For years, running power was a metric reserved mostly for exercise science labs and elite-level testing, far out of reach for everyday runners. Even most professionals didn’t regularly train with power data or have access to the tools needed to measure it accurately.
Unlike sports like cycling or rowing, where power output (measured in watts) has long been the gold standard for training and performance, running has only recently started to catch up.
Many cardio machines, such as stationary bikes, ellipticals, and rowers, display power output during workouts, but wearable technology that measures running power in real-time is still relatively new.
So, what exactly is running power? Running power is a measure of the amount of energy (in watts) a runner is using. It takes into account your speed, form, terrain, and other external factors, such as wind and incline, providing a more dynamic view of effort than pace or heart rate alone.
Tracking running power provides insight into your true effort, especially when pace is unreliable, such as on hills, trails, or in windy conditions. It can help optimize training, improve running economy, and avoid overtraining by maintaining consistent effort across changing terrain.
The good news? Some of today’s premium GPS running watches and wearables now offer built-in running power tracking, making this once inaccessible metric available to all runners looking to train smarter, not just harder.
What Does Power In Running Mean?
Although we think about power in the context of electrical power, from a physics standpoint, power is simply defined as the rate at which work can be done, measured in watts.
The greater your running power, or the power generated during any type of exercise (wattage), the faster you can create force.
In this way, power in running—or any form of physical activity such as cycling, weightlifting, or using a rowing machine—is strength multiplied by speed.
We can think of running power as a measure of how quickly a runner can push off the ground and propel their body forward.
Running power decreases if the ground contact time (the time your foot is on the ground) is high, because the equation for power is power = force × speed.
A high running power means that you can do a lot of muscular “work“ in a short amount of time.
Improving power means you can generate and sustain a higher level of muscular force, enabling more explosive movements that result in faster stride turnover. This allows you to take longer and faster strides simultaneously, ultimately helping you cover more ground while running more quickly.
Thus, in short, better running power means faster running and better race times. Therefore, improving running power directly translates to improved running performance.
What Factors Affect Running Power Output?
Many factors can affect your running power.
For example, two runners of the same weight and fitness level may run at the same pace, but with different power values.
If one of the athletes were raising their legs unnecessarily high, striking their running shoes on the ground less efficiently, or excessively swinging their arms, then their power would be higher.
A runner with improved running efficiency and form will also be able to generate the same amount of power with less effort and a lower heart rate.
In this sense, running power is correlated with RPE. Running power is often cited as a better measure of intensity than pace, as it accounts for uphill and downhill gradients.
A runner may slow down as they begin to run up a hill, while their average power and RPE remain the same. Pace as a measure of intensity does not account for the increased effort required to ascend or descend hills, but power does.
What Are Power Zones?
Power zones are training zones, with the idea that each zone targets different physical fitness adaptations.
Determining the correct zones and training durations for specific lengths of time is a crucial aspect of long-distance training, helping maximize training effectiveness and minimize fatigue and recovery time.
There are three officially accepted zones in the scientific fitness community; however, coaches commonly use five zones or even up to seven zones.1ScienceTraining. (2023, August 10). Power Zones: All you need to know about them. ScienceTraining. https://www.sciencetraining.io/power-zones-all-you-need-to-know-about-them/
Coaches may sometimes measure lactate threshold to determine an athlete’s Functional Threshold Power (FTP), which represents the highest intensity of exercise an individual can sustain without their blood lactate levels increasing exponentially.
They will then create a training plan with customized training zones based on this data.
In well-trained or elite runners, FTP is likely to be around 85-90% of VO2max.2Bettin, A. (2019, June 25). The Differences Between Running and Cycling Power. TrainingPeaks. https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-differences-between-running-and-cycling-power/#:~:text=In%20trained%20runners%2C%20one%20might
How Do You Measure Running Power?
Among the various metrics you might receive from your Garmin Running watch, Apple Watch, or some other wrist-based GPS running watch, such as COROS, Fenix, Stryd Pod, Footpod, or Polar watch, real-time running power measurement is a newer stat that some of these premium fitness sports watches may provide.
The Garmin running power meter utilizes metrics such as pace, vertical oscillation, cadence (steps per minute), grade/incline, and local wind conditions to calculate the propulsive force applied to the ground relative to your ground contact time and speed, providing Garmin’s running power calculation.3Running Power | Garmin Technology. (n.d.). Www.garmin.com. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/running-science/running-dynamics/running-power/
A running power number is then calculated by considering various components, including kinetic power, potential power, vertical oscillation power, horizontal oscillation power, and wind power, all of which contribute to the overall running power.
The data gathered during your workout is plugged into equations and algorithms meticulously designed to synthesize these various aspects of running power.
For example, kinetic power, which is the power required to change your running pace, is derived from speed data collected by your watch.
Potential power is the power required to run up or down a hill, and it is obtained from the barometer, which measures elevation.
The more complicated features of how Garmin calculates running power involve using vertical oscillation power data and horizontal oscillation metrics.
These metrics are pulled from the different running dynamics provided by the watch and the technology and algorithms that have been put in place to function by measuring your vertical and horizontal displacement, heart rate, cadence, ground reaction time, force applied to the ground and ground contact time, as you run.4Running Power | Garmin Technology. (n.d.). Www.garmin.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/running-science/running-dynamics/running-power/
Power can be helpful to monitor and track because it is generally consistent in the long term. Yet, it is immediately responsive during a training session or a running workout based on your effort, speed, and other factors.
Additionally, unlike running metrics like pace, power is responsive to factors such as wind and hills, allowing you to use it to compare different running workouts that were completed on different routes or in varying environmental conditions.
For example, if your speed remains the same, the power required to run increases when you run uphill and decreases when you run down a hill.
This allows you to use power to gauge progress in the short and long term and to conduct a more apples-to-apples comparison between running workouts with multiple variables changing.
Most premium Garmin running watches measure power; alternatively, you can download the Running Power app from the Connect IQ Store if your Garmin doesn’t automatically calculate running power metrics.
What Are the Benefits Of Training With Power?
While we hear a lot about the benefits of strength and speed training for runners, the benefits of power training are only now becoming a larger part of the general discourse due to advancements in technology that can measure running power.
Ultimately, strength and speed address, respectively, the two arms of the equation for running power, as power equals force (strength) divided by speed.
Therefore, one benefit of strength training for runners is that it generates greater force. Of course, the benefit of speed training for runners is that it enables them to become faster from a neuromuscular perspective.
However, you can potentially improve power more efficiently by specifically training with running power-targeted exercises and drills.
Because it measures the muscular force you can exert as quickly as possible, power training for runners involves a combination of strength and speed training zones, generally utilizing explosive movements such as plyometrics.
By nature, plyometrics replicate the concept of power because plyometric exercises are all about generating force as quickly as possible (building explosive speed/strength), which, by definition, is power.
Here are some of the benefits of power training exercises for runners:
#1: Increasing your maximum running speed
They help you apply more force to the ground quickly while running, which helps propel your body forward.
#2: Improving your ability to accelerate
Increasing power helps you accelerate faster, climb hills more easily, and explode through turns in a race.
#3: Improving your running mechanics and stride efficiency
One of the primary benefits is that it helps you improve your running mechanics by providing more propulsive force to enter the flight phase of running while minimizing ground contact time.
The flight phase is really where you will gain a lot of speed as a runner and make your efficiency and economy as a runner significantly greater.5Saunders, P. U., Pyne, D. B., Telford, R. D., & Hawley, J. A. (2004). Factors Affecting Running Economy in Trained Distance Runners. Sports Medicine, 34(7), 465–485.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15233599/
#4: Reducing the risk of running injuries
This type of training can decrease the risk of running injuries.
What Are the Best Power Exercises for Runners?
As mentioned, power training workouts for runners center around plyometric exercises.
Running plyometrics can be considered jumping or bounding drills.
Plyometrics help your body increase the rate of force development so that you can have more of that explosive force production or the ability to generate force rapidly.6Perez-Gomez, J., & Calbet, J. a. L. (2013). Training methods to improve vertical jump performance. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 53(4), 339–357. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23828282/
For running power workouts, focus on using heavy weights and performing power-based strength training activities such as plyometrics (burpees, box jumps), and use heavier weights for fewer reps with resistance training exercises to maximize gains in muscle strength.
Examples of some of the best running power exercises include bounding drills, single-leg box jumps, very short hill sprints, and weighted box jumps.
You can learn more about the best plyometric exercises for runners to build power and strength in this next guide:
