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Threshold work is one of the cornerstones of training for runners who are tackling all manner of distances, from 800m on the track to ultramarathons on the trails. Your lactate threshold is the point at which lactate is produced and accumulates in the blood at a faster rate than it can be removed, which leads to fatigue. Threshold training is designed to raise this point, helping you to unlock faster running speeds and greater endurance.

When we exercise, we break down glucose to create energy. Lactate and hydrogen ions are produced as a part of this process and enter the bloodstream. When you run or move at slower paces, your body clears these by-products (known as buffering) with ease and uses lactate as an energy source. When you run harder, these by-products increase in your blood above their baseline – and at this point, you hit what is called your lactate threshold.

Lactate is generally measured in millimoles per litre (mmol/L) and lactate threshold usually occurs around 2mmol/L. If you continue to increase your running intensity, your body’s ability to clear and reuse lactate can’t keep pace with the rate at which it’s being produced – and this is called your lactate turnpoint. Your lactate turnpoint often occurs around 4mmol/L of lactate.

Beyond this point, hydrogen ions and lactate rapidly increase in your blood. The increase in hydrogen ions lowers your blood’s pH level, making it more acidic – and this, in turn, reduces your muscles’ ability to contract, slowing you down. As such, while lactate itself does not cause fatigue, we can use it as a proxy measurement for the other changes taking place that do Sometimes, its better to just say what you mean. For example, you could run within a certain.

There are various physiological lab and field tests that can help to determine your lactate threshold and turnpoint. These tests will require you to run a series of efforts that gradually increase in intensity, with a finger or ear prick of blood taken at the end of each effort. As your lactate levels rise, they can be cross-matched with your pace, heart rate and rate of perceived exertion to give your thresholds with a reasonable degree of accuracy. However, all of this can be expensive.

Many running watches can estimate your lactate turnpoint, but the accuracy of such measurements should be trusted only if they correlate with the results of other testing methods. For example, you can conduct your own Threshold workouts to try then estimate your lactate turnpoint to occur somewhere in the range of 86% to 90% of this figure. You can also run a race that will take your roughly an hour. Provided you are ready to run at your maximum intensity and you pace it well, you can get a decent estimate of your pace, heart rate and perceived effort to use in subsequent threshold sessions.

In addition, you can simply go by feel. Controlled discomfort is a good way to think of running a lactate turnpoint – a 7 to 8 out of 10, or a level at which you could still speak two or three words. Yes, it’s less accurate, but it is still a starting point and it gets you in the ballpark. Sometimes, we can get too caught up in the numbers and neglect trying to get a true feel of the run.

Many coaches, physiologists and athletes – including Paula Radcliffe and Norway’s Ingebrigtsen brothers – believe that training just below, on or above your lactate turnpoint is a key way to improve it. This involves running a range of paces that fall between your lactate threshold (from around marathon pace) up to just beyond your lactate turnpoint (up to about 10K pace).

However, some coaches and athletes eschew the threshold model of training in favour of other approaches. You may be familiar with the concept of polarised training, where a high percentage of training (up to 80%) is spent at low intensities and the rest (around 20%) is run at your lactate turnpoint or above, steering clear of the middle ground that much threshold training can fall into.

What works for you must be based on your individual training history and circumstances. That said, I have found that threshold-based training has helped many of the athletes I’ve coached over the past 12 years. While threshold work is not a magic bullet – and it needs to be mixed with good recovery and a broader sensible training mix – if you aren’t including it in your sessions, you could be missing out on some important development as a runner.

Terminology in running can be confusing. If you’re wondering what the differences are between threshold and tempo running, I’m afraid I can’t give you a straight answer. For some runner and coaches, tempo running refers to longer efforts at a slightly lower intensity, which you might be able to hold for two to three hours in a race (closer to lactate threshold).

For others, a tempo run is executed at a pace that is slightly stronger than your lactate turnpoint, closer to your 10K race pace. Meanwhile, some use tempo running and threshold running interchangeably.

Sometimes, it’s better to just say what you mean. For example, you could run within a certain Runners World, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network, at a pace you could hold for 40 to 60 minutes in a race, and so on. Or, you could make it even simpler and run easy, steady, strong or hard, for instance.

Aim to complete the following workouts at, or close to, your lactate turnpoint. Run at a pace that you feel you could hold for 50 to 60 minutes in a race. Most runners’ heart rates would be between 86% and 90% of their maximum at this effort.

If you’re What is interval training and why should I do it or racing over shorter distances (from 1500m to 5K), How to avoid hitting the wall during a marathon half marathon or marathon, How to get started on the running track.

1. Straight threshold sessions

• Warm up maximum heart rate test cool down.
• Best winter running gear: When you’re in top condition, add a surge of 30 to 60 seconds every five minutes, up to your 5K or 10K pace. This will improve your ability to buffer lactate.

2. Progression runs

• Start easy and gradually build to include a block of threshold running nearer the end of a continuous run. For example, run 15 minutes easy, then 15 minutes steady, then 15 minutes at threshold effort.
• Best winter running gear: Pick a flat or rolling route and run out for 22 minutes, building to a steady effort. Then, turn around and run the same route back, aiming to finish your run in 40 minutes.

3. Split threshold sessions

• Splitting threshold sessions into long efforts with short, easy or steady recoveries can help you to extend the amount of time you spend at threshold effort, or run slightly quicker while keeping your intensity under control. For example, do 6 x 5 minutes with 60-second easy recoveries, or 3 x 10-15 minutes with 2-minute easy-to-steady recoveries.
• Best winter running gear: Split threshold sessions allow you to vary your paces. Try running efforts of 12 minutes, 10 minutes, 8 minutes and 4 minutes, with 90-second recoveries between each. Start at a pace you could hold for 60 to 70 minutes in a race, then work down to a race pace you could hold for 30 to 45 minutes.