How to best train your running economy

Your running economy is one of three measurable factors that scientists discovered as essential for your running pace over distances between 3km and a marathon. Some scientist thinks that the running economy is more important than VO2-max because it's more trainable.

But what does an excellent running economy mean? And how do you at least train the running economy?

What does the word “running economy” mean?

The less oxygen your body needs to create momentum, the more economical your body is. Taken into a running context, this means you can run faster over a certain distance because your body utilises the oxygen intake the best way possible.

If your VO2-max is the engine, it's about optimising the horsepowers to reach the highest possible speed.

Many experts compare your running economy to a cars fuel economy, but that is wrong in my opinion because…

…your running economy is not the same as your energy economy!

Like car fuel is the cars energy source, then carbohydrates and fat are the body's primary energy source. The problem with using the fuel-analogy is that your running economy is a measurement of your oxygen intake utilisation – not your energy deposits.

You can easily have an excellent running economy, e.g. you teach the body to burn more fat while still having a lousy energy economy. The reason for it is you use approximately 10% more oxygen on burning fat relative to carbohydrates.

Studies by elite runners from Kenya and Eritrea showed that a good running economy is a reason for success on distances between 3 km and a marathon.

When improving your running economy, it's the same as a car mechanic improving a formula-1 drivers' ability to drive fast – without adjusting the engine's size.

6 Factors that influence your running economy

A wide range of different factors can influence your running economy.

Recent studies show that the lower leg’s size and the ability to utilise accumulated elastic energy in your tendons and muscles are essential. Our genetic heritage has certainly influenced both factors, but can also be improved with training.

Other factors that can affect your running economy is;

running technique, energy source choice, breathwork, and muscle fibre type composition.

How these factors affect your running economy

• Running technique: A less vertical lift in your push-off gives you a better running economy

• Energy source: Choosing carbohydrates as a substrate improves your running economy

• Breathwork: A lower respiratory rate improves your running economy.

• Muscle fibre type composition: Your enduring fibre is more economical than your explosive fibre

Luckily, these factors are all trainable – except for the last factor!

External factors also have an impact

Besides the factors that relate to ourselves physically, the environment around us can also impact our running economy, e.g. terrain, weather and wind, and wind resistance created by our clothing.

But because the article’s focus is factors you can train and influence yourself, you have to read different articles to learn more about external factors.

If you are interested in your current running economy, you can get it with a physiological running test. You can buy it at different training providers.

Your running economy is dependent on your pace!

Multiple studies of well trained and moderate trained runners indicate that your pace determines your running economy. It means that depending on the speed you are running, you can be more economical. Therefore it’s about being economical, at the given pace you run.

There is no benefit about being economical when you jog on your recovery runs if you are economical irresponsible at your 10 km pace!

You become more wasteful, the longer you run

Are you running longer distances such as half-marathon and marathons then you need to be aware that your running economy gets worse during the run.

The exact causes are yet clarified, but scientist believes that a strained breath and more extensive muscle fibre activation are probable causes.

Whether you can affect the deterioration by training is still an open question. No one has researched this exciting issue yet.

How to improve your running economy

If you want to improve your running economy, you can use a variety of different training methods.

Contrary to exercising your VO2-max, it doesn’t seem there is an upper limit for improving your running economy. Multiple studies on experienced runners show that these runners can significantly improve their run times even though their VO2-max is unchanged.

Some things point at that when running many kilometres throughout a long runner life it can improve your running economy.

A South African study from 1986 showed that runners who run more than 100 km a week have a significantly better running economy than those who run less than 100 km a week.

But what if you don’t have the time or the patience needed for running that many kilometres throughout the years?

Is there then something else you can do to take a “shortcut”

The answer is YES!

4 Strategies for improving your running economy

The results of multiple scientific studies show that there are four training strategies you can use if you quickly and purposefully want to improve your running economy.

The 4 strategies are:

• Sprint training

• Explosive strength training

• Training in competition pace

• Intensive training - typically intervals

Training at competition pace

The oldest of the three strategies is running at a pace you want to be great at running.

A walkthrough of the literature on the subject shows runners improve running at the pace they choose to train. Studies show that moderately trained runners only improve their running economy at the pace they choose to exercise, which is consistent with the hypothesis that you get better at what you train.

Intensive training

Likewise, scientific studies show improvement to our running economy by running at higher paces, i.e. paces that are higher than where we want to be good at running!

In a study on eight French elite runners from 1999, scientists discovered an improvement of the running economy by 6.1% at 14 km/h after only four intensive training weeks. During the four weeks, they did workouts where the pace for the two intensive workouts was resp. 17.6 km/h and 20.5 km/h

Intensive interval training has many benefits, but the running economy’s improvement is undoubtedly one of them.

Sprint training

New research points to sprint training when improving our running economy.

Since the millennium turn, sprint training can improve VO2-max, and as a result of this improving running performance with untrained runners. Within the last 4-5 years, the interest for sprint training is a training method for well-trained runners.

Danish studies showed that well-trained runners improved their times by 1 minute. The improvement occurred after 9 weeks with sprint intervals consisting of 12 x 30 seconds sprint <3 min="" pause=""> - 3-4 times weekly.

Interestingly, the improvements on the 10 km times in the research group happened due to an improved running economy.

3 things about sprint training you need to be aware of!

Even though it looks like sprint training makes you a better runner, there are some things you should pay attention to.

First...

Sprint training is straining the legs, and you risk injuries if you don’t proceed with caution.

When starting, only run a total of one sprint workouts a week.

Increase to a total of two workouts if you don’t feel any tenderness in the tendons, muscles and joints.

If you already know you quickly become injured by intensive training, then don’t use sprint interval.

Instead, you do some of the other training methods for improving your running economy.

Second....

Sprint training can be tough mentally.

Put in the way that if you, e.g. are a long-distance runner and more enjoy the longer workouts, then maybe the short intervals with long breaks isn’t very fun.

Therefore, you need to be willing to push past the things that are motivating and inspiring for you.

Third....

A larger focus on sprint training entails you automatically downplay other intense training.

Therefore, you need to consider if sprint training outweighs the downsides to this training method.

Examples of 10 sprint workouts - on distance

• 10 x 80 m

• 8 x 120 m

• 6 x 200 m <3 min="" break="">

• 5 x 300 m <5 min="" break="">

• 2 x 200 m + 4 x 120 m <3 min="" break="">

• 4 x 200 m + 6 x 80 m <3 min="" break="">

• 2 x 300 m + 2 x 200 m + 2 x 100 m + 2 x 80 m

• 2 x (80 m-100 m-120 m-200 m-200 m-120 m-100 m-80 m)

• 3 x (80 m-100 m-120 m-120 m-100 m-80 m)

• 4 x (60 m-80 m-100 m-100 m-80 m-60 m)

Examples of 5 sprint workouts - on time

• 10-20-30 seconds (10 sec. sprint-20 sec. moderate pace-30 sec. jog) repeated 10-15 times

• 6 x 30 seconds <3 min="" break="">

• 10 x 15 seconds <3 min="" break="">

• 4 x (30 sec.- 20 sec.-10 sec.)

• 2 x (10 sec.-20 sec.-30 sec.-30 sec.-20 sec.-10 sec.)

Explosive strength training

Strength training can improve your running economy if you have the time, desire and opportunity to do so.

Numerous newer studies show that strength training can benefit runners, especially well-trained and experienced runners, even though they may have reached their peak VO2-max.

Right around the Millenium turn, the interest for explosive strength training in connection with long-distance running. Several studies showed an improvement in performance amongst runners that did strength training.

The most quoted study on the area comes from Finland. Leena Paavolainen and her colleagues asked ten well-trained runners to substitute a part of their regular training with explosive strength training.

The strength training consisted of different jumps and several strength exercises for the legs. After nine weeks the ten runners performed remarkably better on a 5 km test, with no change to their VO2-max. Their running economy, on the other hand, had improved significantly!

Explosive strength training turbocharges your nervous system

When training explosive, your nervous system improves, meaning your nervous system more effectively activates your muscles. You get better at activating a larger part of your musculature and better activating your muscle fibres simultaneously.

You can compare it to a tug of war competition:

If we have two teams of ten men that are all equally strong, then the team that is better at pulling at the same time wins.

The same way goes for your muscle fibres. The better they work together, the more power can the muscle create.

Streamlining your nervous system this way means your running economy improves because you can run faster with the same oxygen consumption.

Execution of strength training program

There are two ways you can executer your explosive strength training.

- Either lift heavyweights. Train heavy.

- Or exercise plyometric training, which is jumps – like you now from the schoolyard.

Explosive strength training program

If you want to get started right away on an explosive strength training program, then I have made this program you can use.

However, I would recommend you start slowly since plyometric training can be brutal for your legs.

Other than that you should find someone to help your squat technique, so you perform it correctly. If you don’t have the option for that, then you have to settle with doing jumps.

Exercise	Number of sets	Number of repitions	Pause
Squat	3-4	4-5	3-5 minutes
Jump Squat	2-3	8-12	1-2 minutes
Frog Jumps	2-3	5-10	Walk back
1-Leg jump	2-3	5+5	Walk back
Running jumps	2-3	10-12	Walk back

Are you strong enough? If not, then start simple

It is essential for the yield of your training and to avoid the risk of injury that you have the correct technique for exercises.

The exercises require a certain amount of strength and balance in your legs and stomach-hip region. If you have never done any strength training before, use 3-6 months on a basic training program 2-3 times a week. Afterwards, you should be strong enough to start with explosive strength training.

You can also find an excellent beginner training program on the internet.

Strength training is all year round

You need a strength training program planned as a supplement for year-round training, with a larger focus on the winter months.

During the winter months, you can do strength training two times a week and adjust it to one time a week in the summer months.

When your most essential runs draw near (approximately 2-4 weeks before), then you should minimise strength training further, so you are recovered for when you are running. As you minimise the amount of strength training, make sure to reduce the number of sets and repetitions but maintain the exercises’ strain.