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CANOVA ALTERNATING KILOMETRES

10–12 × (1 km fast / 1 km steady), no stopping

Time · 1 h 30Difficulty · Difficulty 5 of 5 — EliteEliteInspired by · Renato Canova

THE STORY

Canova and Arcelli's marathon book includes alternations such as 10 × 1 km slightly faster than marathon pace, each followed by 1 km run at about marathon pace — so there is never a real recovery.

Sources

  1. Review and summary of Marathon Training - A Scientific Approach by Renato Canova — Running Writings, 2023

WHAT IT TRAINS

Marathon-specific endurance and lactate clearance while still moving at a good clip.

WHO IT'S FOR

Experienced marathoners in the specific phase. It is long and relentless.

HOW TO DO IT

  1. 01Warm up 15–20 minutes easy.
  2. 02Alternate 1 km a little faster than marathon effort with 1 km at about marathon effort.
  3. 03Keep going for 10–12 of each (20–24 km). No stopping.
  4. 04Cool down 10 minutes.

SCALED VERSION

6 × (1 km fast / 1 km steady).

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TARGETS THAT FIT YOU

Every rep carries an effort cue — 5K effort, threshold, easy — so it works at any fitness. Your watch shows the cue on each step. Want exact paces? Save your threshold pace or a recent race in Settings and tap Tailor to my paces.

THE WORKOUT, STEP BY STEP

RUNNING

Canova Alternating Kilometres

10–12 × (1 km fast / 1 km steady), no stopping · Inspired by Renato Canova. · Fit File Forge Workout Library: www.fitfileforge.com/workouts/library/canova-alternating-kilometres

WARMUP15 min

easy

10×Repeat

INTERVAL1.0 km

fast, a little faster than marathon effort

ACTIVE1.0 km

about marathon effort; run continuously, no stopping; 10–12 of each

COOLDOWN10 min

easy

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