Renato Canova

Something New in Training: The Methods of Renato Canova

Introduction

Easter weekend of 2009 was called “the weekend that changed marathoning forever,” after 13 Kenyans broke 2:09 at the Rotterdam and Paris marathons, including Duncan Kibet and James Kwambi, who both ran 2:04:27 at Rotterdam in a sprint finish. In the wake of this stunning weekend, Renato Canova made a series of posts on Letsrun.com concerning the training methods employed by himself and Italian compatriot Claudio Berardelli. Berardelli coaches world-class Kenyan athletes from 800m to the marathon, as does Canova. I will lay out a synopsis and analysis of the training methods of Renato Canova and explore this concept of “something new in training”: namely, why Kwambai and Kibet can run relatively low mileage and have success in the marathon, whereas others like Martin Lel and Robert Cheruiyot train with a more traditional high-mileage approach. I have “translated” much of the paces, distances, and times into the imperial unit system to make them more accessible to an American audience.

Basic Workings of Renato Canova’s Training Program

Canova categorizes workouts as belonging to one of four categories: regeneration, fundamental, special, and specific.

Regeneration

Regeneration is easy running that is designed to expedite recovery from hard training sessions. According to Canova, blood lactate levels can remain elevated for 2-3 days after a hard effort if a regeneration run is not used to ‘flush out’ the body. Regeneration is a pace approximately 60-70% of the anaerobic threshold (AnT). Canova uses the example of a top marathoner with an AnT of 4:30/mi. For him, regeneration pace works out to about 5:50/mi or slower.

Fundamental Training

Fundamental training is comprised of long, continuous runs at roughly the aerobic threshold (AeT) or a bit slower. Canova illustrates this pace with a 15:00 5k runner (presumably female). Her pace for “fundamental” workouts would be in the range of 5:33 to 6:00 per mile. If we compare this to Dr. Jack Daniels’ commonly-used VDOT charts, we find that they predict an aerobic threshold (AeT or “M pace”) of 5:32/mi, very much in line with the high end of Canova’s training. Interestingly, the low end of the fundamental training pace dips into what some might call “junk mileage.” Certainly, there must be benefits at running a ‘relaxed’ long tempo run, as opposed running right at the aerobic threshold every single time—this will be explored later in more detail.

Special Training

Special training focuses on extending endurance at about 90% of the speed of your primary event, as well as improving mechanics at faster than race pace—105% or more of the speed of your primary event. So, a 13:00 5k runner might do 2000m repeats at 14:10 pace, but at a high volume, or

Training Philosophy and Structure

Overview of Training Philosophy

After understanding Canova’s four broad training categories, we can better understand his training philosophy; namely, that the most important training is that which is conducted at the speed of the race you want to run. That is, your “specific training” matters most. All other training exists solely to support the specific training. Furthermore, improvement comes from the supercompensation in response to a training stress—so as the athlete reaches higher levels of fitness, the training stress must be different and greater in magnitude. The overarching question during the early and mid-season training is “how can we better prepare ourselves to sustain and recover from a high workload of race-specific training?”

Training Cycle

A season under Canova consists of a roughly six-month training cycle, comprised of (predictably) an introductive period, fundamental period, special period, and specific period.

Introductive Period

The introductive period lasts about 3 weeks and is intended to build general fitness. All running is at an easy to moderate pace and includes long runs. Some event-specific work is done as well, like short uphill sprints, technique, and gym exercises (no further explanation was given on these exercises).

Fundamental Period

After the introductive period ends, the fundamental period begins. It lasts 2 months, and over that time, mileage and intensity gradually increase. By the end of this period, the runner reaches peak mileage. During this period is when “fundamental” workouts occur. This is the long-tempo-style work described earlier. This aerobic conditioning provides the backbone of support for the race-specific training that will take place later.

Training for Different Events

Middle Distance Types (800/1500m)

For pure middle distance types (800/1500m), the duration of the long tempos is increased, but not the speed. In addition to long tempo runs, the middle-distance runners do some “aerobic endurance” interval workouts like 8x400m in 62 seconds with 2min recovery (for a 1:44 runner—so very slow!). As the fundamental period continues, these intervals are either extended (e.g., 600m at the same pace) or the recovery is shortened. The pace, however, is not increased. Again, the goal for the middle distance runners is extension of what Canova calls “aerobic power” and “strength endurance.”

Long Distance Runners (5k up to Marathon)

For the long-distance runners (5k up to marathon), the long tempo workouts are first extended, and later the speed is increased. Canova did not specify if these athletes also do intervals like the middle-distance runners. If they did, the pattern would be much the same: first increase distance and “global volume,” then later, increase speed while maintaining duration. The goal is the same for 5k runners up to the marathoners.

Recommendations for Pace and Speed of Fundamental Training

Canova’s recommendations for pace and speed of fundamental training are detailed below:

Event	Duration	Speed
800m	20-40 min	1.40-1.50x slower than Race Pace (RP)
1500m	30-50 min	1.30-1.40x slower than RP
5000m	45-70 min	1.15-1.25x slower than RP
10000m	60-90 min	1.15-1.25x slower than RP

Training Structure and Philosophy

Overview of Equivalent Performance Runners

Let’s examine a group of runners with equivalent PRs (according to Jack Daniels’ Running Formula—the 800m is excluded due to the difficulty of equating it to long-distance performances) in the middle and long-distance events:

Event	PR
1500m	3:29
5000m	13:01
10000m	27:07
Half Marathon	59:38
Marathon	2:04:57

Because their performances are equivalent, they all have the same predicted AeT, which is 2:57/km. However, Canova’s fundamental pace is different:

Event	Predicted AeT	Canova Pace Range	Percent Slower
1500m	2:57	3:01-3:15	2.3-10.2%
5000m	2:57	2:59-3:15	1.1-10.2%
10000m	2:57	3:07-3:23	5.6-14.7%
Half Marathon	2:57	3:15-3:31	10.2-19.2%
Marathon	2:57	3:15-3:33	10.2-20.3%

Fundamental Training Pace

For the short and middle events (up to 5000m), Canova’s fundamental pace is 1-10% slower than the athlete’s predicted AeT. As the distance increases, the fundamental pace slows down. This is likely because, as the distance of the focus race increases, the actual AeT becomes too close to race pace (being nearly equal at the marathon). Since a good deal of work at or near race pace will happen in the special and specific periods, this training must be more backed off. Recall that fundamental training is meant to support the later race-specific work. Even though it is backed off of the athlete’s “true” aerobic threshold, these fundamental training sessions still bolster the athlete’s aerobic base. For the shorter-distance specialists, it pays to focus more intently on approaching the AeT (though it is important to note that the predicted AeT is the upper limit of the pace in these workouts). Canova’s math implies it is better to be conservative when approaching the aerobic threshold and that crossing over it will do more harm than good.

Transition to Special Period

After the conclusion of the fundamental period, the athletes gradually transition into the special period. The special period is focused on developing both the speed and endurance for the event, but never both at the same time. During the special period, which also lasts about two months, the short, middle, and long-distance specialists begin to diverge. All athletes try to maintain their mileage during the special period, so they are in a constant state of training, yet are not too tired for quality workouts. Athletes compete in races outside of their specialty; everyone but the marathoners competes in longer races, including cross-country. The marathoners compete at shorter distances, typically 10km, half-marathon, or cross-country. Workouts from the fundamental period are not abandoned; they are added to the mix of workout options during the special period.

Middle-Distance Runners’ Workouts

The middle-distance (800m-5km) runners typically do one of three types of workouts: short, high-speed repeats with long recovery at 105-110% of race pace, long repeats totaling 4-6km at 92-95% of race pace.

Training Structure and Philosophy Evolution

Key Phases and Rationales

The training structure and philosophy evolve through distinct phases, each with specific goals and methodologies. Renato Canova’s approach emphasizes the importance of building both speed and endurance in a structured manner, leading to race-specific training in the final stages.

Special Period

During the special period, the focus is on building race-relevant endurance and speed through two types of workouts:

• Short, High-Speed Repeats with Long Recovery: These workouts aim to build biomechanical support for sustained, fast running without incurring significant oxygen debt.
• Long, Moderate-Speed Continuous Runs: These runs are designed to build endurance to hold the specific pace for the duration of the race.

The intensity and extension of these workouts gradually converge, moving towards race-specific training. This phase is characterized by a funnel-like progression where intensity is extended and extension becomes faster.

Total Interval Workout Volume Recommendations

Canova recommends the following total interval workout volumes for different race distances:

• 10,000m Runners: 10-12km
• Half-Marathon: 12-15km
• Marathon: 20-30km

Additionally, marathon and half-marathon runners also do a fast-paced long run as part of their special training, which continues into the specific period.

Fast Continuous Runs in the Special Period

For all events except the marathon, the fast continuous run in the special period is shorter and faster than the long tempo-style workouts in the fundamental period. This is an example of workouts moving in the direction of race-specific extension.

Event-Specific Fast Continuous Runs

• 1500m: 4km (11min) at 82% of race pace
• 5000m: 8-12km (24-36min) at 87.5% of race pace
• 10,000m: 15km (45min) at 87.5-90% of race pace
• Half-Marathon: 25km (75min) at 94.5% of race pace
• Marathon: 45-50km (150-166min) at 87.5% of race pace

Specific Period

In the specific period, the volume of race-pace workouts and the extension of individual repeats become paramount. Canova gives an example of a 1:44 800m runner who, during the special period, progressed to 5x400m in 50 seconds with 5 minutes of recovery. This illustrates the gradual progression towards race-specific training.

Training Structure and Philosophy

Race-Pace Workouts

Race-pace workouts become the sole focus during the specific training period. Athletes must be well-rested before and after these sessions. Canova’s athletes typically take two or sometimes three days of easy regeneration running between workouts. These easy days usually involve doubling, but are done at a fairly easy pace. The purpose is not training on these days, but recovering. A typical non-workout day in Moses Mosop’s 2011 Boston Marathon training schedule consisted of 60-80 minutes at an easy to moderate effort in the morning and 40-60 minutes easy in the afternoon.

Introduction of Special and Specific Blocks

For the best development, athletes must increase the “modulation” or day-to-day variation in distance and intensity, introducing greater stresses with proportionally greater recovery. Every 3-4 weeks during the special and specific periods, Canova includes what he calls a “special block” (during the special period) or a “specific block” (during the specific period). These blocks are days on which the athlete does two workouts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Runners must take special care to arrive at a special block well-rested and to recover well afterwards.

Examples of Special Blocks

Marathon Runner

• Endurance:

  • Morning: 10km at 90% of Marathon Pace (MP) + 20km at MP
  • Afternoon: 10km at 90% of Marathon Pace (MP) + 20km at MP

  (Sometimes, Canova will instruct his marathon runners to drink only water and eat only vegetables between these two workouts, in order to force the body to utilize fat as an efficient resource.)

• Mix:

  • Morning: 10km at 90% of MP + 10km at 102% of MP
  • Afternoon: 10km at 90% of MP + 12x 1000m at 105% of MP, 1:30 recovery

800m Runner

• Morning:
  • 30min easy run + 10x600m at 87-90% of 800m Race Pace (RP), 2min recovery
• Afternoon:
  • 30min easy run + 4x400m at 105% of RP, 6-8min recovery

Specific Blocks

A specific block incorporates a significant amount of work at race-pace. However, a “specific block” need not be confined to only repeats at goal race pace. Here is an example of a “specific block” workout done by Saif Saaeed Shaheen (Stephen Cherono) in 2006:

• Morning:
  • 4x1600m, 4:30 recovery: 3:56, 3:59, 3:58, 3:58

Training Structure and Philosophy

Key Phases and Rationales

Shaheen’s training regimen includes both specific and special-phase workouts. The specific phase focuses on training at goal race pace, while the special phase injects speed through faster-paced sessions. According to Renato Canova, most “block” type workouts involve working different pace ranges in the morning and afternoon to stimulate the body in different ways. Marathon runners, however, may employ the same workouts both sessions due to the event’s emphasis on endurance rather than speed.

Specific Period Workouts

Canova provides examples of workouts during the specific period, designed for elite athletes. These workouts are not adjusted for slower athletes in terms of repetition length or workload, as the race distance remains the same. Younger or less experienced runners may benefit from reducing the workload, especially on longer workouts.

800m (1:44 PR)

• 2 sets of 5 x 300m at Race Pace (RP)

  • 1min recovery between repeats
  • 4min between sets

• 4 x 400m at 102% RP

  • 5-6min recovery

• 3 x 600m at 101% of RP

  • 6-8min recovery

• 1000m at 95% RP + 400 at 101% RP + 200 at 106% RP

  • 8min recovery

1500m (3:30 PR)

• 2 sets of 8 x 300m at 105% RP

  • 45sec recovery between repeats
  • 4min between sets

• 8 x 400m at RP

  • 2min recovery

• 5 x 600m at RP

  • 3-4min recovery

• 3 x 1000m at RP

  • 6-8min recovery

• 2000m at 95% RP + 1000 at 99% RP + 600m at RP

  • 6min recovery

Notes on Race Pace

“Race Pace” or RP is defined as the athlete’s current personal record, not their goal time. This ensures that the training intensity is appropriately challenging and relevant to the athlete’s current performance level.

Training Structure and Philosophy for Endurance Athletes

5000m (13:00 PR)

• 15 x 400m at 104% RP, 45sec recovery
• 10 x 600m at 102-104% RP, 1:30-2:00 recovery
• 6 x 1000m at 100-103% RP, 2-3min recovery
• 3 x 2000m at 98-99% RP, 3-4min recovery
• 3000m at 98% RP + 2000m at 98% RP + 1000m at RP, 5-6min recovery

10000m (26:40 PR)

• 15 x 600m at 101-103% RP, 1:30 recovery
• 10 x 1000m at 101-103% RP, 1:30-2:00 recovery
• 4 x 2000m at 102% + 1 x 1000m at 107% RP, 4min recovery
• 3000m at RP + 2 x 2000m at RP + 4 x 1000m at 103% RP, 3min between 3000m / 2000m, 2min between 2000m, 1:30 between 1000m

Half-Marathon (59:47 PR)

• 7 x 2000m at 100-102% RP, 400m recovery in 2min
• 5 x 3000m at 101% RP, 1000m recovery at 85-87% RP
• 3 x 5000m at 99% RP, 1000m recovery at 85% RP
• 15 km long run at 102% RP
• 25 km long run at 97% RP

Marathon (2:05 PR)

• 6 x 4000m at 102% RP, 1000m recovery at 89% RP
• 5 x 5000m at 101% RP, 1000m recovery at 89% RP
• 4 x 6000m at 101% RP, 1000m recovery at 89% RP
• 4 x 7000m at 99% RP, 1000m recovery at 91% RP
• 5 x 2000m at 105% RP during a 35km (22mi) long run at 91% RP
• 25 km (15.5mi) long run at 102% RP
• 30 km (18.5mi) long run at RP
• 35 km (22mi) long run at 97% RP
• 40 km (25mi) long run at 92% RP

Key Coaching Points

There are two important things to note about these specific workouts. The first is that, especially for the shorter distances, most of the workouts are not extraordinarily challenging when translated to relative paces. For example, Canova prescribes 8x400m at 1500m race pace with two minutes recovery, but ten or even twelve 400s at 1500m race pace is a common high school and college workout—with half the recovery! Likewise, many college distance runners would scoff at “only” six 1km repeats at 5k pace. As with Canova’s philosophy on running close to the aerobic threshold during the fundamental period, it seems that most of the time, middle- and long-distance track specialists are best served by refraining from pushing themselves to their absolute limit in workouts. A notable exception to this is the “specific block” days, in which the difficulty is compounded by the double workouts. This is in line with Canova’s philosophy of increasing modulation—just as there are workouts and easy days, there are harder workouts interspersed among moderate ones. However, these workouts are only examples and as mentioned earlier, fitter, more experienced athletes will do longer and more difficult workouts, as they require a greater stimulus. Moses Mosop, for example, completed two sets of 10x400m in 59-62sec during one workout while training for the 2011 Boston Marathon. Additionally, Canova insists that

Training Structure and Evolution

Workouts must continually evolve to maintain effectiveness. For example, an 8x400m workout should not remain static; it should change by increasing volume, duration, or decreasing recovery intervals. This evolution ensures the athlete receives varied and progressive stimuli.

Race Simulation Workouts

In many workouts, athletes are required to complete volumes and speeds exceeding their race distance and personal records. These workouts are often done 1-3% faster than the athlete’s current PR. The structure includes:

• Long repetitions at 95-98% of race pace
• Shorter repetitions at or just below current race pace
• Final repeats at up to 7% faster than race pace

This type of workout embodies Canova’s philosophy of building the perfect race from the ground up. Athletes simulate the entire race in their training, ensuring they are mentally and physically prepared to run their best.

Mileage for Marathon Training

Traditionally, marathoners are expected to run high volumes, often upwards of 20 miles a day. However, athletes like James Kwambi and Duncan Kibet achieve 2:04 marathons with only 80-90 miles a week, often running once per day. In contrast, other elite marathoners like Martin Lel and Robert Cheruiyot maintain 135-150 miles per week.

Comparative Mileage Analysis

• Low-mileage marathoners run 60% of their mileage near marathon pace (50 miles a week).
• Higher-volume runners do less than 37 miles per week near marathon pace, representing only 25-30% of their weekly volume.

Canova’s Thesis on High Mileage

Canova argues that high mileage training exists only to support the body’s ability to do race-specific training. He acknowledges that high mileage can promote capillary growth and mitochondrial growth but points out that these benefits plateau once the athlete has maximized their mitochondrial density and capillary beds. Continuing high-volume training beyond this point leads to stagnation.

Training must evolve continually. Canova questions the utility of training at a speed of 6:00 per mile for an athlete capable of running 42 km under 3’/km. To him, high-volume training for marathoners is only to support the ability to complete long fast runs of 15-25 miles at a high percentage of marathon pace. Once the athlete can complete these workouts, further high-volume training is unnecessary.

Training Philosophy and Structure

In the marathon, the long-fast run plays an additional role—training the body to burn fats as an efficient fuel during fast running. In this case, if an athlete does a 19-mile long-fast run and slows considerably after 17 miles once he runs out of glycogen in his muscles, the important training is in the final two miles—it is only when the body is put into crisis that it can learn to burn fats as a fuel to run fast. So the real training is the last two miles—not the 17 that came before. A long slow run cannot accomplish this, because it does not deplete muscle glycogen and it is too slow to put the body in crisis. This new style of training, coupled with young sub-27:00 10k athletes running the marathon in their prime, has resulted in the surge of sub-2:07 and sub-2:05 marathons in recent years.

Clearly, Canova takes a significantly different approach to training than any other well-known coach. Bettering personal records is simply a problem of mathematics—how to sustain the proper pace for a given distance. The solution, according to Canova, is the gradual convergence of extension and speed, supported by a strong base of general fitness which enables the race-specific work. The introductory period builds general running fitness, which supports the long-fast running in the fundamental period. The extension of endurance at slower than race pace is supplemented by shorter work at faster than race pace during the special period. These converge towards race-pace work during the specific period, which is the most important work an athlete does. The race-specific work must be focused on extending race-specific endurance, so workouts are always progressing in this direction. Finally, Canova does not replace old workouts with new ones, but adds new workouts to the training program. “Training is not to replace, but to ADD,” says Canova. Though the individual workouts that make up Renato Canova’s training program are by no means new, they are organized and developed in a novel way, with a philosophical underpinning that is radically different than most coaching philosophies. But the results speak for themselves—Renato Canova has coached dozens of athletes to world-class performances and he is arguably the most successful coach in the world.

Note on Percentage Calculations

A note on percentages: Renato Canova calculates percentages of speeds differently than most Americans. For example, to calculate 90% of 5:00 mile pace, an American would do the following:

5:00 0.90 = 5:33.3

However, Renato Canova does the following:

5:00 100 × 10 + 5:00 = 5:30.0

While the difference here is small, it can become significant in different scenarios. The logic is that 90% slower than 5:00 pace is that same pace plus 10%.