Need Running Tips for Police Physical Test

by Shitesh Verma
( India, U.P., Allahabad)

I am a 26 years old male and I am a beginner runner. I am trying for a police oriented job. I want to practice my running because of a test (1.6 Km in 6.30 mins and 100 Mtr in 16sec. and 5 Km in 30 mins).

I have only 2-3 months, is it possible?

I started practice but I feel pain in both my knees.

Currently, I run 1.6km in 8 minutes.

So what type of running workouts should I do? Can you please give me some suggestions?

Thank you.

Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thanks for your request for running training advice for your police physical tests.

Three months is a reasonable time to see some improvement.

Let's have a look at the tests you need to complete in order of length:

100m in 16 seconds - This will require some speed.

1.6km in 6 min 30 seconds - This will require speed AND endurance

5k in 30 minutes - This will require endurance, speed is significantly slower

You can already do 1.6k in 8 minutes. There is still substantial improvement needed, but luckily you have got three months to improve.

My advice would broadly be as follows:

1. Deal with the knee pain.
2. Firstly, build your base for 4-6 weeks
3. Then add quality to your training.
4. Lastly, about the 100m test

Deal with the Knee Pain

One worry is your knee pain. I am not sure how fast and how much you were running to cause that. This kind of problem often happens to beginning runners who run either too fast or too much.

You need to get your body used to the exercise. So restrict your running to three times per week, run slowly and build it up easily over time.

While you have the knee pain, build up your fitness via cross training that is less strenuous on the knees, e.g. bike riding is a good cardiovascular activity that is less strenuous on the body. An alternative is the elliptical or rowing, swimming etc.

Try to build some leg strength through bodyweight exercises and gym work, to remedy the knee problems.

Also see the Strength Training for Runners and Cross Training for Runners pages for more info.

Firstly, build your base for 4-6 weeks

Now, something that will really help for both the 1 mile test and the 5k test is to build up your endurance. You do this by doing a lot of easy running. Given your knee pain, I'd recommend a run/walk program. The combination of running and walking will still build your endurance through covering more distance, but the walking breaks will make it easier on your knees. You need to get really comfortable with running the 5k. Preferably even more than 5k.

The 5k challenge will need that build-up of the endurance. It does not require as much speed as the 1 mile test does. However, the 1 mile test requires a strong, strong endurance as well. It is a much shorter distance, but you need to do it quickly. And when you need to be able to run fast for that long, you do need the endurance.

Check out the Base Building page for more info about building an endurance base.

And check out the Beginners Running Program section for more info about run/walk programs.

Then Add Quality to Your Training

After you have a stronger base, it is time to add some quality to your training. That means faster work. Key workouts to think of are tempo runs, intervals and goal pace workouts. Given the knee pain, you will want to be careful with the faster workouts. They do increase the risk of injury.

So, it's likely that you need to adapt "standard workouts" and make them shorter or do them less often.

For more information about all types of running workouts, check out the Running Workouts page.

Lastly, about the 100m test

The 100m test requires a fair amount of speed. Now, I am not a 100m coach, but a way you can try for speed and build it into your running program is by doing strides. I'll leave the Running Strides page for you to read at your leisure.

Hope all of this helps and gives you a bit of an idea of what to do.

Kind regards,
Dom

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