TPPC TRAINING DAY · 5 SEPTEMBER 2026
Threshold & Sustainable Speed
Learn how to make harder running more purposeful, understand where threshold work fits into endurance training and put the ideas into practice in a coached session.
A practical half-day for runners who want to understand their training better — not simply be told how hard to run.
Saturday 5 September 2026
08:30–12:30
Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset
£85 per person
A practical half-day combining accessible education, coached running and individual guidance to help you understand threshold training and use harder aerobic work with more purpose.
Saturday 5 September 2026 · 08:30–12:30
Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset
Places are limited to keep the day interactive and personal.
Make sense of threshold training — and use it with more purpose.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Threshold is one of the most commonly used terms in endurance training — and one of the easiest to oversimplify.
During the morning we'll look at what coaches and researchers actually mean when they talk about thresholds, how sustainable intensity changes as running gets harder, and why there isn't one magic pace that every runner should simply aim to hit.
The aim isn't to turn you into an exercise physiologist. It's to give you a clearer framework for understanding harder aerobic training and making better decisions about how you use it.
01 — Understand
Explore what terms such as lactate threshold, ventilatory threshold, maximal lactate steady state and critical speed are trying to describe — without getting lost in unnecessary jargon.
Understand threshold
02 — Control
Learn how pace, heart rate, perceived effort and your own responses can help you judge the intensity of a session rather than becoming dependent on one number.
Judge the effort
03 — Structure
Look at how interval duration, recovery, total work and intensity change the demands of a workout — and why two sessions labelled “threshold” may be very different.
Build better sessions
04 — Apply
Consider where this type of work can sit within a wider endurance programme and how it should relate to easy running, harder sessions, recovery and your individual goals.
Fit it into training
Leave understanding the purpose of the session — not just the pace on your watch.
Learn it. Run it. Understand what happened.
THE MORNING
The morning moves between explanation and practice so you can connect the ideas we discuss with what you actually experience while running.
The practical session isn't a race or a test of who can run fastest. It's a coached opportunity to explore controlled harder running and learn how effort, pace, heart rate and your own sensations change through the session.
08:30 — Welcome
Meet the group, talk through the morning and establish what you'd personally like to get from the session.
Welcome & coffee
08:45 — Understand
We'll unpack the terminology, look at sustainable versus progressively unsustainable intensity and discuss how pace, heart rate and perceived effort can all contribute useful information.
Making sense of threshold
09:30 — Run
After an easy warm-up and preparation, we'll complete a controlled interval session designed to let you explore sustainable harder running.
Coached practical session
10:40 — Review
After a short break, we'll look back at the session: how effort changed, what your watch told you, what it didn't tell you and how the different repetitions compared.
What did you notice?
11:15 — Apply
We'll look at ways threshold-style sessions can be structured and discuss how harder aerobic work might fit around easy running, recovery and the rest of your programme.
Build it into your own training
12:10–12:30 — Questions
Bring the morning together, ask anything we haven't covered and leave with clear ideas you can apply afterwards.
Takeaways & Q&A
You don't need to know your threshold pace before you arrive.
IS THIS FOR YOU?
This day is designed for runners who already do some regular running and want to understand harder aerobic training more clearly.
You don't need laboratory testing, a particular race time or previous experience of structured threshold sessions.
What matters more is that you're comfortable completing a normal training run, interested in learning and happy to work at an effort appropriate to you rather than trying to match somebody else's pace.
01 — You want to learn
You'd like to understand what threshold training is trying to achieve, how to judge the effort and why different sessions may be structured differently.
You want more than a workout
02 — You have a goal
You may be working towards a marathon, ultra, shorter race or simply trying to become a stronger endurance runner.
You're training with purpose
03 — You want practical experience
You want the opportunity to connect the theory with a coached session, ask questions and reflect on how the effort actually felt.
You learn by doing
The session is about finding the right effort for you — not keeping up with the fastest runner there.
TRAINING DAY FEEDBACK
Useful on the day. Useful afterwards.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the training day with Tom. It was a great opportunity to understand more about the optimal way to train and how to get the most out of each training session.
It was a nice change to have like-minded people to train with, the group was very friendly and inclusive and Tom is extremely knowledgeable. I would highly recommend the workshop to anyone considering signing up.”
The aim is for you to leave with more than a good morning of running — you should understand more about your training and have ideas you can put into practice afterwards.
TPPC Training Day attendee
“Not only is Tom incredibly knowledgeable about all things running, he is so adept at sharing ideas in a way that is engaging, encouraging and inspiring.
I took away an awful lot that I can’t wait to put into practice and am already looking forward to the next one.”
TPPC Training Day attendee
Learn something. Try it. Take it back into your own training.
Four hours built around learning, running and individual understanding.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Your place covers the complete 08:30–12:30 Training Day — from the introductory teaching through the coached practical session, review and discussion afterwards.
The aim is to keep the group small enough that you can ask questions, receive guidance and connect what we're discussing to your own running.
01 — Education
A guided look at threshold and sustainable harder running, without turning the morning into a physiology lecture.
Clear, accessible learning
02 — Practical coaching
Put the ideas into practice in a structured session, with the emphasis on finding an appropriate effort for you.
A coached running session
03 — Review
Look back at what happened in the session, compare what you felt with what your watch showed and ask questions about what it means.
Feedback & discussion
04 — Application
Leave with a clearer understanding of how this type of training can be used and adapted within your own programme.
Ideas to take away
£85 per person
Saturday 5 September 2026 · 08:30–12:30 · Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset
A practical half-day combining accessible education, coached running and individual guidance to help you understand threshold training and use harder aerobic work with more purpose.
Saturday 5 September 2026 · 08:30–12:30
Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset
Places are limited.
Simple, practical and ready to run.
ON THE DAY
The Training Day is based at Avon Heath Country Park in Dorset, with the teaching and practical running organised from the same general event base.
You’ll receive the exact meeting point and final practical information before the day, so you know where to go and what to bring.
01 — Where
Avon Heath Country Park
The event is based at Avon Heath Country Park, with the practical running taking place in the surrounding area.
Exact meeting instructions will be sent before the event.
Dorset
02 — What to bring
Bring suitable running shoes and clothing for the expected conditions, along with hydration and any nutrition you normally use during training.
If anything additional is needed for this specific session, I’ll let you know beforehand.
Come ready to run
03 — Conditions
The practical work is about achieving the purpose of the session rather than completing one rigid workout exactly as written.
The session can be adjusted to the group, individual runners and the conditions on the day.
The session can adapt
You don’t need specialist testing equipment or any previous threshold data to take part.
Anything else you need to know?
TRAINING DAY FAQ
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No. You don’t need any previous physiological testing, threshold data or a particular pace in mind.
Part of the morning is about understanding different ways of judging harder aerobic running and learning how your own effort, pace, heart rate and feedback can contribute to that picture.
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You should already be doing some regular running and be comfortable completing a normal training run.
You don’t need to be particularly fast. The practical work is based around an appropriate effort for each runner rather than everyone trying to run at the same pace.
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No. The purpose is to learn from the session, not to establish who is fastest.
You’ll be encouraged to keep the work controlled and use the session to explore how the effort feels and how your response changes.
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Bring running shoes and clothing suitable for the forecast, along with hydration and any nutrition you normally use during training.
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The event will normally continue in a range of running conditions.
If conditions mean the practical session needs to change for safety or to preserve the purpose of the training, it will be adapted accordingly.
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No. Food and drink are not included in the event price.
There is a café at Avon Heath Country Park where food and drinks can be purchased during the morning.
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Yes. Paid parking is available at Avon Heath Country Park.
The exact meeting point and any additional arrival information will be sent before the Training Day.
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You’ll receive confirmation of your place. Before the Training Day, I’ll send the practical information you need, including the meeting point, what to bring and anything you need to know in advance.
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If you can no longer attend, please let me know as soon as possible.
I don't normally offer cash refunds when an attendee cancels, but the amount you've paid can be transferred as credit towards a future TPPC Training Day or event, subject to availability.
If TPPC cancels the event, you'll receive a full refund.
This does not affect your statutory rights.
Here are some of the questions you might have before booking. If there’s something else you’d like to know, you can always get in touch.
Put threshold training into practice.
READY TO JOIN?
Spend a morning learning what threshold training is actually trying to achieve, put the ideas into practice in a coached session and leave with a clearer understanding of how to use harder aerobic running in your own training.
You don’t need a particular pace, laboratory testing or previous threshold data — just some regular running experience and a willingness to learn.
Saturday 5 September 2026
08:30–12:30
Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset
£85 per person
A practical half-day combining accessible education, coached running and individual guidance to help you understand threshold training and use harder aerobic work with more purpose.
Saturday 5 September 2026 · 08:30–12:30
Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset
Places are limited to keep the Training Day interactive and personal.