Crystal Palace Arena
Speed / interval track sessions

Tuesday night training is at Crystal Palace track from October 2026 until April/May 2027. You can book via the sports centre website at:

https://bookings.better.org.uk/location/crystal-palace-leisure-centre/athleticsgrp

Pick the “athletics drop in” option and then the 7pm Tuesday option. Unfortunately they are not now offering a club discount but this still remains very good value.

Once you arrive at the reception desk at the sports centre you will need to follow the signs to the track, and we meet by the start line shortly before 7pm, when we will start off with some warm-ups and drills and then go into the main session, and we should be finished by around 7:50-7:55pm or so.

The sessions are intended to help you get faster over 5-10k, and should suit those racing cross-country over the winter, and form a valuable part of marathon training. To make the most of these sessions, you should be used to running several times a week although we welcome runners of a range of standards. Non-members are welcome to come along and try us out before joining. Depending on numbers, we will split into two or more pace groups.

If you are coming for the first time or have any questions or feedback contact Tom Poynton (Coach in Running Fitness) tpoynton@hotmail.com 

How to get down and on to the track

Enter main sports centre building go through main reception, down the stairs, follow signs to track, go past beach volleyball courts and through the indoor track ( yes it’s far too complicated, but you should see other club members along the way). There are changing facilities in the sports centre, but most people brings any bags, coats etc to the track and leaves them by the side, we've never had any problems.

Track etiquette 

We are a big group and others use the track at the same time, so it’s important to act safely and treat them with the same respect that we’d expect. 

All members using the track must: 

• Give others plenty of space when overtaking or moving off the track. 

• Keep to lanes 1&2 whilst running reps, use outer lanes for warm ups, recoveries and cool downs. 

• Wait between reps off the track (or outer lanes) and step onto the track just before they start their next rep. 

• Act on any instruction from a coach, even from another club, to ensure the safety of others.

Planned Sessions

Tuesday 6 October

1600m @10k pace then 4x800m @5k pace then 1600m @10k pace with 90 seconds recovery.

Do a bit less volume (e.g. 1200m not 1600m at 10k or even miss out one of the 800m @5k reps) if you are new to this or returning from illness or injury.  This is a good way to practice a change of pace and to practice running well on tired legs – the second final rep should be at the same pace as the first!

Tuesday 13 October

Pyramid session of 400m/800m/1200m/1600m/1200m/800m/400m - shorter reps at about 5k pace with 75 seconds recovery and longer reps at 10k pace with 90 seconds recovery.

Feel free to miss out one of these reps if you are new to this, coming back from illness/ injury or at the lower end of the spectrum. Try to be consistent i.e. first 1600m should be run at around the same pace as the final one.

Tuesday 20 October

4-6x 1200m broken down into first 800m@10k, then 300m @5k pace & final 100m@3k pace - 90 seconds recovery (although maybe 75 seconds might work best for faster groups). 

A chance to practice running at the right pace and to run fast on tired legs to replicate the later stages of a race although anyone struggling could concentrate on keeping the distance without picking up the pace towards the end.

Tuesday 27 October

16*400m @5k pace with 75 seconds recovery. 

Aim to make this as consistently paced as possible.  Plenty of scope to reduce (or even add) reps depending on how people feel, and avoid overloading if new/ returning.