient at turning carbs and fat into forward motion.
Tea Run #
The tea run is a Hare and Hounds tradition that dates back many years. It is essentially a relaxing run suitable for all abilities. Expect beginners and Blues runners alike, all taking it really easy for around 30 minutes. So what’s the incentive? Tea, and some form of high-carbohydrate snack (biscuits, flapjack, cake) will be waiting for you when you get back. If last year is anything to go by, the snacks will still be warm too, having been freshly baked by one of the domestic gods or godesses of the club.
Long Runs #
A particularly long version of the easy run designed to increase your stamina. This will stress your body’s fuel stores and teach it to store more energy as glucose in the liver, so that next time you are out for 90 minutes you still feel strong at the end. But forget about that… it’s a fantastic way to start a Sunday. The length allows us to reach parts of the countryside that other runs cannot, and there are plenty of nice paths and trails out there if you know where to look. Believe me, Sunday brunch is a much better experience when you’ve just run 12 miles!
Interval Sessions #
We do different types of interval sessions depending on the time of year.
Long Reps:
Running very hard over grass and mud a number of times for a number of minutes with not much rest. That about sums it up. They hurt but they’re supposed to and the benefit to your fitness is irreplaceable. The total time spent running is typically between 20 and 35 minutes which is similar to a cross-country race. Indeed if you want to race well over the country, there is no better preparation.
It’s not just physical either. The sense of achievement you get having just nailed 5 x 5 mins off 2 minutes recovery is remarkable. It’s a wonderful endorphin-enriched relief when they’re over and you wont have any trouble sleeping that night!
If you want to beat Oxford in the Varsity Match, if you want to take on the rest of Britain at BUCS, if you want to go into the track season with an awesome base level of fitness, come along to this session and get stuck in.
Short Reps:
Similar to long reps but each rep is shorter and there are more of them. The total time spent running may be as little as 10-12 minutes but you run quicker than in the long reps. The session is quite intense but over quickly. Typical workouts include 10 x 1 minute with 1 minute rest or 4 x (90sec, 60 sec, 4 x 30 sec) with not much recovery.
Short rep sessions run off-track are an excellent way of maintaining your speed (and lactic acid tolerance!) over the winter months in preparation for a proper return to the track in February. They are also very good at preparing you for the fast starts and surges that you may encounter in cross-country races.
Track Intervals:
Track work tends to start being incorporated after the cross-country season is over (around March) when many members start to focus their attention on the summer track season. In particular, the athletics Varsity Match is a very important target for Cambridge athletes. Being in May, the meet is early on in the season so preparation for the event cannot be delayed.
Even if competitive track athletics is not your thing, joining in with the track sessions can make a very significant difference to your performances in all other running disciplines. This is essentially because you run a lot quicker on the track, almost without realising it, and good basic speed is always an asset.
Two groups will tend to develop: one concentrating on 800m/1500m work and the other on 3k-10k sessions. The former places more emphasis on exercising the anaerobic system while the latter works more on the high end of the aerobic system.
While the principles involved are similar to the long and short off-track rep sessions, there are a huge variety of sessions possible serving a range of different functions. The track work will follow a carefully structured plan with different aspects of your event emphasized at different points in the season. The technicalities are too extensive to go into here, so just come down to the track and run the session without worrying about why!
Tempo (Threshold) Runs #
The aim of a tempo run is to increase the workload you can run at before lactic build up starts, so you can run faster for longer. Therefore tempo runs involve running just below or at your anaerobic threshold for sustained periods (usually between 20-45 minutes). This will be slightly slower than race pace and although it requires a sustained effort and high concentration, you shouldn’t create a large lactic build up in your legs.
A normal tempo run will involve periods for warm up and warm down, and a peroid of hard running. If not used to undertaking long spells of hard running, a good introduction are ‘cruise intervals’, where the hard period is interspersed with short recoveries.
Steady/Discomfort Run #
This is an effort in between easy and tempo pace and can be a tricky zone to dial into. To learn what this effort should feel like, make an educated estimate of your tempo pace and add 30s per mile to that. These runs are 30-60mins in duration and should be a controlled effort.
The aim of the steady/discomfort run is to develop the aerobic system without causing too much fatigue.
Fartlek #
‘Fartlek’ (yes that’s ‘Fartlek’) is a Swedish word meaning ‘speed-play’ and essentially consists of running various distances at speeds ranging from jogging to sprinting. Sessions can vary from being quite formal, with the fast efforts more or less pre-determined, to highly improvised, with runners having complete freedom when it comes to deciding when to put a burst in.
One popular way to structure the session is for each runner to take control of the run for say 3 minutes. During your 3 minutes, you can do what you like. You may put in a surge of 90 seconds followed by a jog then some sprinting. You could even stop and do press-ups, though this is rare! It’s entirely up to you. Everyone else has to follow you and respond to the pace changes you inflict without ever overtaking. Best results are achieved with this method by first splitting into groups of 6 or 7 runners of similar ability.
Apart from the obvious benefits to both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, the main purpose of fartlek is to simulate changes of pace that occur in races. To be able to cope, without too much trouble, when someone makes a move (so to speak) can make all the difference.
Ideally, to help break up your rhythm, fartlek should be run over varying terrain and include a few slopes.
Hills #
Hill reps are superb for improving strength and power for athletes. And yes, strength and power are important, even for distance runners. Hill running is also fun. It makes an interesting change from all the other sessions of the week.
In fact hills are particularly important for Cambridge runners since Cambridge is also known as flatasapancaketon. There are some nice slopes hidden away though. The most commonly used hill is in Coton (‘The Hill’).
So, when you are pulling away from your competitors off the top of a climb, be glad that you have included the hill work in your training.
Circuits and Core Stability #
These sessions are an excellent way of improving your general level of strength, fitness and flexibility. Regular circuits and core-stability (say once to twice a week) will make you a better and more robust runner who is less prone to injury.
A typical circuits and core-stability session will go something like this:
- Good warm up (many will jog to the gym or there may be a run on beforehand),
- Few drills and plyometrics for the legs,
- Short circuit mainly consisting of abdominal and arm exercises,
- Core stability exercises,
- Warm-down and stretch (many will jog home or there may be a run on afterwards).
Plyometric exercises usually involve explosive jumps or hops in which there is a sharp change of direction. Squat jumps and burpees are examples. They are highly beneficial to runners: if you can polish off a set of squat jumps with style, it makes running round a field feel a whole lot easier! Your strength is improved in a dynamic, running-specific way. You become more efficient. However, a note of caution: to avoid risk of injury, you must do them correctly and not do too many. They are about quality not quantity: 3 sets of 10 with 30 seconds rest is a good target. Another reason not to over-do them is that, by killing yourself doing large numbers of them, you may get very strong in the long term but you will also hardly be able to move for the next few days and the more important running sessions will be ruined. Hence they must also be incorporated into the training plan sensibly. The main circuit will involve sets lasting for 30 seconds or more. This is too long for the plyometric exercises and it is for this reason that they are done before rather during the main circuit.
Core stability work is a fairly recent development in a lot of sports and for many runners it has proved to be an extremely worthwhile addition. You may be very proud of your amazing six-pack. Well-done.
However this is of limited use when it comes to running fast. Sure, you need a strong trunk to keep your upper body aligned and to give good power transition from the arm drive to the knee drive, but if you can hold a stationary plank for 2 minutes you are plenty strong enough. If you can’t yet do this, try splitting it into shorter time periods and you will be surprised at how quickly you progress!
Power in the running stride originates in the hip and glute complex and this is where you want to focus your effort. The vast majority of lower leg injuries are a result of insufficient strength and stability in the hips which is also a good incentive to work on this area. I’m sure you have run behind someone whose hips sag from side to side with every stride – this is bad! Single leg bridges, single leg squats, clams, monster walks (with a resistance band) are great examples of exercises to do and a quick internet search will yield plenty more. Try to include those that train both forward and lateral motion. Regular short sessions are ideal, and 10 minutes every other day will take you far!
Do not be afraid that core-stability work will be tough. In reality, most of the exercises are, frankly, easy and relaxing. It’s more about getting the technique right. The exercises are not hard and yet they have huge benefits.