Every runner I know feels the same about workouts and training theories—there are too many of them. How are you supposed to decide which one to follow?
You could do LSD (Long Slow Distance) or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Damn all those confusing acronyms.
You could adopt Swedish fartlek or follow the Dutch system of Klaas Lok. He proposes something he calls the Easy Interval Method (EIM).
You could run longer in Zone 2, or do double thresholds. You might run uphill sprints for more power, or downhill sprints for more eccentric muscle development.
You could try to raise your VO2 max, or lower your oxygen consumption as you run, increasing your economy.
And let’s not forget your gps watch, your heart rate, your stride frequency, your vertical displacement, your duty factor, your blood glucose, your sweat rate, your body temperature, or the ground reaction forces you create when moving down the road.
Confused? Of course you are. All runners occasionally wonder if they should be training in a different (and better) way.
That’s why it might be time to listen to Dr. Michael Joyner. Amid this training chaos, he offers a refreshingly simple solution.
Why Should You Pay Attention To Michael Joyner?
That’s a good question, and also an easy one to answer. Joyner is universally regarded as one of the world’s top endurance running experts.
He’s the guy who wrote a scientific paper, way back in 1991, predicting that we would soon see a sub-2 hour marathon. I laughed at him then. I’m not laughing any more.
You can read his groundbreaking paper here if you like mathematical discussions and the intricate biology of advanced exercise physiology. It’s thick, thorny stuff, but I’ve got good news for you.
While Joyner revels in every aspect of physiology, he doesn’t think you need an advanced degree to create an effective marathon training program. In fact, he’s got a whimsical side. He enjoys playing with the big ideas, and finding novel ways to express them.
Which is exactly what he did a few years back when he first penned a “training haiku” that has since become famous.
Also, Joyner’s been there and done that when it comes to marathon training.
Back in the 1970s, the Mayo Clinic researcher was running over 100 miles a week, and achieved a mid-2:20s PR in the marathon. Many of the best coaches and physiologists began as serious runners themselves, and then turned their curiosity into an academic quest. Joyner is one of these.
A Complete Training Philosophy In Three Lines of 5/7/5 Syllables
Japanese haiku are short, non-rhyming poems that consist of three lines of text and 17 syllables (when written in English). Haiku often shorten and simplify larger concepts in a memorable manner.
Here’s Joyner’s training haiku:
Run a lot of miles,
Some faster than your race pace,
Rest once in a while.
Joyner obviously knows how to keep things concise. When I look up at my bookshelf across the room, I see dozens of thick training tomes like Pete Pfitzinger’s much admired Advanced Marathoning with its 296 pages.
Then there’s the all time champ, Tim Noakes’s The Lore of Running, which clocks in at 900+ pages.
Compared to these, Joyner’s brevity is beautiful. But it does have its limitations.
Any runner who reads Joyner’s haiku will immediately have questions. I’ve got them, too. So I recently asked him to explain the deeper meanings behind his haiku.
His answers are below. I think you’ll find them useful as a guide to thinking about your own training, and how you can make it more productive.
How Many Miles Is “A Lot?”
Michael Joyner: That depends on your goals and skill level. If you’re aiming for the elite level, you probably need to hit at least 80 to 100 miles per week. At lower levels, more running is still better than less running as long as it’s within your family, job and biological constraints.
How many of those miles should be faster than race pace? How much faster than race pace?
MJ: Aim for a minimum of 5 percent of your total miles, depending on how much you’re racing, and how hard you’re pushing your steady-state runs. The faster stuff can include a bunch of short intervals, or even “strides.” You don’t have to dip far under race pace. Slightly faster is good enough.
How should runners decide how much rest they need? Any easy, low tech guidelines?
MJ: Sure. Many runners can find appropriate rest by “feel,” and by remembering that hard days should be hard, and easy days easy. If someone’s looking for a simple rule, I like the idea of two days a week of “active rest.” This is essentially an extended warm up of 30 to 45 minutes with easy jogging, light stretching, skips and basic drills. It’s not a workout, it’s a warmup. And then you’re done.
It’s hard for many runners to understand how slow running makes them faster? Can you explain this?
MJ: A key endurance-enhancing adaptation to training is the increase of mitochondria and capillaries in the working muscles. We often call mitochondria the “power plants” of the muscle. They convert the energy we consume from foods into the muscle energy we use when running. Many studies have shown that modest-pace running is sufficient to boost—even to double—muscle mitochondria.
What did you learn from the 1964 Olympic 5000-meter final?
MJ: That race actually inspired my haiku, because the three medalists all followed such different training methods.
The winner, Bob Schul, did nothing but short intervals twice a day. Silver medalist Harald Norpoth ran ultra-high mileage, most of it very slow. Bill Dellinger did a mix of training, including hills, intervals, and continuous runs. They all knew how to peak for the Olympics.
This proved that there are many paths to success, so long as you run a lot, sometimes fast, and “rest once in a while.”
Are today’s top runners training harder or more scientifically than the runners of 40 years later?
MJ: I don’t think so. Eliud Kipchoge is training like Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers did, almost down to the day, and Derek Clayton was killing it before Shorter and Rodgers.
We may have fancier names for some of the workouts now, but the actual workouts haven’t changed much. One of my favorite running books is Fred Wilt’s “How They Train,” first published in 1959. It describes how the top runners were training in the 1950s and earlier—from Paavo Nurmi to Glenn Cunningham to Emil Zatopek to Herb Ellibott. They didn’t cover the distance of today’s marathon runners, but they did everything else.
If not from their training, then why are so many running so fast today in the marathon?
MJ: First, because faster athletes are trying the marathon earlier in their careers. The marathon used to be for runners stuck at a 4:08 mile. Now it promises a bigger payday, and fast milers are drawn to it sooner. They’ve got the talent, and then they’ve got faster shoes, pace makers, and better conditions like earlier start times with cooler temperatures. You need to plan your fluid replacement and carbohydrate intake in marathons, but the actual details aren’t so important.
How about all the cross-training alternatives that are available today? Are any helpful?
MJ: I think the top runners are mainly trying to log more miles. After all, we know that training is very specific to your competitive activity. You won’t run a faster marathon if you add several hours a week of pickleball. But I think cross-training could add some interesting alternatives.
For example, imagine a runner who cranks hard on an indoor cycle for an hour. It’s a great workout with no pounding. Then the runner hops on a nearby treadmill and does a few fast, 60-second repeats, with 60-second recoveries. People might be surprised by the benefits.
Today’s runners have dozens of digital gizmos to choose from. Do you think they’re helpful?
MJ: I’m a tech skeptic. Some of the metrics like Heart Rate Variability are less informative than people think. Also, we should be considering the runner’s mental and emotional makeup. Many endurance athletes are pretty hard-driving people to begin with. Do we need to give them more gizmos and metrics to obsess over? I don’t think so.
Have you got a favorite workout that you think could benefit many runners?
MJ: Yes, it’s one I described many years ago to the New York Times. It’s similar to what I do several times a week on my Peloton. The idea is that smart, effective training comes from learning how to manage your suffering. A good way to do this is with “descending intervals.”
You do a controlled session where each repeat is slightly faster or harder, but you stop before you’re totally wasted. This workout gives you a great feeling of achievement while it remains “recoverable.” I told the Times that “all serious endurance athletes are closet religious mystics.” Descending intervals is a great way to find your zone and connect with the divine.
The Next Step Belongs To You
As with all training programs, the Michael Joyner approach demands personalized fitting and alterations. In other words, you’ve got to tailor it to your own goals and situations.
One thing I find appealing about Joyner’s haiku: He’s not promising that less is more. Others might try to sell you that bill of goods, but not him, because it is rarely if ever true in endurance running. No, you can’t avoid putting in the work.
Rather he’s suggesting that simpler might be better. If you concentrate on the essentials, and ignore the distractions, you’ll boost your chances of getting the job done. Keep it basic, sometimes fast, and sleep well.
Never heard of him but you and he have helped me at 79yrs old in my dilemma. For me , more weekly miles and not to worry to much about the quick work. 5% at a little bit quicker than 6/km pace. This should enable me to place in my next mid Jan 2026 marathon. Will let you know how I get on.
I’ve been saying this for years. Run more, mostly easy, rest up is my koan. Pithyer than Joyner. The mostly easy implies some fast. I like to emphasise mostly easy because the biggest mistake people make is running easy runs too fast (and then not running workouts fast enough because they are too tired).