Once you can run comfortably, the natural next goal is running faster. But here’s the mistake almost every beginner makes: they think getting faster means running every run as hard as possible. That’s a fast track to burnout and injury, not speed. Real speed comes from smarter training — and most of it, counterintuitively, happens at an easy pace. Here’s how beginners actually get faster.

First: build the base (most of your running should be easy)

This sounds backwards, but it’s the foundation of getting faster: the majority of your runs should be slow and easy. Easy running builds your aerobic engine — bigger heart, more efficient muscles, more endurance — which is the platform everything else sits on (how to build running endurance). Runners who go easy on easy days can then go genuinely hard on hard days, and that’s where speed is built.

If every run is a medium-hard slog, you never recover enough to push when it counts, and you never build the base. Slow down most of the time so you can speed up some of the time (how to breathe while running — easy = conversational pace).

The tool for speed: intervals

The single most effective way to get faster is interval training — alternating short bursts of faster running with recovery periods. This teaches your body and legs to move quicker and handle a higher pace. A simple beginner version:

  • Warm up with 5–10 minutes of easy jogging.
  • Run 1 minute at a faster, harder pace (controlled — hard but not an all-out sprint).
  • Jog or walk 1–2 minutes to recover.
  • Repeat 4–6 times.
  • Cool down with easy jogging.

Do this once a week to start. That’s it. Over weeks, add a few more intervals or lengthen the fast portions. This one weekly session, on top of your easy runs, will noticeably improve your pace.

Other ways to build speed

Beyond easy base + weekly intervals:

  • Tempo runs (once you’re more established): a sustained, “comfortably hard” pace for 10–20 minutes. Trains you to hold a faster pace longer.
  • Strides: after an easy run, do a few 15–20 second relaxed accelerations (not sprints). They sharpen your leg turnover with minimal fatigue.
  • Hills: running up gentle hills builds power and strength that translates to flat-ground speed.
  • Improve your form. Efficient running form — quick, light steps landing under your body — wastes less energy and lets you run faster for the same effort.

Speed comes from off the road, too

Your pace isn’t only built while running:

  • Strength training. Stronger legs and core produce more force per stride. A couple of strength sessions a week make you a faster, more durable runner.
  • Recovery. You get faster while recovering, not while grinding. Sleep, rest days, and not overdoing it are what let the training stick.
  • Consistency over time. Speed is a slow build. Weeks and months of steady training make you faster — there’s no single workout that does it (how long until you see results).
Add speed work gradually and respect recovery. Faster running is higher-impact and more demanding, so it carries more injury risk than easy jogging. Start with just one interval session a week, keep your other runs truly easy, and don't increase your overall training too fast (the [10% rule](/blog/should-you-run-every-day/) applies). If you feel sharp or joint pain — not normal muscle fatigue — back off ([common beginner running injuries](/blog/common-beginner-running-injuries/)). Speed built on a broken body is no speed at all.

The bottom line

To run faster, run easy most of the time to build your aerobic base, then add one weekly interval session to teach your legs to move quicker — supported by strength work, good form, and real recovery. It’s smarter training, not just harder. Resist the urge to hammer every run; the magic is in the contrast between easy days and hard days. Be patient and consistent, and the pace comes.

Getting faster rewards exactly the kind of disciplined, week-after-week consistency that Gym Bully AI is built to hold you to. Slow down to speed up, hit your intervals, and let the work compound.