Increasing Running Time/Endurance

Q. I'm enlisting in the Navy and am trying to improve my running time. How can I do this?

A. I used to have zero endurance (I was about 250lbs at one point), but here's a program that helped me. They give this to Marine Corps officer hopefuls, so you know it's "good enough" for Navy boot camp :)

Day 1: Timed Run. Run, walk, jog, skip, or crawl as fast as you can 1.5-3 miles and time it. Beat this next time you do your timed run.

Day 2: Sprint Intervals. Use the distance from day 1. Start jogging for 2 minutes, then sprint as fast as you can for 100-200 meters.

Day 3: Endurance Run. Double the distance of day 1, pick a hard-but-maintainable pace, and run it. You should be running fast enough where it's difficult to maintain a conversation. Bonus points for singing cadence...the reason they do this is because it increases lung function/capacity.

Day 4: Hill Sprints. Sprint as fast as you can uphill for 200-400 meters, jog back down, rest 1 minute. Repeat 10 times.

Day 5: Rest.

Day 6: Start over with day 1.