Durham Distance Training Program

We have updated our spring training programs to ensure that each and every Fleet Feet runner and walker stays safe, healthy, and gets the most out of their experience. Whether you are a first-timer or a returning part of the Fleet Feet Fam, a full or half-marathoner, or just looking for some group camaraderie we have a great program for you!

We will be offering this program a few different ways:

A Durham specific program that will meet the majority of the time out of our Fleet Feet Durham location
A Carrboro specific program that will meet the majority of the time out of our Fleet Feet Carrboro location
A virtual option for those who are looking to have guidance and training support but on your own schedule

Important Information:

Dates: February 16th - May 15th/16th
Goal Race: Tobacco Road Half and Full Marathon
Workout Days: Tuesdays at 6:30 pm and Saturdays at 7 am
Zoom Workshops: Thursdays at 7 pm (not every week)
Cost: $125, not including the race fee

Our Durham Group Training Schedule:

Tuesdays at 6:30 pm - Fleet Feet Durham or other Durham location - Workout Varies (Hill repeats, track work, etc)
Saturdays at 7 am - Fleet Feet Durham or other Durham location - Long Run. Multiple mileage options each week, as mileage will vary depending on time of season and goal race!

Our Spring 2021 Distance Training Program will include training for a Marathon and Half Marathon, though we are more than happy to help you target any endurance event you would like.

REGISTER NOW!

As a participant you will receive:

Weekly Newsletter with location and workout information
Training Plan for your target race - Half Marathon or Full Marathon
Safe and organized weekly group long runs with pre-planned routes, turn-by-turn directions, and mentor led pace groups
Mentored weekday workouts including Hill Repeats, Track Workouts, and Fartleks, all scaled to your particular goal distance
Training Program Swag
Online support through a private Facebook community
Zoom Calls to go through training principles and topics, chat with some of our Community Partners, and provide more community (available for our virtual training as well)!
Support from our Community Partners in Physical Therapy, Strength Training, Nutrition, Yoga, and more!
In-store discount

We will be targeting the Tobacco Road Half and Full Marathon that is scheduled the weekend of May 15th and 16th, but welcome you to train for any other race during this time. We'll help you with your plan and weekly workouts.

Safety Information:

Safety is our number one priority and we will continue to monitor and adapt to the COVID situation as we need to. We will be following all local and state guidelines and mandates. Here are some of the things you can expect:

All workouts and gatherings will take place outdoors
We will require you to wear a mask at all times, including while running.
We ask that you stay 6 feet away from people at all times and if you are running with someone else to please be cautious of others around you.
We ask that if you are feeling unwell or have been exposed to anyone who is sick to please stay home.
We will move all clinics and topic conversations to an online format over zoom.
We are offering two different training groups based on location in an effort to lower group size. If needed we will offer a staggered start to spread runners and walkers out!

We will provide updates and changes to our safety policy as soon as needed. In the event that we deem it necessary for the health and safety of our community we will move to a virtual format.

REGISTER NOW!

More Information:

We find lots of great places to run and walk in our community - on bike paths, areas with sidewalks, the American Tobacco Trail, etc. Occasionally, we’ll hold a workout at a local track (such as the Duke or a High School tracks) to run a speed workout. All location information will be shared with you each week in our Program Newsletters, on our private Facebook 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.

What to expect at Weeknight Workouts:

The focus of the weeknight workouts is to work on our speed and power when running. Whether you’re looking to finish your first distance race or you fastest distance race - building a speed workout into your training is important. You work different muscle groups (fast twitch vs. slow twitch muscles), build endurance in your legs and lungs, and it helps keep our workouts from getting stale. We’ll cover a variety of workouts such as Speed Repeats, Hill Repeats, Fartleks (Swedish for ‘speed play’), tempo runs, etc. We focus on pace and effort during these workouts. Below is an example workout:

Welcome/Announcements/Find your pace groups
10 min Warmup Easy Jogging
Track Ladder workout: 400m hard effort/jog 200m recovery + 800m hard effort/jog 400m recovery + 1200m hard effort/jog 400m recovery + 800m hard effort/jog 400m recovery + 400m hard effort
10 min Cooldown easy jogging
Optional Cool down stretching/core with your group
Overall, you’ll have done ~3 miles of speed work, but with recovery included in the workout.

What to expect at Saturday Long Runs:

The Saturday Long run focus is on time on your feet. We use the long run to build up our endurance so that we can finish our distance races healthy and happy! Overall, these long runs should be at a very easy pace. We don’t want to race through the long runs because it will ultimately come to us feeling like we’ve ‘raced’ every weekend - our bodies will be tired and it increases the likelihood of injury. Each group will be led by an experienced mentor who will help guide and support you! A sample route can be found here. Typically, we run loops from a central point so that we can have access to bathrooms/coaches. This also allows our Half Marathoners and Full Marathoners to train together, while doing different distances. For example the 10 Milers may run 6 miles, the Half Marathoners may be running 8 miles while the Full Marathoners will do 12 miles - all groups will run 6 together, then add 2 miles and then the Fullers will continue on for another 4 miles. We’re also able to accommodate different training distances this way, you still get the support of the group but can train for your goal race.

Pace Groups:

Our groups are open to anyone! Yes, anyone. We group everyone based on a timed mile at the beginning of the season (don’t worry it’s not your gym class mile from middle school) and use that to help match you with similarly paced people. Your coaches will help give you suggested training paces once in your group! A general breakdown of our groups are as follows:

8:00 - 9:00
9:00 - 10:00 training pace
10:00 - 11:00 training pace
11:00 - 12:00 training pace
12:00 - 13:00 training pace
13:00 - 15:00 training pace (Run/Walk Interval Group)
Walkers (for the Half Marathon Training)

We recommend coming into the training being able to run or run/walk 7 Miles (for the Full Distance), 4 miles (for the Half Distance), or 2 miles (for the 10 Miler). For participants under 18, please contact the Training Program Coordinator, Nora (nora.ayers@fleetfeet.com) before registering.

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 No Boundaries Beginner 5K training programs. 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 distance race. Our Interval Coaches will help to modify the workouts to support our interval runners - they will assist with pacing, workouts, racing strategies, and much more. 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 it’s also easier to 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 14 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.