If Your Goal Is To: Make the Most of 20 Minutes

Try This: Warm up at a slow to moderate pace for five minutes, then increase the speed to race pace and hold it for 10 minutes for a hard tempo. Cool down for five minutes.

If Your Goal Is To: Beat Boredom (and Get Wicked Fast)

Try This: Watch TV. During the show, run at an easy-moderate pace, then punch up the speed to run hard for the duration of the commercial break. Return to your moderate pace when the show resumes. If no TV is available, listen to music, varying your pace or effort by song.

If Your Goal Is To: Improve Speed at Any Distance

Try This: Set the treadmill to a two percent incline. After warming up, match speedy segments with equal recovery (e.g., one minute hard, one minute recovery) for 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 minutes, then cool down. “The idea is to run your 10-K pace in a broken tempo format,” says coach Brad Hudson of Hudson Training Systems in Boulder, Colorado.

If Your Goal Is To: Return from Injury or Illness

Try This: Alternate jogging and walking—two minutes jogging, two minutes walking—for a total of 20 to 30 minutes. If your injury or illness doesn’t flare up, increase the run interval during subsequent workouts to three minutes, then four, then five (and so on), and bring the walking segment down to one minute in between.

If Your Goal Is To: Introduce Your Legs to the Treadmill

Try This: Start at an easy pace. After five minutes, crank up the speed by .5 mph for one minute, then back down to your easy pace for two minutes. Crank up the incline by .5 percent for one minute, then back down for two minutes. Continue alternating, experimenting with pace and incline.

If Your Goal Is To: Finish Your Marathon Strong

Try This: Run four miles at 30 seconds slower than your marathon pace; then four miles at 15 seconds slower than race pace; then four miles at race pace; then four miles at 15 seconds faster than race pace. “This trains your body to go fast when you’re tired, but is best done in the last phase of training,” says coach Dan Guillory of West Coast Road Runners.

If Your Goal Is To: Chew Up Hills and Spit ’Em Out

Try This: After warming up, increase the incline to four to five percent and run at an effort between your marathon and half-marathon pace for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool down. “This workout will get you really strong while increasing overall endurance,” says Hudson.

Get more information about treadmills, including treadmill reviews and workouts, on our treadmill page.

Lisa Jhung Lisa Jhung writes about all things adventure and is the author of Running That Doesn't Suck: How To Love Running (Even If You Think You Hate It) and Trailhead: The Dirt on All Things Trail Running.

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