Tempo run vs interval run: which one do you need?

Tempo run vs interval run is the running equivalent of "squats or deadlifts?" The honest answer is "both, in proportion", which is annoying, so most people pick whichever one they enjoy and do it every week forever.

Here's the less annoying version. A tempo run is a long, steady, comfortably hard effort that raises how much of your aerobic engine you can use for a long time. An interval run is a set of short, very hard reps that raise the size of the engine itself. Which one you need more depends on your race, your current fitness and how many hard days your week can hold. This post covers the difference, who needs which, and how to fit both around lifting, whether you plan it yourself or use a running app that also plans your strength work.

Tempo run vs interval run: the short version

The zones are from the five-zone, percent-of-max model we use across this blog: zone 4 is 80–90% of max heart rate, zone 5 is 90–100%. To get those bands in beats per minute, find your heart rate zones from your max heart rate.

What a tempo run is

A tempo run is a sustained effort just under or around your lactate threshold, the highest intensity at which lactate production and clearance still balance out (Faude, Kindermann and Meyer, 2009). Below it, a hard pace is sustainable for a long time. Above it, the clock starts ticking.

Running at that line teaches your body to hold faster paces for longer. That's why most coaches tie tempo work to your threshold pace: it's the number tempo runs are built around, and the number they're meant to push up.

A typical tempo run: 10–15 minutes easy, 20–30 minutes at RPE 7, 10 minutes easy. You finish tired but in control, feeling like you could have gone a bit longer. Pace, length and how often are covered in detail in our guide to tempo runs.

Where threshold runs fit

Tempo and threshold runs are close cousins. Where coaches separate them, a threshold run sits right at your threshold, often in reps (like 4 × 8 minutes), while a tempo run is a touch easier, a bit longer and more often continuous. If you're unsure what is a threshold run compared with a tempo run, think of threshold as the sharper dial setting of the same workout. Both sit on the tempo side of this comparison.

What an interval run is

An interval run is a set of hard reps with planned recoveries: something like 5 × 3 minutes hard with 2–3 minutes of easy jogging between. The goal is to spend several minutes near your aerobic ceiling, which a review of interval programming describes as at least 90% of VO2 max (Buchheit and Laursen, 2013).

The best-known evidence is Helgerud et al. (2007). Forty moderately trained men trained three days a week for eight weeks, with the same total work in each group. The groups running intervals at 90–95% of max heart rate, including 4 × 4 minutes, improved VO2 max significantly more than the group training at lactate threshold (85% of max) or long and slow (70% of max).

For the full menu of sessions, rep lengths and progressions, see our guide to VO2 max workouts.

Which one do you need?

Choose more tempo if:

• ›You're training for a half marathon, marathon or Hyrox. Long events are run below threshold; raising it lets you hold faster paces for longer.
• ›You fade in the second half of races. That's often a threshold problem, not a ceiling problem.
• ›You're newer to hard running. Tempo is more controlled and easier to pace than intervals, and it's harder to accidentally dig a hole.
• ›Your week is already heavy on legs. A tempo run is still a hard day, but it's usually less of a beating than a hard interval session.

Choose more intervals if:

• ›You're training for a 5K or 10K. Those races sit close to your aerobic ceiling, so raising the ceiling shows up fast.
• ›Your threshold work has stalled. If tempo runs feel fine but your race times have stopped improving, the ceiling may be what's limiting you.
• ›You've got a solid base and limited time. Intervals pack a lot of stimulus into a short session.

Or do both

Most plans use both, just not in equal amounts and not on neighboring days. In a nine-week trial in well-trained athletes, a polarized mix (mostly easy running plus high-intensity intervals) improved most key endurance markers more than a threshold-focused program (Stöggl and Sperlich, 2014). Those were trained athletes, so treat it as direction. But it's a good argument against a plan that's nothing but tempo.

It's also a good argument against nothing but intervals. Threshold raises how much of your engine you can use; intervals raise the engine. You need some of each, and if your goal is specifically how to improve VO2 max, the answer is mostly easy running plus a small, regular dose of intervals.

How many hard runs a week?

The rest of the week decides this. Across descriptive studies of competitive endurance athletes, about 80% of sessions were at low intensity and about 20% hard (Seiler, 2010). For most recreational runners that means one or two hard sessions a week, not three.

By race phase, as a coaching convention:

• ›Base phase: mostly easy, with one tempo or a light fartlek.
• ›Build phase for a 5K or 10K: intervals become the priority session, tempo supports.
• ›Build phase for a half or marathon: tempo and threshold become the priority, intervals in smaller doses.
• ›Taper: both get shorter, neither disappears. The day before a race, neither: the shakeout run is short and easy.

Tempo and intervals for runners who lift

Both are hard days. A 30-minute tempo at RPE 7 and a 4 × 4 session both belong in the same weekly fatigue budget as heavy squats.

A running-priority week with lifting:

Rules that make it work:

• ›Never heavy legs the day before intervals or the long run.
• ›Keep tempo and intervals at least two days apart.
• ›Run first if you double up, and pair hard runs with upper-body lifting.

After either session, eat a normal meal with some carbohydrate and protein; what to eat after 5k races and hard workouts follows the same general logic.

Common mistakes

• ›Running tempo too fast. If you can't speak in short phrases, it's become a race or an interval.
• ›Running intervals too slow. If you could chat during the reps, they're a tempo with breaks.
• ›Doing both every week at full dose. Two hard sessions plus a long run plus heavy lifting is a lot. Scale one down.
• ›Picking by preference. You probably avoid the one you need most.

How exrsz handles tempo and intervals

exrsz builds a periodized plan from your goal, schedule, level and equipment, choosing tempo, threshold or interval sessions for the phase you're in and the race you're training for. It balances those hard days against your lifting in one plan, adapts each week to how you actually trained, and reshuffles missed sessions so two hard runs don't end up back to back.

FAQ

What is the difference between a tempo run and an interval run?

A tempo run is a sustained, comfortably hard effort around your threshold (zone 4, RPE about 7) for 20–40 minutes. An interval run is a set of shorter, very hard reps (zone 5, RPE 8–9) with recoveries between them.

Is a tempo run or interval run better for VO2 max?

Intervals, in most studies. In one eight-week trial, intervals at 90–95% of max heart rate improved VO2 max more than the same total work at lactate threshold (Helgerud et al., 2007).

Which is better for a half marathon, tempo or intervals?

Tempo and threshold work usually take priority for a half marathon, because the race is run just under threshold. Keep a smaller dose of intervals in the build.

Can I do a tempo run and intervals in the same week?

Yes. Most plans do, with at least two days between them and easy running around both. Keep heavy lower-body lifting off the day before either one.

How often should I do tempo runs and intervals?

One or two hard sessions a week suits most recreational runners, with everything else easy, in line with the roughly 80/20 easy-to-hard pattern seen in competitive endurance athletes (Seiler, 2010).