Training Methods to improve Kick

Training your short sprinting ability is important (fast 30-50m sprints with full recovery), but you'll get the biggest bang for your buck by being less fatigued with 400 or 200m to go. You can achieve this through threshold training.

A kick lookes nice and flashy but it is more a sign of subpar pacing in the race. I would say try workouts where you work on stride length(making it as long as possible) and ones where you work on making strides very short. So 100 meters with extra long/short strides added on to strides after normal miles days.

This is just what I've found that works for me personal preference and all that.

You don't need a better kick, you need to not go out in 63. If your PR is 4:30, going out faster than 66 is just stupid racing, especially if you've done it multiple times with similar results.

For others who actually need to improve their kicks, I'm with the majority of the posters here in saying that a kick is 90% or more the results of having less fatigue than your competitors, so training to have a kick just means training to race faster (ie, what you should already be doing).

The remaining less than 10% is partially mental and partially sprint speed.

Training sprint speed allows you to recruit more muscles fibers, which could make a small difference over the last 150m. Sprint training should be done first with short hill sprints (8-10 sec w/ 4 min recovery) that transition into flying 30-50m sprints w/ 1 min of rest per 10 meters. You don't need a lot. For distance runners, I would keep it to 3-5 of either kind of sprint. This isn't something to add in May. For runners whose main event is 1500/1600 or above, I do these throughout the summer and winter but mostly or completely drop them April (for track) or September (for XC). They can go the day before or after a threshold workout without any ill effects, in my experience.

For the mental aspect, the best thing to do is build automaticity. You should never arrive at the final 300 of a workout feeling the same way you do in the final 300 of a 1600, but you can still build habits that will lead to a good kick.

Early in the season, my runners do 300s at 1600 pace. On the last couple of reps, they are supposed to start normal then pick it up every 100 meters. In the middle of the season, I add workouts like 4-5x600 at 1600 pace w/ a 300m pickup on the last rep (once again, getting faster every 100). At the same time, we do things like 1000s at 5k pace w/ the last 300m at 1600 pace. Finally, in peaking season (when we're mostly maintaining and trying to feel good), I like 3x600 at 1600 pace with a fast finish on every rep. My goal is to teach my kids to hit the backstretch hard then keep pushing.

There are 4:30 guys that can run 9:30, so his 9:55 PR suggests he should focus on improving his strength, rather than worrying about his kick.

A good kick in running depends on many factors, and it's unique to each runner. To give you the best advice, we would need to know more about your running style. It seems you're not satisfied with your mile race. Maybe reversing your first and last lap splits (e.g., 68, 69, 70, 63) could help. Or, consider pacing more consistently in the beginning to save energy for a strong finish.

I think besides speed workouts running fast when you’re already tired teaches the body to do it when fatigued. I used to have no kick in college and a coach gave me the idea of doing a tag 400 at the end of my workouts like 5xmile and over time I got that 400 down to low 60. And instead of going backwards in my races I was able to out kick people I couldnt before.

It’s an issue with you racing like a moran, not a problem with your kick

A wealth of knowledge in this post.

Notice how the world's best middle-long distance runners do it. Even in fast races with rabbits, their last lap is always the fastest.

It takes practice to learn yourself and how to gauge your effort. Be patient.