Men Over 40: How to Get Faster at Running
There's a common assumption that once you hit 40, getting faster at running is essentially off the table — that from here on it's all about managing decline rather than genuinely improving. As a coach, I can tell you that's simply not true. Plenty of men run their fastest 5k, 10k, or marathon times well into their 40s, and in some cases their 50s. What changes isn't whether you can get faster, but how you need to train to make it happen.
Here's how men over 40 can genuinely improve their running speed, based on what actually works rather than what worked twenty years ago.
Speed Work Still Works — It Just Needs to Be Smarter
Structured speed sessions, whether intervals, tempo runs, or hill repeats, remain one of the most effective ways to get faster at any age, including your 40s. What changes is the recovery needed between hard efforts and the overall volume of high-intensity work your body can handle without breaking down. Where a younger runner might tolerate two or three hard sessions a week, one or two well-executed sessions, with genuine recovery either side, tends to produce better results and far fewer injuries for men over 40.
Quality over quantity becomes the guiding principle. A single, well-paced interval session run with proper recovery between reps will do more for your speed than several rushed, half-recovered sessions squeezed in around a busy week.
Build Your Aerobic Base Properly
It's tempting to assume speed comes purely from speed work, but a strong aerobic base is what allows you to sustain faster paces for longer, and it becomes even more important as you get older. Plenty of easy, comfortable running, run at a pace where conversation is easy, builds the aerobic engine that supports everything else in your training, including your speed sessions.
Many men over 40 actually run their easy days too hard, which blurs the line between easy and hard training and leaves them without the recovery needed to perform well in genuine speed sessions. Slowing down your easy runs, even if it feels counterintuitive, is often one of the fastest ways to get faster overall.
Strength Training Is a Genuine Speed Tool
Strength training isn't just about injury prevention — it's a direct contributor to running speed, and it becomes increasingly important from your 40s onwards as muscle mass and power naturally begin to decline without active intervention. Exercises that build power in the glutes, hamstrings, and calves, such as squats, lunges, and calf raises, translate directly into a stronger push-off and better running economy.
Two strength sessions a week, combined with some explosive movement work like short hill sprints or bounding drills, help maintain the muscular power that contributes significantly to running speed, and that naturally starts to decline if it isn't actively trained.
Prioritise Recovery Between Hard Efforts
The biggest difference between speed training in your 20s and your 40s is how much recovery your body needs to actually benefit from a hard session. Running hard again before you've properly recovered doesn't build fitness faster — it simply accumulates fatigue and increases injury risk, which then interrupts training altogether.
Spacing hard sessions properly through the week, prioritising sleep, and treating recovery days as genuinely easy rather than moderately hard, is what allows your body to absorb the training and actually get faster, rather than just getting more tired.
Address Mobility and Flexibility
Reduced mobility, particularly through the hips and ankles, becomes more common with age and can quietly limit your running form and stride efficiency without you noticing. A few minutes of mobility work, focused on the hips, calves, and ankles, a few times a week helps maintain the range of motion needed for an efficient, faster running stride, and it's a small habit that pays off considerably over time.
Be Patient With the Process
Getting faster in your 40s often takes a little longer than it did in your 20s, simply because adaptation happens more gradually with age. This isn't a reason to give up on speed goals — it's a reason to train patiently and consistently over months rather than expecting rapid change over a few weeks. Runners who stick with a sensible, well-structured approach over a full training block, rather than chasing quick fixes, are the ones who see genuine improvements in their times.
Don't Neglect Nutrition and Body Composition
Nutrition plays a bigger role in performance from your 40s onwards than many runners realise. Adequate protein intake supports the muscle maintenance and repair that speed training relies on, and paying attention to overall body composition, without becoming obsessive about it, can make a genuine difference to running economy and speed. This isn't about drastic dieting — it's about supporting your training with sensible, consistent nutrition rather than working against it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Faster Over 40
Can men over 40 still get faster at running? Yes. Plenty of runners achieve personal bests in their 40s and beyond with the right training approach, particularly one that balances speed work with adequate recovery and strength training.
How many speed sessions a week should a man over 40 do? One or two well-executed sessions a week, with genuine recovery either side, tends to work better than several rushed sessions, particularly compared to training approaches common in your 20s.
Is strength training necessary to get faster after 40? It's not strictly required, but it makes a significant difference. Strength training helps maintain the muscular power that naturally declines with age and directly supports running speed.
Why am I not getting faster even though I'm training hard? Training too hard on easy days, without enough genuine recovery, is one of the most common reasons runners over 40 plateau. Slowing down easy runs and prioritising recovery often unlocks faster times.
How long does it take to get faster as an older runner? Adaptation generally takes a little longer than it did in your 20s, so patience over a full training block of several months, rather than expecting quick results, tends to produce the best outcomes.
