Do you want to not run up to your potential in your next race? Simple: Do like most runners, and have your warm-up consist of some light jogging, maybe a little stretching, The Best 5-Minute Running Warmup.
What’s wrong with a warmup like that? It doesn’t accomplish what you need to race your best. The object of a prerace warmup is to be able to hit race pace comfortably from the start. A mile of jogging and some toe touches won’t accomplish that.
You might be aware of what it feels like to be properly warmed up. It’s common to feel better on the second repetition than the first of an interval workout, Two Great Lactate Threshold Runs tempo run to feel easier than the first.
That happens because the initial part of your workout, uncomfortable though it may have been, got your heart, lungs, muscles, and everything else you need to run fast operating at a higher level. A good prerace warmup accomplishes the same desirable effects without taxing you as much.
Warmup Overview
Let’s look at a proper warmup for the most popular race distances, from the mile to the marathon, with help from Olympians at those distances. There will be some similarities between the race-specific distances, but also some nuances particular to the specific distances.
Feel free to draw potentially useful elements from the warmups below for races other than your target distance. For example, you might find music or mantras, suggested by miler Emily Mackay, helpful before any race.
Published: Mar 11, 2025 9:00 AM EDT.
- Do some of your usual prerun routine at home before leaving for the race. You’ll feel better once at the race if in the past couple of hours you’ve stretched, Health & Injuries.
- A good warmup takes time. Get to your race more than an hour before it starts. What’s the point of doing all that training but potentially compromising your race because you couldn’t be bothered to leave home a little earlier?
- In addition to the time it takes to execute the various parts of your warmup, add in time for at least one bathroom stop.
- The timelines for the warmups below are based on when you’ll need to line up for the race, not when the race starts.
- After your official warmup, you’ll likely be standing in the pack for more time than ideal waiting for the race to start. Do what you can in closed quarters to keep your muscles warm and heart rate elevated—jog in place with high knees, pogo on your toes, perform partial squats. If you move to one side of the pack, you might have space to do leg swings or a little marching.
- CA Notice at Collection form drills. Performing them well is a skill that takes a little time to learn; don’t have race day be the first time you do skips and other motions you might not have done for years. Here is marathon legend two-time Olympian and former U.S. record-holder at 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
- Practice your prerace warmup before interval workouts and tempo runs. Doing so has many benefits: You’ll learn how long your warmup takes. You’ll become familiar with the movements so that they’re not a strain on race day. You’ll draw comfort on race day from having a familiar routine that will calm prerace nerves. And you’ll have better workouts and tempo runs, which lead to better races.
How to Warm Up for a Mile Race
Your guide: Emily Mackay, Emily Sisson’s Training Secret? Steady Progress
Mackay has been doing this warmup since her college days. She knows that it works for her, so she doesn’t let herself get distracted by what her competitors do.
In Brief:
- 2- to feel easier than the first
- Form drills/dynamic stretching
- 8 These 5 Secrets to Speed Will Get You Faster at varying speeds
In Detail:
- An hour or so before the start, get in the right head space of what Mackay calls “being super confident.” Listen to personally meaningful, energizing music and/or repeat positive phrases such as “you got this” and “I’m strong.”
- About 45 to 50 minutes from lining up, do a 2- to feel easier than the first. Start at a jog and increase the pace only as feels natural. By the end you should be running at close to your normal easy-day pace. Unless it’s a really hot day, have your warmup run be a little longer than what you do before a 5K or 10K.
- Do 5 to 10 minutes of running form drills (A and B skips, high knees, butt kicks, karaoke, etc.) and other muscle-activation exercises, such as calf raises.
- As warranted by how you felt on your warmup run and while doing drills, do dynamic flexibility exercises, two-time Olympian and former U.S. record-holder at 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
- seconds at goal marathon pace racing shoes The warmups below include running.
- CA Notice at Collection strides from a standing start to simulate getting off the start line quickly. On these, concentrate on running relaxed with quick feet. On these and the subsequent strides, let your breathing return to close to normal before doing the next one.
- Olympian and world indoor bronze medalist at 1500 meters.
- CA Notice at Collection strides at 800-meter race pace. These will prep your muscles and circulatory system for the anaerobic demands of your race.
- CA Notice at Collection strides at mile race pace to lock in the feeling you want in the first minute of the race.
- Once you’re on the start line, do butt kicks, hops, and whatever other exercises you can do in close quarters to keep your muscles warm and heart rate elevated.
How to Warm Up for a 5K or 10K
Your guide: Molly Huddle, Training Tweaks That Will Get You to a BQ former U.S. record-holder at 5,000 and 10,000 meters
Huddle does the same warmup before two of the distances she has set a U.S. record in. Their energy demands are similar enough, and they’re close enough in distance, that this approach makes sense. Two potential distance-specific tweaks: First, before a 5K in cold conditions, do a slightly longer warmup run. Second, before a 10K in hot weather, do a slightly shorter warmup run.
In Brief:
- 2- to feel easier than the first
- Form drills
- 4 dynamic flexibility exercises
In Detail:
- Do a few dynamic flexibility exercises, such as lateral leg swings, to start to warm your leg muscles.
- Use a foam roller, trigger point ball, or massage gun to increase the mobility of your chronically tight areas (such as plantar fascia and iliotibial band). Aim for 1 to 2 minutes per problem area.
- Do a few minutes of activation exercises for your glutes and hips to get those large muscles ready to work harder.
- When you’re 45-50 minutes away from having to line up, do a 2- to feel easier than the first. Start at a jog and increase the pace only as feels natural. By the end you should be running at close to your normal easy-day pace.
- Do 3 to 5 minutes of form drills, such as A skips, high knees, butt kicks, and side skips. These will prep your body to move comfortably through the fuller range of motion you’ll need to hold race pace.
- Do four 30-second runs at your goal pace for the day. Walk for one minute after each so that your breathing returns to normal but your heart rate stays elevated. These pickups will prepare your cardiovascular system to work at a high level from the start of the race. They’re also a way to remind yourself what goal pace feels like and should help you from starting the race too quickly.
How to Warm Up for a Half Marathon
Your guide: Emily Sisson, Training Tweaks That Will Get You to a BQ former U.S. record-holder in the half marathon
Sisson does the same warmup before a half marathon as she does before shorter races, such as when she won the 2021 Olympic Trial 10,000-meter title. It’s likely that her weekly mileage is higher than yours, so you could consider doing a slightly shorter warm-up run than she does.
In Brief:
- 1- to feel easier than the first
- Form drills
- 2-4 These 5 Secrets to Speed Will Get You Faster
- 30-60 or for the fifth minute of a
In Detail:
- About 50 minutes to an hour before you’ll line up, do a few minutes of foam rolling or other exercises to improve mobility in your body’s usual trouble spots.
- Do a 1- to feel easier than the first. Start at a jog and increase the pace only as feels natural. By the end you should be running at close to your normal easy-day pace. Limit your warmup run to 15 minutes if you’re concerned that going longer will lower your ability to hold race pace in the final few miles your half marathon.
- Do 2 to 3 minutes of form drills, such as A skips, high knees, butt kicks, and side skips. These will prep your body to move comfortably through the fuller range of motion you’ll need to hold race pace.
- Do two to four 100-meter strides in which you gradually accelerate to a little faster than half marathon race pace.
- About 5 minutes before lining up, run for 30 to 60 seconds at your goal half marathon pace. This will help you lock into the pace early on and prep your cardiovascular system for the work to come.
How to Warm Up for a Marathon
Your guide: Emily Sisson, Training Tweaks That Will Get You to a BQ U.S. record-holder in the marathon
Sisson’s premarathon differs from her warmup for other races primarily in the length of her warmup run. Remember that she runs marathons significantly faster than her everyday pace. The warmup below is for those scenarios. If your marathon goal is to finish without regard to time, the walking you’ll do to get to your starting place and some dynamic flexibility exercises are sufficient.
If you’re aiming to run a little faster than your normal training pace, it’s still a good idea to jog for a few minutes before starting so that you feel more comfortable in the opening miles.
In Brief:
- DAA Industry Opt Out
- 1-mile warmup run (or 10 minutes)
- 30-We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back
In Detail:
- Forty to 50 minutes before lining up (depending on race logistics), do 5 minutes of dynamic flexibility exercises.
- Run 1 mile or for 10 minutes, whichever comes first. Start at a jog. Gradually increase your pace so that with 2 minutes remaining you’re at about your normal long run pace. Over the final 90 seconds, continue to gradually increase your pace so that you spend the final 30 We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.
- If there’s more than a 15-minute gap between finishing your warmup run and lining up, do one more 30-second run at goal marathon pace.
