Here’s your free but abridged version of this week’s “Run Long, Run Healthy” newsletter. Subscribe below to receive the complete, full-text edition with the newest and most authoritative scientific articles on training, nutrition, shoes, injury prevention, and motivation.
Strength Training Makes Runners More Durable
Most runners have been told that strength training is good for performance, but the question that we all want to know is: how much does it actually help endurance and execution on race day?
A new study provides convincing evidence that most runners should lift weights (other than their own two feet) from time to time.
Researchers at Loughborough University conducted a 10-week randomized controlled trial with 28 well-trained male runners (average VO₂max of 58.6 ml/kg/min and a 10K time of ~39 minutes). The runners were split into two groups: one who continued their usual training (endurance-only) and another who added twice-weekly strength training to their endurance training (endurance + strength)—performing squats, leg presses, calf raises, and plyometrics like drop jumps and bounds three times per week in addition to their standard training.
Before and after the training period, participants completed a 90-minute treadmill run at right around their marathon race pace (to measure running economy). After that, they performed a time-to-exhaustion test to measure how long they could run at 95% of their VO₂max—a test of their ability to perform at a high intensity on fatigued legs.
Runners who added strength training maintained better running economy as fatigue set in. At 90 minutes, running economy improved by 2.1% in the endurance + strength group, whereas it worsened by 0.6% in the endurance group.
A smaller increase in blood lactate in the strength-trained runners during the test also suggested better metabolic efficiency during prolonged running. This translated to better durability: High-intensity performance improved significantly—time to exhaustion improved by 35% in the endurance + strength group but declined by 8% in the endurance-only group.
The runners who strength trained also reported lower perceived effort at 90 minutes, which likely contributed to their ability to sustain a hard effort at the end of the test.
Strength training improved running economy at 90 minutes during a sustained running test.
What this means for runners
If you’re training for a marathon or half-marathon, or any race for that matter, consider adding two strength sessions per week focusing on:
- Maximal Strength: Squats, leg press, and calf raises (~80-90% 1RM).
- Plyometrics: Drop jumps, bounds, and hops for improving force production.
Keep strength sessions short (~45 minutes) and separate from key running workouts to avoid excessive fatigue and perform at your best.
If you want to sustain efficiency in a marathon, prevent late-race slowdowns, and finish strong, lifting heavy and jumping explosively should be part of your plan.
RELATED ARTICLE: Our Complete Strength Training Plan For Runners Faster
🎙️ We Did a Race Draft! Who Built the Best Dream Running Calendar?
🏃♂️🔥 If you could race anywhere in the world, which events would make your dream calendar? 🤔
In this episode, Katelyn, Michael, and Alex go head-to-head in a race draft—NFL fantasy football style—picking their ultimate lineup of marathons, half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, ultras, trail races, and even vertical kilometers! 🌍🏔️🏃♀️
From big-city majors to brutal mountain ultras, we’ve got something for everyone. Who built the best race schedule? You decide! 🚀💥
Can You Breathe Your Way to Better Performance?
Breathwork is a hot topic in endurance training, with claims that nasal breathing, breath-holding, and other functional breathing techniques can enhance performance. But does the science back it up? A new study tested whether a four-week supplemental breathwork protocol could improve running performance in recreational runners.
Researchers split 16 recreational runners into two groups:
- Breathwork group: Added daily breathing exercises and nasal-only breathing during low-intensity training.
- Control group: Completed the same running program without breathwork.
Both groups followed a polarized running program (three low-intensity and one high-intensity session per week) for four weeks. The breathwork group performed breath-holding exercises and nasal breathing training at rest (they didn’t train using nasal-only breathing).
Before and after the intervention, the researchers measured the participants’ breath hold time, maximal oxygen uptake, maximal oxygen uptake while nasal-only breathing, time-to-exhaustion while nasal-only breathing, and running economy.
Not surprisingly, the breath-hold time increased by 11.7 seconds in the breathwork group compared to the control group (which only improved by a mere 1.9 seconds). However, there was no difference in VO₂max between groups—both improved by around ~3%, likely from the running program. There was no improvement in nasal-only VO₂max or time-to-exhaustion in the breathwork group, and they didn’t improve their running economy.
Breath-hold time significantly increased after breath-hold training in recreational runners.
How to apply this to your training
If you want to increase breath-hold time or experiment with CO₂ tolerance, breathwork might be worth incorporating. But if your main goal is improving endurance performance, this study suggests you’d be better off focusing on high-quality running workouts rather than breath training.
RELATED ARTICLE: How To Increase Lung Capacity For Runners: 3 Breathing Exercises
Is Beetroot Extract a Performance Enhancer?
Beetroot is often touted as a performance-enhancing supplement, thanks to its high nitrate content. But what about betalains, the bioactive pigments found in beetroot? A new study tested whether a betalain-rich concentrate—without the usual nitrate boost—could improve running economy, VO₂max, and recovery after a hard effort.
Researchers conducted a study with 17 male recreational runners (VO₂max: 58.9 ml/kg/min). Each runner completed two running sessions, consuming either 100 mg of betalain-rich concentrate or a placebo. They then performed running economy tests at 60% and 80% of their VO₂max, a maximal treadmill test to exhaustion, and post-exercise recovery assessments including the amount of oxygen in their muscles and their ability to clear lactate.
Oxygen consumption during running (VO₂) was similar between the beetroot and placebo conditions, however, runners did have a lower heart rate at 80% of VO₂max and lower max heart rate after taking beetroot concentrate; a lower perceived effort at 60% of their VO₂max; and higher muscle oxygenation 3, 4, and 5 minutes post-exercise despite no improvement in post-exercise lactate clearance, suggesting better blood flow but not faster recovery.
Heart rate at 80% of maximal aerobic capacity and at maximal aerobic capacity was lower after taking beetroot concentrate.
So, should you take beetroot concentrate?
Unlike nitrate-rich beetroot supplements, beetroot concentrate alone didn’t improve running economy, VO₂max, or performance. While beetroot’s nitrate content is well known for enhancing endurance, betalains (the active compound in beetroot concentrate) alone don’t seem to offer the same performance benefits. However, the lower heart rate and improved post-exercise oxygenation suggest potential cardiovascular and recovery benefits, so it might be worth trying out if you’re training hard and struggling with recovery or soreness.
RELATED ARTICLE: The 6 Health Benefits Of Beet Juice To Boost Your Athletic Performance
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
Earlier this week, professional triathlete Lionel Sanders announced in a YouTube video that despite a career of high-level endurance training, he’d developed prediabetes—calling into question the dietary practices of elite athletes and how this might influence long-term health. Here’s an interesting post on X from a researcher commenting on the video.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED this week if you were a subscriber to the complete, full-text edition of “Run Long, Run Healthy.”
- Fluctuating your pace during a race is making you slower
- Physiological resilience: The missing piece in endurance performance?
- A diet lacking these two nutrients ups injury risk
Thanks for reading. As always—Run Long, Run Healthy
~Brady~
