How To Run a Faster 2 Mile For Special Forces

The 2-mile run is simultaneously the simplest and hardest event you will train for in the military. On one hand, you know the exact time and distance, so there is no excuse for anything short of excellence. But man is pushing through those final laps brutal.

I will walk you step by step on how to get faster in your 2 mile run for Special Forces. This article will help whether your run is one week from now or six months from now.

How to Improve Your 2 Mile Run

Let’s start with the 2 levers you can pull to improve your run time – body composition and fitness.

Get Leaner

There is a reason why Olympic marathoners look like sticks. It’s because every additional pound of weight you carry is going to slow your mile time by at least a few seconds.

There is a reason why no one wants to talk about this. Hitting the road several days per week for a run is not so bad. But controlling the food you put in your mouth is 24/7/365.

Encouraging Message to the Overweight

Here’s an encouraging perspective for those of you who are overweight though: your current time does not reflect your true fitness level. If you can run 2 miles in 14 minutes, which is still a decent time, your fitness level may be similar to that of a leaner runner who completes the same distance in 12 minutes. The only difference is that you’re weighed down by the exact fat you carry.

To visualize the impact of weight on speed, imagine running with a 25-pound weight vest. Naturally, your pace will be slower. Going from 200lbs at 25% body fat to 175lbs at 15% body fat is like removing that weight vest. The result is a significant improvement in running efficiency and speed.

Get Fitter

The other lever we can pull is improving your fitness. I like to incorporate speed, tempo, threshold, and zone 2 workouts.

But notice that I didn’t limit the workouts to runs. Running is the base of any 2-mile run plan, but cardiovascular fitness is how we’re going to drive improvement in your 2-mile time.

And there’s nothing stopping us from adding training modalities like rowing, cycling, or rucking on top of the base running plan, so long as your recovery allows for it.

The other aspect of your fitness is your running efficiency. Simply doing more running will improve your movement patterns and technique. In the same way, you can grease the groove to see rapid push-up progress, that also applies but to a lesser degree with running.

Gear To Improve Your Run Performance

Before we dive into the rules for running, I want to share the equipment I recommend my athletes use.

The bare minimum to improve your running is a good pair of running shoes, but be aware you must replace your shoes every 300 miles. If you’re running in them beyond that, your risk of injury and shin splints will increase.

Just look at what the bottom of worn-down running shoes looks like compared to a new pair.

I like the Brooks Ghost line of running shoes, since they’re neutral and will work well on all terrains. While currently, in 2024, the Ghost 15 is available, you can pick up the Ghost 14 for $20-30 cheaper.

Rules for Running

What you’ll hear if you talk to a running coach if you ask how to improve your run time, is to spend the next 3 to 4 months building up to 50 miles per week. And that’s what it will take if you want to be an elite runner. 

But for military athletes training for selection, I’ve found diminishing returns running beyond 25 – 30 miles.

This is because the two aspects of training we need to improve are

1. Aerobic Base: which raises the floor of you’re running performance, so your lower-intensity pace is faster
2. Lactate Threshold: allows you to perform at your goal pace for longer before fatigue sets in

A traditional running program avoids incorporating goal pace and threshold work initially because reaching 4-minute miles requires a substantial aerobic base and running economy, which can only be achieved through a high volume of mileage.

Running a 6-minute mile does not require high mileage.

Plus, the downsides of running that many miles vastly outweigh any benefits if you’re training for selection. Your risk of injury goes up, the recovery costs are immense, and the biggest downside is the opportunity cost – you’re spending 7 hours per week running – when you can cut that in half and also do more strength or nonimpact cardio.

Fastest Way to Improve Running

One of my athletes ran a 7:30-minute mile our first week together, but his max effort 400m run 5 minutes after that was 1:16, which is just over a 5-minute mile pace.

He easily had the fitness to run a 6-minute mile, but his pacing was terrible. He told me he did the run with a friend and tried to keep up.

By following these two steps, he turned around and hit a 6:15 mile the very next week.

2 Mile Pace Strategy

The first is to have a goal pace. Let’s say it’s a 12-minute 2-mile which is 1:30 per quarter mile lap. For the first lap, you are not allowed to run any faster than 1:32. Laps 2, 3, and 4 should be run at goal pace – so at this point, you would be at 6:02 for the mile.

After mile 1, I want you to evaluate how you’re feeling. If you’re not feeling so hot, try to hang on at goal pace for laps 5 and 6, and then give the last half mile everything you got. It’s going to suck regardless, so you might as well give it your all and finish with a faster time.

If you are feeling good after mile 1, pick up the pace on laps 5 and 6. And then push hard in the final half mile stretch.

Don’t Start Lap 1 Fast

Some 2-mile track coaches will recommend running faster than goal pace on mile 1. Here’s why that’s a bad idea.

First, recognize who’s giving the advice and the audience they’re giving it to. These track coaches are training athletes looking to shave seconds off their timed trial. And those track athletes have thousands of miles and countless max effort runs under their belt.

This is a high-risk strategy.

With the pacing I’ve outlined, we are planning to finish fast and strong. The worst-case scenario is that you have to slow down a bit at the end, and that should only happen on a bad day. 

If you come out fast on mile 1, the advanced recommendation is to red-line the whole second mile. It will work fantastic on a great day, but it will be really painful if it’s not.

Breathing For Running

The other aspect of your run is breathing. Most non-runners have poor breathing habits. They unintentionally hold their breath, have extended inhales, or are just inconsistent.

You want your breathing to be like a swimmer. They’re forced to breathe consistently since they only have the opportunity between their strokes. 

The benefit of this strategy is learning how your effort correlates to your breathing cadence. I’m a huge advocate of chest strap heart rate monitors, but this is a great tool you can use alongside it, and something you can use at selection.

Chris Hinshaw is a coach of professional CrossFit athletes and has a great video on breathing.

How To Train 6+ Months Out

With six months to train, you have a lot of flexibility. 

Running Plan For Fit Candidates

For those of you who are already in running shape doing 20+ miles per week. Here’s a sample template that includes intervals on Monday, a Tempo Run on Wednesday, nonimpact Zone 2 cardio on Thursday, and a Zone 2 run or ruck on Saturday.

Running Plan For Out of Shape or Injury Prone Candidates

For those who are new to running, overweight, or at risk of injury, we can still make great progress running twice per week. I suggest substituting Monday’s running intervals for rowing. You can do your tempo run on grass or a soft surface to mitigate the risk of shin splints. 

While it’s not exciting to delay hard running intervals, I highly recommend you ease into the hard running. It’s a lot easier to get fit when you’re healthy than it is to rehab an injury and start all over again from scratch.

How To Train 3 Months Out

At about 3 months out, your training should get more specific. The Monday intervals now have a jogging recovery, the tempo run is now a threshold workout. And transition some of your nonimpact cardio to running or rucking

How To Train 4 Weeks Out

When you’re one month out, your first two weeks of training should be very hard. Here, we’re doing 400m goal pace intervals on Monday, on Wednesday more hard efforts near or at goal pace, and then recovery runs at zone 2 on Thursday and Saturday. 

How To Train 2 Weeks Out

At 2 weeks out, your top priority is to create your pace strategy.

Second, is to practice running at your goal pace. Your volume should decrease in the final 2 weeks, but it’s important to keep easier goal-pace sessions, so you know your pace for race day

Want to work with me 1 on 1? Apply here.

Bonus Tip

My bonus tip for this article is to increase your volume slowly. You won’t see rapid improvements in running like you would with squatting just by practicing and learning the form. Overuse injuries like shin splints can onset rapidly. So, where possible avoid running on concrete and stick to the trails or grass when starting off.

Rucking is also a great alternative modality. Check out this article on How To Improve Your Rucking.