Why Has My Parkrun Progress Stalled? Here’s 13 Possible Reasons (And How To Unlock Further Improvement).

Lots of people get into distance running via Parkrun - the blockbuster running, health and community-building success story of the 21st century.

It can be intoxicating to see your times come down really rapidly when you get started.

But then your progress stalls. And it's common to wonder why and whether you can make the magic come back.

Eventually, of course, a stall in progress will happen to everyone. There's a limit to how much we can improve.

But maybe there's some more speed on the table for you?

Here are some issues that may be holding you back and some thoughts on how to address them. They are not organised in any particular order.

These are the sort of issues that every day, non-professional, recreational athletes face.

And they may be within your power to address.

#1: You are not doing enough easy running 

One of the key things that produces excellent performance in endurance activities is a well developed aerobic energy system.

This means your body can work at a high output using slow twitch muscle fibres yet still burning fats and carbs in the presence of oxygen. This mode of energy production is the predominant system in everyday, low intensity activity.

People who have good aerobic fitness can go far and fast without tapping into the short term, anaerobic systems (without oxygen) which use fast twitch muscle - and fatigue rapidly.

One of the chief ways you build up the work capacity of your aerobic system is by patiently, gradually, progressively building up the amount of time you can run (or cross train) at a relatively easy or moderate pace. Fast running builds aerobic fitness too, but it comes with more fatigue, and a greater amount of anaerobic system stimulation.

How slow should your aerobic runs be? You should be running at a conversational pace which means that you're able to talk but not sing or carry on a conversation, but with broken sentences. (Take walk breaks if you can’t run at all without exceeding this level).

These runs can still be quite tiring on your legs but your heart should not be really beating very fast. For people familiar with training zones - these runs are in zones 1 & 2 in a five zone system.

(Note: Some people hear these words and think, "I should only ever run easy." No - that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying you may need to add more easy running into the mix, but you still need to do fast and moderate running, too).

How often?

Top level professional and recreational runners often have a routine of doing a really long run once per week or fortnight and you would do well to emulate this practice. But don't go crazy if you're not already in the habit of doing this. The idea is to slowly increase your range over time.

A serious recreational runner (like me) who trains five times per week would probably do 2-3 of those runs at any easy (or mostly easy) pace, and one of them would be a long run.

#2: You're not doing enough volume to unlock further improvement

Doing enough easy running is important for aerobic energy system development but total running volume (in terms of kilometres) is also important.

Generally speaking more is better until you risk injury, observe a stall in progress, or feel signs of overtraining (demotivation, physical sluggishness, loss of sleep and appetite).

Volume drives improvement. It is an easy lever to pull if you have the time to do it and your body can handle it.

If you subject your body to more running (or cross training), it will respond to that signal by building fitness (up to a point).

There are different ways to add volume. One way is to add extra distance to your long run. Another is to add extra reps to interval sessions (e.g. do 10 x 400m instead of 8 x 400m). Or you can extend the time of your moderate intensity runs.

You can also add sessions to your week (although this is the most time consuming option).

If you're specifically looking to improve over 5K and time is limited, I think the first things to try would be adding extra reps to your (5K specific) interval sessions and also adding distance to your long run.

#3: You aren't doing any targeted fast running

You get good at the things you practice. This is the training principal of specificity.

Maybe one of the reasons that your Parkrun progress has ground to a halt is that you're not practicing Parkrun very much?

To me, it seems like insufficient time running at 5K race pace in training is a common error among Parkrun enthusiasts.

He's an example of how you could address that issue if your current Park run pace is 5:00/km.

To get that average pace down you can do intervals at 4:45-4:50/km.

You could do 4-6 x 800 m at 4:45-5:00/km with a 2-3 minute rest break between reps. That sort of session could become a staple for you. To progress it, you'd simply adjust the pace down as your Parkrun time got quicker.

This sort of practice makes you run at your race pace more efficiently, and build a bridge to faster paces.

#4: You're not focussed on ONE race distance only

It's fun to have a go at all sort of different events but too much variety can be a bad thing if performance matters a lot to you.

From a health and enjoyment perspective, variety is great! If you're running a few times per week and you really like to mix up the race distances you’re targeting, you just want to be healthy and enjoy yourself, then there's no reason to restrict which events you enter. More variety is probably better because it's more fun. And fun fosters a long term habit of exercising.

But another thing which is fun is smashing your personal records! So, if in your training you're trying to prepare for all sorts of different races (10K, half-marathon, marathon, trail running, maybe a sprint or two in the summer) you're definitely not focussed enough to elicit the maximum performance improvement over 5K.

Racing at all sorts of paces in judicious amounts can be beneficial for performance but only if there's sufficient training that's specific to your target event.

In short, you might want to dial down any non-5K race preparation.

#5: You're getting injured all the time

Nothing interrupts steady, consistent training like injuries.

Now, it's not always easy to know why you're getting injured. Most injuries are multifactorial.

It could be your technique. It could just be the sheer amount of time you're running or it could be something unrelated.

Maybe there's some hormonal issue or some undiagnosed condition? Some congenital vulnerability if a joint? You could be burning the candle at both ends and not getting enough sleep.

The quality of your diet could be holding you back with not enough high-quality, nutritious foods to fuel your training and facilitate change in your body.

Having said that, pretty often injuries arise when you ask too much of your body too soon. Runners are frequently too impatient to wait for their body to slowly adapt.

Impatience has driven me to get greedy for progress. But I have learnt through trial and error that if I'm feeling very unmotivated, run down or more sore than usual, I need to take some time to rest or utilise some cross training modality.

This can be a tricky thing to get right. Runners are often weird in that they are quite motivated to train. Normally, people have to push through despite being unmotivated. But when a runner, who is typically motivated, feels apathetic about training and can't be stuffed to run, it's probably a sign they are quite depleted and need some rest. They need to heed that feeling and NOT push through.

If repeated injury is an issue for you, I recommend you get a technique assessment, see a Sports Physician and assess if you're asking too much of yourself.

#6: You're not lifting weights

Research and experience shows that very often strength training has a positive effect on injury risk. Stronger people get injured less frequently and strength training can also help in recovery and rehabilitation from an injury.

Additionally runners who engage in strength training tend to be more economical. That means that they consume less energy at at any given speed or run faster for a given energy expenditure.

Running economy is really important in distance running (often more important than “VO2 Max” - a widely discussed metric) and this is more true the longer the event.

Need to learn to strength train? Get in touch.

#7: You need to allow for more time

The body takes time to change and adapt.

Improvement is possible, but it occurs over a long time frame.

If you can't master the art of constant, consistent, relatively uninterrupted (yet sensible) training then improvement will remain elusive.

It is actually a hard thing to get right, so don't be too down on yourself. (And, get a coach....)

#8: You're getting old

As you age, your capacity for speedy running (sprinting events, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5K) diminishes quite a bit more than your endurance does. This is why many older runners naturally gravitate to longer events: they can still perform well and even get better at these races which reward endurance and not speed.

You can probably still improve, but it's just harder when compared to your younger self, and compared to how you might fare at events over 5K.

This becomes a bit relevant in your late 20s and then more so as you progress into your 30s and beyond.

#9: You're not pushing yourself hard enough during the race

The 5K is a real ball buster, no doubt about it. To race a 5K HARD requires a lot of mental fortitude.

If you're an experienced runner, and there's no danger in holding your hand to the flame for longer (which is not something to be taken for granted - exercise care for the sake of safety), you may wish to experiment with going out a little faster, and seeing how long you can hang on.

Another thing to try is honing in on really pushing hard in the fourth kilometre, which is when many people slow down a lot.

You can also practice 5K-esque suffering by doing sessions which mimic 5K racing. Here's an example.

• Warm up

• 1 x 2K just a bit faster 5K race pace then 60s rest

• 3 x 1K at 5K race pace with 30s rest after each K

But be careful! Why? Read on.

#10: You're pushing yourself too hard during your workouts or weight training sessions

You can't get into the habit of racing in training.

Races are events where you really give it everything and empty the tank.

If you're doing this repeatedly in training, you're going to get injured or sick. Or, you come to dread your training sessions because the experience itself sucks, and you feel terrible afterwards.

Recently, I have learned to identify when I fall into this trap. After a training session when I have gone too hard, I feel depleted, lethargic, unmotivated and a little sick. I get a runny nose and succumb to coughs and colds more easily.

This is because sessions which are too heavy cause your immune system to suffer. Sickness and injury are no friend to people who are looking to improve. Don't be greedy; let the speed come to you.

#11: Too few calories

I'm not an expert in this area but I have heard of serious distance runners (Matt Ramsden comes to mind) who have been told that their progress was being restricted by a lack of calories.

If you're training a lot, and especially if you're still young (or growing) this is an avenue worth exploring under the guidance of a Sports Dietitian.

#12: You're too stressed

Tumultuous life events (even happy ones) can be taxing on your body's resources. If life stress (work, family, study etc) is high, your body may not feel at liberty to direct resources towards bringing about the adaptations needed to add speed (even if the training is happening).

If you can control the stress (which is not always possible), dampening it down fosters an internal physiological environment which is friendly towards positive change.

#13: You're sleeping poorly

If your sleep quantity or quality isn't there, your body does not have the time it needs to change: adding capillaries, enlarging your heart, expanding your blood volume etc.

Plus, poor sleep hampers performance, so your training may be off the mark. You may lack motivation to hit your target speed in the hard sessions, or go the distance in your long run.

Poor sleep increases the likelihood of injury.

People are less likely to follow a healthy eating pattern when they're knackered.

Again, this is not necessarily under your control, but some people are far better off prioritising sleep over training for the sake of running performance.

Better to train 3 times a week in a well rested state than 5 times a week like a zombie. Even if you only care about performance, and not health (or feeling semi-functional), you need to take sleep really seriously.

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I hope this article has helped you!

Do you need help unlocking your next Parkrun PB? Please get in touch.