What is Running Economy?
Understanding running economy is essential knowledge for all distance coaches.
Running economy is typically defined as the energy/oxygen cost of running a given distance at a submaximal speed and has been shown to be a significant determinant of performance for long distance runners (Hoogkamer, Kipp, Spiering & Kram, 2016; Shaw, Ingham & Folland, 2014).
How to Improve Your Running Economy
Increasing total running mileage
Training at the desired race pace
Plyometrics / strength training
High-intensity interval training
Running biomechanics
There is no single component of running technique or even a small subset of movements that can explain, to a statistically significant degree, variation in running economy (Williams & Cavanagh, 1985). Instead, it is a weighted sum of biomechanical factors that affect running economy and efficient technique. Although there are many beliefs and opinions on how to improve it, there remains insufficient peer reviewed evidence to definitively support one form of practise to improve running economy. However, coaches can use the information from the studies below to ensure that you are incorporating elements that have been correlated with improvements in running economy.
Total Mileage
The best evidence-based practice for enhancing running economy has traditionally been ‘practice makes perfect’, with a study by Mayhew (1977) demonstrating a significant correlation between the number of years a runner had spent training and their running efficiency. The implication from this study is that training should allow the runner to experience sufficient mileage to naturally develop and improve their own running economy. This view was supported by Midgley et al. (2007), who proposed that running economy may improve as a runner’s cumulative distance increased as a result of long-term adaptations in skeletal muscle and/or a gradual improvement in mechanical efficiency.
Training at Race Pace
The concept that practice improves running economy is further supported by Jones and Carter (2000), who suggested that runners are most economical at the running speed which they habitually train. This finding emphasises the importance of including some training at the intended race pace and allowing for a sufficient training volume to enable the runners to naturally improve their running economy.
Plyometric Training
Including strength training in a runner’s training plan may also result in improved running effiency (Johnston, Quinn & Kertzer, 1997; Turner, Owings & Schwane, 2003; Saunders et al., 2006). These studies suggested that increased muscle strength resulted in greater mechanical efficiency when running and that plyometric training was especially appropriate for endurance athletes as it avoids the issues of increased body mass associated with a traditional strength training program.
High Intensity Interval Training
There is also developing evidence that high intensity interval training can be an effective tool for developing running economy in highly trained and elite endurance runners (Foster & Lucia, 2007). This study was supported by Barnes et al. (2013), which demonstrated that high intensity interval training resulted in an improvement in running economy, whereas low or moderate intensity interval training resulted in a significantly lesser improvement in running economy. The recommended pace for optimal improvement of running economy is at 93–120 % velocity of a runner’s VO2max (Billat et al., 1999; Midgley et al., 2007; Enoksen et al., 2011, ).
The best guide to help you effectively implement high intensity interval training can be found here.
Running Technique
A study conducted by Folland et al. (2017) demonstrated the importance of stride parameters and lower limb angles to achieve increased running efficiency. The authors advise runners to be attentive and encourage a shorter foot ground contact time, shorter stride length and lower limb angles to improve running efficiency. However, it is important to note that this is an area requiring further study before definitive conclusions can be made about the relationship between stride parameters and running economy.
