How many times have we found ourselves unable to finish a race as well as we would have liked? Sometimes your legs just can't get it done in those last 100-200m. So how do you fix that? Traditional methods would be to do more speed work such as 100-150m fast strides or 200m repeats. While these workouts will help you to get some extra leg speed, you may still find it difficult to shift gears and transition into a full-on sprint in the final stages of a race. If you are having problems with this, the answer is simple. You need to simulate the fatigue of a race and practice shifting gears. Here are a couple workouts you can do to teach your body how to do that: *5 x 1000m [1st 800m @5k pace, last 200m @800m pace] w/ 400m jog in between (Designed more for a 5k race) *3 x 2000m [1st 200m @800m pace, middle 1600m @tempo pace, last 200m @800 pace] w/ 2:1 rest-ratio (for example, if you ran the entire 2000m in 8:00, your rest time would be about 4:00). The second workout will not only teach you to shift gears, but it will also serve as a modified, more intense lactate threshold (AKA tempo) run with a bit more lactic acid build-up, which will also simulate the end of a race. The idea is to be aggressive the first 200m, then back off to tempo pace and settle in to that pace, then accelerate again the last 200m. You should find that during the middle 1600m you feel more and more comfortable leading up to the last 200m. These workouts, just like every workout, are not set in stone. You can modify them to fit your needs. It is good to also keep in those 100-150m strides and 200m repeats, too, as those also build the necessary speed you'll need at the end of a race. The main purpose of those two workouts I mentioned is to strengthen your ability to shift into your sprint at the end of a race more easily. If you can learn to shift gears easily at the end of a race, you'll be amazed at how fast you feel. The ability to accelerate from normal race pace to fast sprint in just a few steps is a skill that takes time to develop, but when mastered it is one of the key elements that will improve your race performance.