I am a 5" 7 17 yr old male, and I'm looking for ways to run faster, preferably short distances, races... no diet or drugs.. or heavy weight systems.. any suggestions?

Different things will work for different people but one way is by breaking up your run.

Sprint for a minute or two, run for a couple minutes, sprint, run, and so on. Work up to a bit longer sprints and shorter "break" times. Eventually you will build the endurance for both speed and distance.

How short distance are you talking about? About 10 to 20 % of your workout should be dedicated toward speed workouts, the remainder for distance(assuming you're talking about a mile or more racing). Some of the best speed workouts involve running/jogging with no walking breaks. Also, running on grass or dirt will give better results than running on concrete or a track. Running stadiums is good practice, as well as weight lifting. Crosstraining with weights is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall running preformance.

Practice sprinting, perhaps with weights (they have sand vests you can wear at sports goods shops)

Ok, I have ankle weights, and I mean like simple 50 yard dashes, but running miles and stuff is also good

Sprinting requires muscles that are strong, explosive, but may not have much endurance.
Anaerobic.

Longer distances, > than half mile require muscle fibers built for endurance and aerobic efficiency.

Skeletal muscle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_muscle)

In addition to wind sprints, work the gluteal and hamstring muscles. Low rep, higher resistance.





G&P

Do some reseach on fast twitch v slow twitch muscles. They control explosive moves v endurance.