Endurance Track
Running rules of thumb, checked against the data. For runners and triathletes who want the sports science behind the plan.
- Altitude training: no impact on running economy in 13 pooled trials
In 13 pooled randomized trials of competitive runners, altitude training showed no impact on running economy, VO2max or time trial, and was better than normal-oxygen training for time to exhaustion.
- A prototype super shoe gave all 15 runners the best running economy—3.2% to 3.6% better than three top rivals
In a lab test of 15 trained runners, a prototype PUMA Fast-R 3 improved running economy by 3.2% to 3.6% over the latest shoes from PUMA, Nike, and Adidas.
- Does the 10% Weekly Mileage Rule Prevent Running Injuries?
In the one randomised trial of the 10% rule (532 novice runners), 20.8% on a 10%-rule programme were injured against 20.3% on a standard programme (P = .90): no reduction.
- 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.
- 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.