Increase Running Economy
Running economy or running efficiency is crucial for distance runners. Specifically, the longer the race, the more important having good form becomes. I was watching the US Marathon qualifying race in Houston recently and I was amazed at how great the top runners looked even after being almost through the whole 26.2 mile race. When your looking visually at a runner to predict if they have good form, there are a lot of individual areas of interest a person can look at. Some of the things that stood out the most from this recent race was most importantly the frequency always stayed high and secondly, it appeared that every part of the runner’s bodies were toned in such a way that no extra fat or muscle seemed to hinder the body’s running motion.
There are different ways to improve running economy. Depending on what your running background consists of, simply running every day may significantly help your running economy. If you are a trained runner you may need to seek to enhance your running economy through other methods. A person may have a very difficult time increasing their VO2Max once they are already in competitive running shape such as the end of a track season, but don’t let this discourage you. You can still get faster, much faster, by increasing your running efficiency and elevating your lactate threshold.
In a scientific review of the literature a meta-analysis produced in 2007 by Adrian W. Midgley et al. entitled, “Training to Enhance the Physiological Determinants of Long-Distance Running Performance” identified how there are three pivotal factors to look at in predicting a runner’s ability. They are, in no particular order; high aerobic capacity (high VO2Max), running efficiency, and an elevated lactate threshold level. Each of these is directly correlated with a runner’s performance. If these determinants are weak there will be a slow performance, while on the other hand, if they are optimized, performance is optimized. In this section we are talking about running efficiency. If we can improve running economy, we can run faster—period.
In college, I’ve been seeking to improve running economy the most whenever the races got the most important. Typically the races that matter most are usually always at the end of a season. Because of this, I like to set up my own training in a periodized and progressive way. One thing that I have observed since high school is a link between running economy and becoming injured. I have had friends that I believed had exceptional running form namely Kyle Ehrke, James Padilla and Nick Jones. All three of these runners are terrific runners yet all have had problems with their injuries at an almost chronic level. Perhaps if strengthening programs were used to better train some of the weaker stabilizing muscles then they would have been able to run more races in the past, but perhaps not. What I am suggesting, is that some people are more prone to injuries than others and that I suggest that those people are often those with naturally good running form.
Anyways, the reason I bring this up is because I feel that I can relate with this concept. Often the times that I feel that I am running the most economical possible, I feel I am on a fine line of becoming injured. Going into may final races at MCC I had a nagging issue with plantar fasciitis mixed with very stiff Achilles tendons with a bit of IT Band Syndrome occasion but I was able to produce very significant PRs. As a runner devoted as I was back then, I didn’t care about hurting before or after. All that mattered to me was staying healthy enough to go to all the workouts and last for the races. Often it would take an hour or more or so a day of stretching, homemade strength training routines and/or yoga along with sleep after training to maintain what I considered a healthy runner’s body for myself.
Due to the fact that I do not care much about early parts of seasonal training along with the fear of getting injured, I do not spend as much time focusing on improving running economy during the beginning part of a training program. I make sure that I do not get excessively fat or muscularly bulky so that I do not hinder my stride, through constant training runs. This is actual a major issue for myself. When I stop running for some time it appears that my muscles get significantly bigger, so I have to stay active and diligent in running even in the off season. When comparing Kenyan runners with other groups of runners from all over the world, Saltin et al. 1995 discovered that Kenyans elite distance runners had a lower BMI then other runners. No groups of people are better distance runners than the East Africans. It doesn’t matter if its muscle or fat, if you weigh too much you most likely will not be competing for world records. As an example when I was at MCC running the steeplechase I was 5’7” weighing in at 150 lbs. At the time one of the people I raced against was Henry Lelei from Kapsabet, Kenya who was I would estimate 6 foot flat weighing a little less than 140 lbs. Looking at our BMI’s I was 23.5 (kg/m^2) while Henry was around 18.7, which related in similar fashion to our times mine being 9:47 (8th at NJCAA nationals) his being 8:56 at region and he was 1st for NJCAA nationals. Since then I have ran faster times running at a comfortible 143 ish in season. Which may not seem like that much of a difference but next time you go for a run hold on to a 7 pound weight for 6 miles, its amazing how much it starts affecting you especially when you are already fatigued.
I do not mean to mislead my readers. Having improved running form does not always correlate with increases in injury, in fact, a study was produced by Williams, K.R. in 2007 which states that having improved running economy reduces the risk of injury. What I believe is the best situation for a runner is to always strive to improve running economy, but to really focus on it the most towards the end of a given training program. I’m sure others would argue against me suggesting that an athlete following that plan would learn bad habits (bad form) due to sensitivity of the nervous system towards the beginning of learning a skill. So perhaps for beginning runners, running form training should not be delayed. Advice for these runners is to focus on their own personal needs. If there are strengths in some areas, that runner's time should be spent on their weaknesses. If their weakness is running efficiency then work should be done to improve that determinant. One very important thing to remember is that often simple, consistent training will lead to better form, higher aerobic capacities and elevated lactate thresholds. I remember my assistant coach Dallin Alldridge telling me in high school, “consistency is the key”. That is a statement which I definitely agree with. If there are two fairly new runners at the beginning of the year and one runs 5 miles a week and another runs 50 miles a week I guarantee that 99 times out of 100 the 50 miler/week will have better running economy.
To illustrate how powerful enhanced running economy means to performance I give the example of Steve Prefontaine and Frank Shorter. These two runners were friends and raced against each other occasionally. Steve and Frank were both measured for their VO2Max. Steve had 84.4 a large value which would makes sense due to the countless records he smashed before his unfortunate death. Frank, a gold medalist in the 1976 Olympics maraton, had a modest 71.3. When comparing values, PRE had a 16% higher VO2Max than Frank Shorter. Yet when looking at their times in the 10k Steve was only 1.5 seconds faster than Frank’s 27:45. When looking at pictures of Frank he looks like the skinniest runner you have ever seen with a reported 3 percent body fat level. Though Frank’s heart can’t pump as hard or as much as PRE’s, because of Frank’s efficiency he didn’t need it to. Conley and Krahenbuhl 1980 found that running economy is so important to runners that after testing 12 runners, all the runners who had the best running efficiency had the best times. After these findings they stated, “a high VO2max (anything above 67ml/kg/hr) was “membership” to this elite group- Once in this group, Running Economy (Not VO2max) was the leading factor controlling success at the 10k race.”
Now that we understand that running economy is important, how do we train to enhance it?
-Train consistently with good amount of miles.
-Train at your lactate threshold level.
-Implement explosive strength training (gradually at first).
-Perform plyometric training drills.
-Choose a natural frequency and stride length for your body (rate should be near 180 steps per minute- watch any professional and it will be around 180-200).
-Hill Training which provides power especially for weak runners.
-Train at your race pace.
To conclude, running economy is a fundamental concept of energy cost. If you are able to produce the most amount of force on the ground possible, maintain a high rate of turnover, have a powerful stride length while keeping your body’s system from fatiguing excessively through masterful economy, PRs await you my friends.
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