2 personal bests in 2 weeks
KULG runner Jekaterina set a goal of breaking 1:50 in the half-marathon this year, after running 1:52 last season. Despite a challenging year, she not only achieved her goal - she crushed it with a 1:47:59 personal best in Valencia this October. But she also shaved nearly 1.5 minutes off her 10K record, running 47:28 just a week earlier!
“I took a closer look at my training with KULG and started following the 80/20 split. That’s when things really began to shift.”
Jekaterina, KULG runner
As it often happens, the start of the year didn’t go as planned. She fell sick, which impacted her training for the first seven months. Instead of increasing her volume, she actually had to reduce it: from January to July 2025, she ran 1,307 km, compared to 1,441 km during the same period in 2024.
But things began to shift in August when she started using KULG to monitor her training and made several key adjustments. According to KULG, in the 14 weeks leading up to her goal race, Jekaterina's weekly aerobic fitness increased by an impressive 5.93%. This is measured by comparing the 14-week average weekly HR vs speed to the same ratio at peak week.
How did she do it?
First, she spent more time in lower heart-rate zones and reduced her time in Z3. In other words, she ran her easy runs with less strain on her body.
Second, she added short, very easy morning runs to her routine, increasing her training frequency and allowing her to build volume sustainably.
Third, she regularly incorporated higher-intensity sessions - tempo runs, hill intervals, and strides - while keeping the proportion of hard training under 20% over the next 2.5 months.
What an inspiring journey! Jekaterina shows what’s possible when you train smart. It’s not just about doing more. It's about doing what works. We couldn’t be happier for her!
