Ideal Preparation for a Fitness Test Run

In two months time I am trying out for a Canadian national team where one of the components of the try out is a fitness test which includes a 3.2km run. I have measured out the run and have just been doing it a couple times a week but there has got to be a better way to shave off time!

I'm not the best runner but want to do well. Any tips?

I'm ever so grateful!

L.G.

Answer by Dom:
Thanks for your question, L.G. Yes, there are much better ways to prepare than simply running the distance twice a week — you're essentially doing the exam over and over without studying, if you'll forgive the analogy. Eight weeks is a genuinely useful window if you structure it well. Running the 3.2km a couple of times a week tells you where you are; what I'm about to suggest will tell your body where to go.

A good running programme uses the concept of periodisation — cutting your training into blocks, each with a different focus. With eight weeks to go, here's the split I'd recommend:

1. Four weeks of base building — building the aerobic engine that everything else runs on
2. Three weeks of quality running — the sessions that directly translate to a faster 3.2km
3. One week of taper — so you arrive on test day rested and sharp, not depleted

Four Weeks of Base Building

This means lots of easy-paced running. Easy pace is not a jog-in-the-park shuffle, but it's certainly not racing effort — you should be able to hold a full sentence while running. If you're gasping and can only manage three words, you're going too fast. Slow down. The easy pace will feel frustratingly gentle at first. That's exactly right.

Since you can already run the 3.2km, your base phase focuses on going longer than the test distance at that easy effort. One run per week should be a longer run — and to increase your mileage safely, add roughly 1km to that long run each week. So if you can currently run 4km comfortably, week 1 long run is 4km, week 2 is 5km, week 3 is 6km, week 4 is 7km. Your other runs can be shorter — 20 to 30 minutes at easy pace, two or three times a week.

Don't race the measured 3.2km course during this phase. Save that effort for the quality phase. Right now, you're not trying to shave seconds — you're building the aerobic engine that will make those seconds available later. Here's a useful way to think about it: if you can comfortably run 7km, a 3.2km test feels short. Your body has reserves. That's what these four weeks create.

Three Weeks of Quality Running

Now we introduce faster running. You'll still do your long run each week — but at easy pace only — and you'll add two quality sessions: one interval session and one tempo run.

For intervals: 6 repetitions of 400m, with 90 seconds of easy jogging between each one. The effort should be clearly harder than you could sustain for the full 3.2km — working noticeably, but not an all-out sprint. These build your ability to run faster without collapsing, and they teach your legs a pace that makes test pace feel manageable.

For the tempo run: 15 to 20 minutes of continuous running at "comfortably hard" effort. You can say 3–4 words, not a full sentence. It should feel like sustained work, not like you're about to stop. This is harder than easy pace, closer to the effort of your actual test, and it trains your aerobic threshold — the ceiling above which you start accumulating fatigue rapidly.

The hard/easy approach is essential here. Never run two quality sessions on consecutive days. Here is a sample week:

• Monday: Rest
• Tuesday: Intervals — 6×400m, 90-second jog recovery
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Tempo — 15 to 20 minutes at comfortably hard effort
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: Easy 4–5km
• Sunday: Long run at easy pace

In week 6 — the middle of this quality phase — do one full-effort 3.2km time trial. Run it as close to test conditions as you can. This tells you exactly where you stand, calibrates your race-day pacing strategy, and removes the guesswork when it matters. If your time trial gives you a target pace, use it. If you went out too fast and faded, that tells you something important about how to approach the actual test.

One Week of Taper

With a distance as short as 3.2km, you don't need a long taper — but you do need one. The goal is to arrive on test day with fresh legs and a sharp edge, not depleted from a hard interval session you ran on Tuesday because you were nervous. Here's how I'd structure the final week:

• Monday: One brief quality session — 4×200m at interval effort, or a 15-minute tempo. Keep it short, keep it sharp.
• Tuesday: Easy 20–25 minutes
• Wednesday: Complete rest
• Thursday: Very easy 15 minutes — just enough to keep the legs turning over
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday or Sunday: Test day

Your legs may feel slightly flat on Thursday or Friday. That's the taper at work — it's not a sign you've lost fitness. Trust what you've built over the previous seven weeks. On test day, start at a pace slightly more controlled than your time trial — adrenaline will push you out fast, and a 3.2km test is very easy to get wrong in the first 500 metres.

To use an analogy with a car: you first need to put the petrol in the tank and prepare the engine (that's base building — without this, the car goes nowhere). Then you need to add a stronger gearing system (quality running — the ability to go faster). Then you polish the car and let the engine settle (taper). On test day, you turn the key.

Have a look at my running training pages for more background and ideas on each phase. This isn't the only way to approach eight weeks — you can adjust the number of weeks in each block — but it gives you a sound framework to start from.

Hope this helps, L.G. Best of luck with your tryout.

Some Other Pages You May Like