How To Improve Running Stamina, And Enjoy It
A little imagination helps …
I trail run with injury-free at the top-of-mind, but I also enjoy challenging myself along the way. If I see someone 200m ahead, then it becomes my challenge to calculate a passing move.
That takes stamina.
You want to run at tempo pace to close the gap, pass strongly enough to discourage tailgating, and then settle back into a pace that keeps you moving ahead. What you don’t want is to pass and then blow-up. This is where stamina comes in to play.
Stamina — the ability to win the race
The difference between stamina and endurance can be confusing. Mine definitions are these:
- Endurance is the ability to finish the race.
- Stamina is the ability to win the race.
Unless you are the pacesetter in a run, then you are going to be mixed up in the bunch. You’ll have to push past, negotiate passing moves, accelerate when others slow, and then challenge strongly at the finish. Those moves all require stamina.
If you are hard-core, then you’ll build stamina with interval training and hill sprints, stair sprints and such. That’s hard work.
