Endurance Track
Training for endurance events, from a first half marathon to an Ironman, explained from the sports science: how to plan a season, build an aerobic base, taper, fuel and recover. For amateur runners, cyclists and triathletes training around a job who want plans that are backed by evidence.
- Riegel's formula ran 10 minutes fast for half of 2,303 recreational runners
Riegel's formula turns a 2:00:00 half into a 4:10:12 marathon, but in a study of 2,303 recreational runners it gave marathon times at least 10 minutes too fast for half of them.
- Less than the minimum still cut mortality 20%; the full guideline 31%
The WHO's floor is 150 minutes a week of moderate activity; in a pooled study of 661,137 adults, people doing less than that minimum still had 20% lower mortality than the inactive, and those at one to two times it 31% lower.
- VO2max fell 7% in three weeks off and 16% by eight, then held
In trained runners VO2max fell 7% in the first 21 days off and 16% by day 56, then held, in the study that measured it; a 50-minute 10 km becomes 53:46 and then 59:31 in our worked example.
- Injuries mainly occur after 30% weekly mileage jumps
Most running injuries followed larger, faster jumps—over 30% in a week—while studies do not show higher injury rates when increases stay under 10% per week.
- Men's marathon world record improved 31.83% over 118 years
Over 118 years, the men's marathon world record fell by 31.83%, with the sharpest leap in the 1950s and another surge in the 2020s.
- Does the 1.06 race-time prediction rule hold? Tested on today's world records
Riegel’s 1.06 rule slightly over-predicts elite marathon times; today’s world records fit closer to 1.055 for men and 1.045 for women.