“Lilesa, Biwott, Kebede, Mutai, Kipsang & Abshero” (C) 2013 Julian Mason, Under a Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
You aren’t going to beat Wilson Kipsang unless you can run faster than a 4:42 per mile pace for 26.2 miles. That’s what he had to do to achieve his World Record-breaking time of 2:03:23 at the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 29.
Just think: Not only did he set a PR (Personal Record), he set a PR for the entire world.
Of course, no one is satisfied with their PR for long. After the race, Kipsang told reporters that he thinks he still has the potential to run a faster marathon. “Anything under 2:03:23,” he said.
Right.
But you don’t have to be an elite runner from Kenya to achieve a PR. Anyone who has ever participated in a race has thought about setting a personal best.
Training for a personal best takes dedication and hard work…and a good coach doesn’t hurt. But, beyond that, here are 4 practical tips from top athletes and coaches to help you set your next PR:
“Often people see a great achievement and impulsively want to achieve the same goal. There are no short cuts. Give yourself the opportunity to be successful. Do this by putting in the time and earning it.” – Gail Kattouf, champion duathlete from “Achieving Personal Best: Gail Kattouf on CityCoach.org”
“Believing you can do something can help you achieve lofty goals that you once thought were almost unachievable. Set your sights on seemingly impossible personal records and then mercilessly work toward them. There are people who think they can and people who think they can’t. Both are right.” – Jason Fitzgerald, running coach (Strength Running) and author from “Breaking Mental Barriers: How to Run Dramatically Faster”
“If you’re looking to run a personal best, racing every weekend isn’t the recipe for success. The reality is that personal bests are often the result of many weeks and months of quality training.” – Matt Forsman, running coach from “Run Less for Your Personal Best Race”
“Decide you really want it: Visualize achieving success while you’re training. You have to really want it on race day. There is nothing stronger than an intense will, so make sure you focus on that passionate drive to achieve your goal.” – Scott Jurek, 7-time winner of the Western States 100-mile trail run from “The Long Run: Push to Achieve a Personal Record”
If all else fails, pick a fast course. Check out this guide to “The 6 Best U.S. Marathons to Set a Personal Record.”
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