Fleet Feet 4 Miler Training

We're excited to kick off another wonderful season of training for the upcoming Fleet Feet 4 Miler! Whether you are just getting started with running and/or walking, a returning part of the Fleet Feet Fam, or just looking for some group camaraderie we have a great program for you! Our program will help you cross the finish line of the Fleet Feet 4 Miler in April feeling strong, happy, and accomplished! This program is great for those looking to take their first steps into running and walking training! No prior running or walking experience is necessary and all paces are welcome!

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Quick Overview:

• Information Session: February 8th at 7 pm at Fleet Feet Durham Southpoint

• Starts: February 13th in Carrboro at 6:30pm and February 14th in Durham at 6:30pm

• Ends: RACE – Fleet Feet 4 Miler on April 20th, 2024. We will share a discount code for your race registration upon registering for our program!

• If you're interested in training for the Tar Heel 10 Miler, check out our separate program here.

• Season Logistics: Program up to three group meetings a week for 8 weeks 

  • Tuesday nights at 6:30pm in Carrboro

  • Wednesday nights at 6:30pm in Durham

  • Saturday mornings at 8:00am (alternates between the three Fleet Feet locations)

• Register early and save! Program costs $110 through December 30th, $120 through January 31st, and $130 through the start of the program. Ideal for runners, run-walkers and walkers looking to take their first steps in training!

More Program Information:

We find lots of great places to run and walk in our community - on bike paths, areas with sidewalks, Tobacco Trail, McDougle Elementary, etc. Occasionally, we’ll hold a workout at a local track (such as the Duke or McDougle tracks) to mix up our workouts. All location information will be shared with you each week in our Program Newsletters, on our private Slack group, and can also be found on our Fleet Feet Calendar. The workouts will last about an hour to an hour and a half as we increase mileage throughout the season.  In addition to the workouts there are educational clinics, motivational speakers, on-site physical therapists through local community partners, nutrition tips from local nutritionists and expert coaching/mentoring to help inspire and motivate you on this training journey.

What to expect at our Workouts:

Each week will have a slightly different focus - breathing, form, nutrition, etc. Below is an example workout and how our weekly topics are discussed during the training:

• Welcome/Announcements
• Weekly Topic (Mini-Form Clinic, Nutrition Sampling, Product Demonstration, etc.)
• Find your pace groups
• Group Dynamic Warmup
• Prescribed route for the day - you'll have turn by turn directions if necessary and mentors leading your group
• Cool down stretching with your group
• Sometimes we'll hold a clinic following the workout, if we don't do it before.

Run/Walk Interval Running:

There are many benefits to using a run/walk method in your training. We encourage beginning runners to start using a Run/Walk interval in our Beginner 4 Mile training programs - it's a great way to get started. But using a Run/Walk interval is not just for beginners - it’s an excellent tool to help you build endurance and help you cross the finish line of your next race. Some of the benefits include:

• Decreased chance of injury. The run-walk method causes less wear and tear on the body, decreasing the chance of injuries. Continuous use of muscle will result in fatigue much quicker. This method will allow a runner to go farther and/or longer before fatigue sets in.
• Quicker recovery. With less wear and tear on the body also come quicker recover after a run.
• Breaks up distances into manageable units. Running is as much mental as it is physical – especially when you get into the distance races. Using the run-walk intervals will help with those long distances. Running 3 miles just seems impossible. But breaking it down by running for a set number of minutes, it’s much more manageable.
• Motivating for new runners. This method allows just about anyone to run any race they want. It doesn’t matter your age, weight, gender, or physical ability. You can be a runner. As you start off slow, you can work your way up to running for a longer amount of time and having fewer walk breaks.