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Running for Cyclo-Cross
How to train for the painful part of 'cross

  Written by Adam Hodges Myerson
  Cycle-Smart President
  September 22, 2004

Most of us are bike racers, not runners. And while some of us may have a little more natural talent for it, or even a running or triathlon background, running when you've spent a season racing road or mountain bikes just plain hurts. It takes some specific work to first be able to incorporate adaptive running into your training as the 'cross season approaches, and then actually be able to do some structured training to improve your running fitness. 'Cross is painful enough, but by focusing on running in your training you can turn a weakness into a strength, or further your advantage if that's where you're already strong.

The first step in your running program should be to determine when you think you can begin to include it as part of your workouts. Ideally, you don't want to begin until after your last important road or mountain bike event of the year. A mountain bike racer might be able to handle it a bit sooner, and may even include running as part of their plan already. But for a road rider, nothing will kill your speed worse that running, so wait as long as you can. If 'cross is your specialty and you're using the road or mountain bike events only as training, then you can begin running as soon as you start your base period for the season.

Once they begin, a mistake many riders make is to go for long, extended runs. That's great if you're training for a 10K, but in 'cross you have to be specific. Take a look at the length of time you're typically on foot in a 'cross race. Normally it's for stretches where you're at maximum intensity for about 15 seconds or so, and the longest a run should be in a well-designed 'cross course is 80 meters. Sounds more like a short sprint to me than a 10K… 'Cross races might be lost on the runs, but they're rarely won. It's still mostly about who can pedal their bike the fastest.

Cycle-Smart Training Articles A Case For Base    by Adam Hodges Myerson    February 2, 2007 Power, Stability, and Confidence    by Adam Hodges Myerson    September 20, 2006 Training While You Work    by Adam Hodges Myerson    April 25, 2006 Surviving The Trainer    by Adam Hodges Myerson    March 2, 2006 You Gotta Have A Plan    by Adam Hodges Myerson    January 8, 2006 Peaking For Cyclo-Cross Nationals    by Adam Hodges Myerson    November 29, 2005 How To Improve Your Starts For Cyclo-cross    by Adam Hodges Myerson    October 18, 2005 Interval Training for Cyclo-Cross    by Adam Hodges Myerson    September 9, 2005 Hang On To That Form!    by Adam Hodges Myerson    August 9, 2005 Resting Your Way To Fitness    by Adam Hodges Myerson    June 22, 2005 How Long, How Hard, and How Often?    by Adam Hodges Myerson    May 25, 2005 Warming Up    by Adam Hodges Myerson    April 11, 2005 "Training" in Training Races    by Adam Hodges Myerson    March 13, 2005 Preparing for a Cyclo-Cross Race    by Johs Huseby    November 16, 2004 Choosing Between a Club or a Team    by Kirk Albers    October 6, 2004 Running for Cyclo-Cross    by Adam Hodges Myerson    September 22, 2004 My Aching Back (and legs, shoulders, hips, feet, neck)    by Christine White    August 4, 2004 Key Workouts for Early Season Mountain Bike Racers    by Kurt Perham    July 14, 2004 The Philly File    by Adam Hodges Myerson    June 12, 2003 Training Weaknesses, Racing Strengths    by Adam Hodges Myerson    May 15, 2003 The Lanterne Rouge - The fine art of driving the bus in a stage race    by Adam Hodges Myerson    April 18, 2003 Choosing a Coach    by Adam Hodges Myerson    March 13, 2003

Even if you're emphasizing short bursts, you still need to do some adaptive work to be able to handle the training. Start with short, 15-minute jogs at a very low intensity one to two times a week, just to get your body used to the movement. When you can finish 15 minutes of jogging with no soreness the next day, you're ready to go. That might take only a week, or as long as a month. Always wait until the soreness subsides before you undertake another running workout.

When you're ready to introduce some real running work, there are a number of different ways to do it. Again, because you should be emphasizing short bursts, much of your running can take the form of a traditional Tuesday sprint workout. Find a steep hill, ideally off-road, that takes you 10-15 seconds to sprint up. Structure the workout just as I've described here previously for the road: 100% effort, from rest, with the sprints being no closer than one every 2 minutes. How many you do will depend on how many quality efforts you're able to complete. You should consider your average 'cross race: how many laps is normal, and how many runs per lap? If you have 2 decent runs in a race that will be about 10 laps, then you should be prepared to build up to 20 solid sprinting efforts in your workout.

You can do this as its own workout without your bike, where you simply jog at a light intensity to your sprinting spot and jog home. You can also do it as part of a 'cross ride where you do your warm up on the bike, and then include a dismount and mount as part of your sprinting effort. If your technique is good and you want to isolate the specific fitness aspect of the sprint, then chose the former approach. If you feel you still need work on your skills and ability to run well with the bike on your shoulder, choose the latter.

There are courses or regions where you'll find yourself dealing with longer, extended runs, and the 15-second efforts aren't enough to prepare you for all your races. This is where you might try to include more running as part of your training on Wednesday. Wednesday should normally be the day for a 'cross-specific workout on a local course or with a small group session. Here you can try to incorporate a longer, up to a minute-long run as part of your course. You might also decide to do a separate running workout, ideally in the morning, where you designate some of your threshold training work to be done on foot. Up to 15 -minute running intervals at LT is a slightly less race-specific approach, but can be a good way to improve on the longer runs.

Another angle on your running training for 'cross is to use it as a substitute workout on those late fall days where you find yourself stuck at work and getting out after dark. While again, long running days shouldn't be your first choice, if the trainer's lost it's charm and your pressed for time and daylight, converting your intervals for the day to a running workout can help you solve two problems at once. Tuesday and Wednesday are definitely the best days for this. Be sure to focus on the intensity rather than the duration. Get the intervals done, but don't worry about hitting the total time you might have done if you were out on the bike.

There are many different ways to approach running for 'cross. Your training might vary from 3-5 days a week with at least a short jog, to the other extreme of only running during a 'cross workout or race. What you decide should be based on the time you have available to add a running workout, if it's a strength or weakness you want to emphasize, or if the courses you race on require that you improve your skills off the bike. You might find that a little more focus on your running is a small investment that returns big dividends, and turns a place you once suffered into a place you can attack.


To learn more about Adam, or for more articles by Cycle-Smart coaches, visit www.cycle-smart.com.

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