A Time Trial is simply a race between you and the clock with the aim of running as fast a time as possible on that given day. Time trials are more commonly used in cycling but they are great to do within your running plan in preparation for your main race. The key thing to note is that in a time trial the effort is solo, rather than part of an organised race. You might be thinking, what is the point of doing an all out effort on my own?

Time trials give you the opportunity to test yourself but without having to stress about travelling and logistics on the day. Not only that, you can schedule a time trial at the optimal time within your training block and choose whatever distance is best suited towards your race. This will ensure the training effect you get from the effort will contribute towards your main goal.

A time trial will give you feedback on your fitness and where you are at with your training programme but in a low stress environment. And if you don’t get the result or time you’re looking for, it’s ok, because you still have time to bank more training and fitness before the big day.

A time trial is also the perfect opportunity to practice your pacing, fuelling, race outfit and warm up routine before your race. The more race prep practice you can get, the more relaxed and confident you will feel going into your main event.

Running a hard effort solo is hard, it sounds daunting, but we encourage you to embrace this challenge and see it simply as another training run. It will improve your mental toughness! If you can get used to running hard on your own, then come race day, you will have that extra boost from other runners around you as well as the buzz from the crowd!

Depending on the distance of your race, it is more likely that your time trial will be shorter than your goal race. If you are running a marathon, then a 10 miler or half marathon is great prep. However if you are racing a 5k race then testing yourself over 2 miles to see where your speed is at will be beneficial.

If you are following a Runna plan than you don't need to worry about choosing the best time to do your time trial or what distance is the most beneficial. We will do all the planning for you! Whether it is in a deload week or during a build phase, you'll have the option to opt in and do a time trial, or simply ignore and follow on with your training plan. We would recommend at least one time trial within your training block to see where your fitness is at.

You might not be fully tapered for your time trial and that is ok! It is important to be able to run fast when you’re tired; this will help you prepare for race day when it starts to feel tough at the end. Your time trial also won't feature in your taper period because this time is used to recover and freshen up ahead of race day. Given a time trial is an all out effort, it is too demanding on the body at this part of your training and we don't want to jeopardize your main performance.

Time trials should be used sparingly in any programme. Putting them in every week and they will start to lose their purpose. Building your base and improving your fitness takes time so we will stagger your time trials across your training plan so that you give yourself time to improve and get stronger and faster.
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A time trial gives you the opportunity to go through the racing routine without the stress of getting to a race and will give you relevant feedback to inform your training. It also brings less pressure. If you smash it then great but if you run slower than expected then don’t worry! You won't appear on any race results and you still have time before race day to bank more training. You will also have the extra boost of adrenaline that race day brings! It will build that excitement and momentum for the race at the end of your plan.

Have we convinced you to do a time trial?!