Highly regarded running coach Mario Fraioli has a cool workout he likes to do called the 5X5. What I have lined up is very much inspired by this workout but with a ‘Run Club’ vibe.

We’ll do a two loop warmup on the ‘upper deck’ of Kezar, do some range of motion drills, and then descend to the oval of glory for the ‘game of FIVES‘!

Beginner level–3X5 fartlek style! Run five continuous minutes ‘fartlek style’ (easy on the curves, hard on the straights).Take a 2:30 break. Do this a total of ‘3’ times.

Intermediate level-3X5 (10K race pace). Run five continuous minutes at your 10K race pace (this is slower than 5K race pace, but not by too much). Jog an easy 2:30 to recover. Do this a total of ‘4’ times.

Advanced level-4X5 (10K race pace). Run five continuous minutes at your 10K race pace (this is slower than 5K race pace, but not by too much). Jog an easy 2:30 to recover. Do this a total of ‘5’ times.

No matter how many FIVES you tackle, this workout boosts your running fitness and mental toughness. Five minutes may just be five loops around the clock, but running HARD for five minutes is no joke!

And, don’t worry about bringing a watch for this one. I’ll time the workout and blow my handy coach’s whistle at the end of each ‘hard’ segment and the end of each ‘easy/recovery’ segment! 😉