Game version
Pace buddies: run beside a partner at a pace you can both keep and swap who sets the pace each block.
Tempo Run Blocks
Run at a comfortably hard pace for 3 to 5 minutes at a time with easy jogs between. Raises how long you can work hard.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Jog 5 minutes to warm up.
Core: 4. Compare only with your own last time.
- Ages
- 13 and up
- Time
- 25 min
- Players
- Just you
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Field or track
- Level · skill
- Advanced · Endurance
The steps
How it works
- Jog 5 minutes to warm up.
- Run 4 minutes at a pace you can hold but cannot chat at.
- Jog 2 minutes easy.
- Do 3 blocks, then jog and walk 5 minutes.
Coaching point
Comfortably hard, not all out.
Safety: Bring water, go at a pace where you can still talk, and stop if you feel dizzy, sick or have chest pain.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (3 minutes), Core (4), More (5). Compare only with your own last time.
Story
You are a steady train keeping to the timetable.
My best
Beat your own count
Compare only with your own last time. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free track and field week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.