Whenever you start a new sport, activity, or hobby, there’s always a bit of new language to pick up—and running is no different.
From workout-specific terms like threshold intervals and VO₂ max to the quirky, tongue-in-cheek phrases runners use to describe shared experiences—think DNF or bonking—running has a vocabulary all its own.
In fact, the world of running terminology is so rich that a complete glossary could easily fill pages. Consider this your mini running dictionary: a curated guide to the essential terms every runner should know.
So let’s take you back to those elementary school days of learning new vocabulary words with our list of 85 running terms every runner should have in their back pocket.
And if you’re curious to go deeper, each term links to a full article dedicated to that topic. Dive in wherever your curiosity takes you.
The 85 Essential Running Terms Every Runner Should Know
#1: Aerobic Threshold (AT)
The effort level you can sustain for hours while breathing easily, just before lactate levels start to rise. Training at or below AT builds endurance, letting you run longer and maintain higher intensities without fatigue.
#2: Anaerobic Threshold (Lactate Threshold)
The point where lactate accumulates faster than your body can clear it, causing fatigue to set in. Training near this threshold improves your ability to sustain fast paces for longer before slowing down.
#3: Aqua Jogging
Also called pool running or deep-water running, aqua running is a popular form of cross-training for runners that involves running against water resistance in the pool’s deep end (or a natural body of water), where your feet can’t touch the bottom.
A flotation belt is typically used, although not always.
#4: Base Mileage
Base mileage is the average number of miles (or kilometers) you run each week before beginning a specific training plan or incorporating speed workouts into your schedule.
#5: Body Glide
This is a case where the brand name of a product has come to serve as a generic term, much like Kleenex for facial tissues.
Body glide, or lube, is a stick of anti-chafing skin-protectant lubricant that you apply to areas of your skin prone to chafing or blisters, such as nipples, inner thighs, underarms, and toes.
#6: Bonk
Another word for “hitting the wall,” used in endurance sports to describe a sudden, dramatic drop in energy due to glycogen depletion.
#7: Cadence
Cadence refers to the number of steps you take per minute as you run
An ideal running cadence is typically around 170-180 steps per minute, but this is often debated in the running world.
Running cadence is also referred to as turnover or step rate.
#8: Carb-Loading
A nutrition strategy involving increased carbohydrate intake in the days leading up to a long-distance race to maximize glycogen stores.
#9: Cool Down
Cool-down refers to the easy recovery period at the end of your workout.
The cool-down helps gently guide your heart rate back to resting levels and flush out metabolic byproducts in your muscles from high-intensity exercise.
#10: Cross-Training
Cross-training is any type of exercise other than running that you add to your training plan.
It is a good way to reduce the risk of injury while improving fitness because it uses different muscles and motions than running, and is often lower-impact.
Cross-training exercises for runners include cycling, swimming, aqua jogging, yoga, and strength training.
#11: Cutback Week
A cutback week is a planned reduction in training volume and sometimes intensity within a training cycle.
Typically scheduled every 3–4 weeks, a cutback week allows your body to recover, adapt, and reduce accumulated fatigue. While mileage decreases, consistency is usually maintained to preserve fitness. These recovery-focused weeks help prevent overtraining and injury.
#12: Cutoff Time
A cutoff time is the maximum amount of time allowed to complete a race or reach specific checkpoints during an event.
If a runner fails to arrive at a designated aid station or finish line before the cutoff, they are typically pulled from the course for safety reasons. Cutoffs are common in marathons and ultramarathons and are often stricter in races with challenging terrain or weather conditions.
#13: Dreadmill
This is a cheeky running term for the treadmill that is said to encapsulate the love-hate relationship of this exercise machine. Most runners would rather run outside than on a treadmill.
#14: Electrolytes
Minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium that help regulate hydration, muscle function, and nerve signaling during exercise.
#15: Elevation Gain (Vert)
Elevation gain refers to the total amount of uphill climbing accumulated during a run or race.
Commonly shortened to “vert,” this metric is especially important in trail running and ultramarathons, where total climbing often matters as much as distance. A race with 5,000 feet of elevation gain will feel significantly more demanding than a flat race of the same mileage.
#16: Form
Your running form refers to the dynamic posture of your body as you run.
Proper running form includes an upright posture, a neutral head and spine, a very slight forward lean of the trunk, an engaged core, arms swinging back and forth at a 90-degree angle at the elbows, a midfoot strike, and an even stride length.
#17: Fartlek
You might have a giggle the first time you hear this running term, but Fartlek is a Swedish word for “speed play.”
A Fartlek workout involves varying your pace as you run by interspersing bursts of fast running without stopping after each “on” interval.
For example, you might do a 5-mile Fartlek run with 10 x 90-second surges at a 5K pace. Between each of these surges, you would resume your normal training pace.
#18: Foot Strike
Foot strike refers to the area of your foot that first contacts the ground while running.
With heel striking, the rearfoot or heel is the location of the foot that makes initial contact with the ground.
With midfoot striking, you land on the center of your foot, while forefoot striking involves landing on the ball of your foot.
#19: Gait Analysis
An assessment of your running mechanics, often done at a specialty running store or by a coach, to help you choose the right shoes and improve form.
#20: Gels
Gels, also known as energy gels, are viscous, carbohydrate-rich sports nutrition products runners use to fuel themselves during long runs and endurance races. They replenish glycogen stores and prevent “bonking.”
#21: Glycogen
The storage form of carbohydrates1Adeva-Andany, M. M., González-Lucán, M., Donapetry-García, C., Fernández-Fernández, C., & Ameneiros-Rodríguez, E. (2016). Glycogen Metabolism in Humans. BBA Clinical, 5(5), 85–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbacli.2016.02.001 in the body. Muscle and liver glycogen are the primary fuel sources during vigorous running.
#22: Ground Contact Time (GCT)
The amount of time your foot spends on the ground during each step—shorter times are often linked to more efficient running.
#23: Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
The variation in time between heartbeats, often used to gauge recovery and readiness to train, higher variability generally indicates better recovery.
#24: Hill Repeats
A workout where you repeatedly run uphill at a hard effort and jog or walk downhill to recover. Used to build strength, power, and running economy.
#25: Hitting the Wall
Another running term for “bonking”; both words are running lingo for suddenly running out of energy during a race or workout.
Bonking or hitting the wall typically occurs due to total glycogen depletion (as in the last few miles in a marathon if you didn’t fuel properly) or going out in a race way too fast.
#26: Interval Training
A structured workout that alternates periods of faster running with recovery periods of easy running or rest.
For example, you might run 6 × 800 meters at 5K pace with 2 minutes of jogging between each repeat. Interval training improves speed, cardiovascular fitness, and your ability to sustain hard efforts.
#27: Junk Miles
Some runners consider miles you run that don’t serve a specific purpose other than adding to your overall training volume to be “junk miles.”
Many running coaches advocate deliberate training rather than accumulating mileage for its own sake.
#28: Lactate Threshold (LT)
The intensity at which lactate starts building in your blood faster than your body can clear it. Training near LT can help you run faster for longer.
#29: Long Run
A sustained run at an easy-to-moderate pace, typically longer than your daily training runs, designed to build endurance and aerobic capacity.
#30: Macrocycle
A macrocycle is the largest block in a periodized training plan, usually spanning several months up to a full year.
It represents the long-term progression toward a major goal race, or competitive season. A marathon build-up, for example, might serve as a single macrocycle, incorporating multiple smaller training phases.
#31: Marathon
A long-distance race that’s 26.2 miles or 42.195 km long.
#32: Max Heart Rate (MHR)
The highest number of times your heart can beat per minute during intense exercise. Used to help set training zones for workouts.
#33: Mesocycle
A mesocycle is a medium-length training block within a macrocycle, typically lasting 3–6 weeks.
Each mesocycle focuses on a specific objective, such as building aerobic base, improving lactate threshold, increasing speed, or sharpening race pace. Mesocycles often include a progression in intensity or volume, followed by a cutback week to allow adaptation.
#34: Microcycle
A microcycle is the shortest structured unit within a training plan, usually lasting one week.
It outlines your day-to-day workouts, including long runs, speed sessions, recovery runs, strength training, and rest days. Microcycles are designed to balance stress and recovery while aligning with the broader goals of the mesocycle and macrocycle.
#35: Out-and-Back Route
An out-and-back route takes you from your starting point along a course to a turnaround point, which marks the halfway point of your run.
#36: Overtraining
Overtraining syndrome occurs when your training exceeds your body’s capacity to recover.
Your training volume or intensity can cause excessive stress on your body, especially in the context of other stressors in your life.
Symptoms can include physical and mental manifestations, such as sluggishness, low energy, appetite changes, hormonal imbalances, difficulty sleeping, irritability or other mood changes, compromised immunity, and reduced athletic performance.
#37: Pace
Your pace refers to how fast you are running, usually measured by how long it would take you to run a mile or a kilometer at that speed.
For example, if you run at a 9-minute pace, you cover one mile every 9 minutes.
#38: Pacer
A runner who helps others maintain a steady pace during a race, often to hit a specific finish time.
#39: Periodization
Periodization is the structured planning of training across weeks and months to progressively build fitness while minimizing injury and burnout.
Rather than training at the same intensity year-round, periodization organizes workouts into phases — typically including base building, strength or speed development, peak performance, and recovery.
This strategic variation allows your body to adapt gradually and reach peak fitness at the right time for a goal race.
#40: Plyometrics
Explosive, jump-based exercises (like box jumps or bounds) that build power, speed, and strength for running.
#41: Progressive Run
A progressive run is a workout where you gradually increase your pace throughout the run, finishing faster than you started.
Instead of holding a steady effort, each segment becomes slightly quicker, often moving from easy pace to moderate or threshold effort by the end. Progressive runs train pacing control, build endurance, and teach you how to finish strong — a valuable skill for racing.
#42: Race Pace
Race pace is the specific pace per mile or kilometer you plan to maintain during a race.
Training at race pace helps your body and mind learn what the effort should feel like on race day. Marathon, half-marathon, and 5K paces all place different physiological demands on the body, so workouts often include segments at goal race pace to build familiarity, efficiency, and pacing discipline.
#43: Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
A subjective scale (often 1–10) used to measure how hard a workout feels, factoring in effort, breathing, and fatigue.
#44: Recovery Run
A recovery run is a relaxed, easy run performed at a conversational pace, or about 60-75% of your maximum heart rate.
#45: Resting Heart Rate (RHR)
The number of times your heart beats per minute when you’re at rest. A lower RHR often indicates better cardiovascular fitness.
#46: Running Economy
Running economy refers to how efficiently your body uses oxygen at a given pace.
Two runners with the same VO₂ max can perform very differently if one uses less energy to maintain the same speed. Better running economy means you burn less fuel and expend less effort at a given pace, allowing you to run faster or longer before fatiguing.
Factors that influence running economy include biomechanics, cadence, ground contact time, muscle strength, and training history.
#47: Runner’s High
This term describes a state of euphoria, often attributed to the release of endorphins brought about by running.
#48: Shakeout Run
A short, easy run, often done the day before a race or as a second run of the day, to loosen the legs.
#49: Splits
The time it takes you to run a specific sub-distance of the distance you are running.
For example, if you are running a marathon, you might track your mile splits. If you are running 1,000 meters on the track, you might pay attention to your 200-meter splits.
Your splits help you keep track of your pacing.
Even Splits
Running the same pace for each split.
Negative Splits
Running the second half of your race faster than the first half or ending faster than you started.
#50: Speedwork
Speedwork is a term for running workouts that involve running faster than your standard training pace.
Examples include interval training on a track, hill repeats, threshold runs, and fartleks.
#51: Strava
A popular GPS-based social media platform for runners and cyclists to track and share workouts, analyze performance, and compete on segments.
#52: Streaker
Although this term sounds like someone who runs naked, it refers to a runner who has run every day for an extended period without a day off.
You might hear of someone maintaining a “running streak.”
#53: Strength Training
Strength training, also known as resistance training or weight training, involves performing specific exercises under some kind of load or resistance to build muscle.
Strength training exercises include squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks. They can reduce runners’ risk of injury.
#54: Strides
Strides are bursts of fast running or sprinting, usually 50-100 meters long, that might be performed before a race or workout to get your neuromuscular system firing and ready to run fast.
Strides are often run as accelerations and are a great way to improve your form and increase your cadence or turnover.
#55: Stride Length
Stride length refers to the distance covered between successive foot strikes of the same foot while running.
Stride length, along with cadence (steps per minute), determines your overall pace. Overstriding — landing too far in front of your body — can increase braking forces and injury risk, while an efficient stride length allows for smooth forward momentum without excessive vertical bounce.
#56: Supercompensation
Supercompensation is the physiological process by which your body adapts to training stress and becomes stronger after adequate recovery.
Following a hard workout, performance temporarily declines due to fatigue. With proper rest and fueling, the body not only returns to baseline but rebounds to a slightly higher level of fitness. Effective training balances stress and recovery to capitalize on this supercompensation effect.
#57: Surge
This refers to when a runner increases their speed or pace for a short period during a run or race. A “kick” would refer to a strong finish.
#58: Taper
A taper is a reduction in training volume (mileage) and intensity leading up to a race (usually the final week or so).
The taper allows your body to rest and recover a bit before the hard effort of race day, enabling you to feel fresher, have more energy, experience fewer physical aches, and feel less fatigue.
#59: Technical Terrain
In trail running, it refers to rocky, rooty, uneven ground that requires careful foot placement and balance.
#60: Threshold Run
Threshold runs, sometimes called a tempo run, involve running at a “comfortably hard“ pace (around 80-85% of your max heart rate) for a sustained 20 minutes or more.
These runs improve your running economy and lactate threshold.
#61: Ultramarathon (Ultra)
Any race longer than the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles (42.195 km). Standard ultra distances include 50K, 50 miles, 100K, and 100 miles.
#62: Vertical Oscillation (VO)
The amount your body bounces up and down while running. Lower oscillation usually means more energy is directed forward.
#63: Warm-Up
The warm-up is the often-neglected yet essential part of a workout that involves walking, jogging, or easy, slow running at the start before you start running your usual training pace or begin faster intervals.
The warm-up elevates your heart rate, which increases circulation and loosens your muscles, preparing you for more intense exercise.
Now, let’s take a look at specific running terms found at races:
Running Terms and Terminology At Races
#64: Age Group (AG)
An age group (often abbreviated as AG) is a category in a race that groups competitors by age range, typically in five-year increments (such as 30–34, 35–39, etc.).
Runners compete within their age group for rankings, awards, and qualification standards. Age group results allow athletes to measure their performance against peers of similar age, making AG placement an important benchmark in races ranging from local 5Ks to major marathons.
#65: Aid Station
A table with water, sports drinks, and sometimes fruit or other snacks is set up along the race course, where participants can hydrate and refuel.
#66: Bandit
A runner who is participating in a race, but unofficially, because they did not properly register or pay for the race. Bandits will not appear in the race results.
It is generally quite frowned upon to run as a bandit, especially if you take water or fuel at aid stations or drop in and out of the race as you please.
#67: Bib
Also called a bib number, it is the paper number you get when you enter a race, used to identify you specifically in the event.
#68: Corral
When you run a large race, runners are often grouped into sections behind the starting line, known as corrals, based on their projected race pace and finish time.
#69: Hardware
Also called bling, running hardware refers to the race medal, trophy, or other goodies you get for finishing the race distance.
#70: Clock Time
The clock time, also known as “gun time,” is how long it took you to cross the finish line of a race after the gun went off.
It does not account for the time taken to cross the official start line, which can vary significantly, ranging from several seconds to several minutes or more, depending on the race size.
#71: Chip Time
In contrast to clock time, chip time is the amount of time it took you to run a race from the moment you personally crossed the start line to the moment you crossed the finish line.
For this reason, chip time is faster than clock time for all runners besides those lined up directly on the starting line.
#72: Wave Start
A wave start is a race format in which runners are divided into smaller groups that start at staggered times rather than all at once.
Waves are typically organized by projected finish time, age group, or qualification standards. This format helps reduce crowding on the course, improves safety, and allows runners to settle into their pace more easily. In large races, waves may be separated by several minutes, and results are usually based on chip time rather than gun time.
Now, we’ll move from running terms to acronyms and abbreviations:
Running Acronyms and Abbreviations
#73: BQ
Runners focusing on the marathon are likely familiar with the term BQ, which stands for Boston Qualifier.
To be accepted into the Boston Marathon, you have to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time at another full marathon.
If you “get a BQ,” you have run a time under the Boston Qualifying time for your age and sex, and you can apply to run the race.
Note that even if you get a BQ, you may not be accepted into the race, as there are usually more applicants than the field size allows.
Still, even getting a BQ is often a goal and a badge of honor for runners, because the Boston Marathon qualifying standards are fairly difficult for most to meet.
#74: C25K
An acronym for the wildly popular and successful Couch to 5K training plan, which progresses non-runners from a sedentary lifestyle to running their first 5K.
#75: DNF
This running acronym stands for Did Not Finish, so it’s typically used when you drop out of a race or don’t finish within the cut-off time.
Some runners also use DNF in their training log to denote workouts they had to stop prematurely.
#76: DNS
This running acronym stands for Did Not Start. It is used when you have registered for a race but failed to line up or start.
#77: DFL
With the middle letter standing for an expletive, this running acronym refers to the runner who finishes very last in a race, as it stands for Dead F*cking Last.
Remember, being DFL is a heck of a better accomplishment than being DNF or, worse, DNS.
#78: DOMS
DOMS stands for delayed-onset muscle soreness, a feeling most runners become well acquainted with. It typically occurs within 24-48 hours due to microscopic muscle damage from running.
#79: FKT (Fastest Known Time)
FKT stands for Fastest Known Time and refers to the fastest recorded time for completing a specific route or course.
Unlike traditional races, FKTs are often set on trails, mountain routes, or long-distance paths and can be attempted at any time. Athletes may attempt supported (with crew assistance) or unsupported (self-sufficient) efforts. FKTs are especially popular in trail and ultrarunning communities.
#80: LSD
A common acronym for a long, slow distance run.
LSD runs build your stamina and train your body to handle longer distances and higher training volume.
#81: OCR
A running acronym for obstacle course racing. This type of event combines running with obstacles such as ascending walls, climbing ropes, and running through fields of tires.
#82: PR
Running abbreviation for Personal Record. It refers to your fastest time for a specific distance or timed running event.
For example, if you’ve run three half marathons and your finish times were 1:43:19, 1:37:27, and 1:38:12, your marathon PR is 1:37:27.
#83: PB
A PB in running stands for Personal Best. It refers to the fastest time you’ve clocked for a certain race, distance, or run. PB is often used in the UK and Canada instead of PR.
#84: RICE
An acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation — a common method to manage minor injuries or inflammation.
#85: VO2 Max
VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen your body can take in and use during exercise. It is a measure of your aerobic capacity.
Don’t worry about learning all these running terms at once; you have a lifetime to be a runner. Welcome to the club.
And speaking of terminology, we aren’t finished yet. Check out our following guide to running shoe terms you should know before buying your next pair, including cushioning, upper, overpronation, and minimalist.
