Less is more, they say. For some this is true for mileage too.

STRENGTH & STRIDES

EMILIA BENTON

FREELANCE WRITER, 10X MARATHONER

FOR SOME RUNNERS, LESS MILEAGE IS MORE

In today’s age of social media and (virtual) group training, it’s hard not to notice that the majority of runners shaving down their marathon and half-marathon times are running a lot of kays in their race build-ups. Many runners get caught up in the idea that in order to see gains, you have to do more – myself included.

At 33, I’ve run 10 marathons and more than 30 half marathons, with personal bests of 3:45 and 1:39 respectively. Along the way, I’ve experimented with varying levels of volume and intensity, often simply based on what I saw my running peers doing. Ironically, I had some of my worst marathon performances with high-mileage training, feeling fatigued by the time I made it to the starting line.

In contrast, I’ve run my best marathon and half times with lower-mileage training. This led me to wonder: could some runners just be better suited for lowermileage training cycles?

Experts say yes. Running truly is an individualised sport, and the volume and intensity you’re better suited for to perform optimally can depend on fast-twitch and slowtwitch muscle-fibre predisposition.

A 2020 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that runners with more fast-twitch muscle fibres – which are better suited for short bursts of power – were more likely to suffer from short-term performance dips after periods of higher-volume training. As a quick refresher, fast-twitch fibres have more powerful force, but fatigue quickly; slow-twitch fibres are less powerful, but more fatigue-resistant. Our muscles contain both types, but your personal ratio can vary depending on factors such as genetics, muscle function, age, and training history.

“This shows that physiology can vary greatly between two athletes who seem the same on the surface in every way,” says David Roche, a US-based coach who – along with his wife, Megan – works with a wide range of recreational and elite runners. “So if you’re a fast-twitch athlete trying to push the same training as a slower-twitch athlete, it may have the opposite effect and actually make you slower, in the short term.”

In other words, for some runners, less truly is more.

The tricky part is that it’s hard to know what your specific muscle-fibre ratio is, and thus what type of athlete you are. Plug a recent 5K time into a race equivalency calculator, and compare it to your marathon results. If your 5K time suggests you can run a 3:59 marathon, but your best marathon time is 4:10, you may be stronger at shorter races that require more fast-twitch muscle fibres. But if your best marathon time is actually 3:50, you may have more slowtwitch fibres.

Also, consider your race history and the training approach you used to get there, Roche says. If you ran a 4:10 marathon with a high-mileage training plan, but clocked a 4:05 on a lower-peak plan, that’s valuable info.

Neither of these methods is foolproof, but they can help you estimate your strengths and where you fall on the spectrum.

Even professional long-distance runners can fall on different levels of the spectrum. Nell Rojas, who placed ninth at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials, is coached by her

GO-TO RUNNING SHOE SAUCONY ENDORPHIN SPEED

TYPICAL WEEKLY MILEAGE 55KM

CURRENT GOAL QUALIFYING FOR THE BOSTON MARATHON

FINAL-KAY MANTRA IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN; IT’S JUST ANOTHER LONG RUN.

FAVOURITE WAY TO RECOVER NOTHING BETTER THAN A POSTLONG-RUN NAP.

TRAINING PHILOSOPHY RUN FOR THE PERSONAL SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, FOR YOURSELF AND NO ONE ELSE!

father, former professional runner Ric Rojas, who trains his athletes with the mantra ‘undertrain and overperform’. Before setting her PB of 2:28:06 at the 2019 Grandma’s Marathon, Rojas trained on a lower-volume plan in which she peaked at around 130km in a week (a stark contrast to the 190- to 210km weeks most elite marathoners complete).

“My dad has been coaching athletes for about 50 years, so he’s seen a lot of runners overtrain and then either not get to the line, barely get to the line, or not finish the race,” Rojas explains. “He understands that the most important thing is that you get to the line healthy and ready to run hard.”

• Lifestyle factors matter Hot tip from Rojas: most runners aren’t suited for higher mileage, simply because they aren’t elite athletes.

Professionals and elites work on mobility and activation before every run, stretch and foam-roll after, eat well, nap, then do it all over again, because pretty much everything in their lives revolves around running, she explains.

“The average person with a full-time job and family is likely to be stressed and not sleeping enough, and they’ll quickly see that trying to put in that much quality or volume just isn’t sustainable,” says Rojas.

Rebekah Mayer, an athletics coach, agrees. Mayer has run three sub-3-hour marathons, two of which came after lower-

TRAINING

mileage training cycles with a peak of 80km in a week. She credits her training decisions to life circumstances dictating what her body could handle. Before her first sub-3, Mayer didn’t have kids yet, and had the time to devote to building up to a 110km peak; but with the latter two PBs, she dealt with curveballs like a difficult pregnancy and a car accident.

“The adjustments in training felt addition to preventing injury and improving efficiency and form,” she explains.

Mayer agrees, saying strength training is essential for lower-mileage runners to stress their legs and build strength off the run. “Higher-mileage runners, on the other hand, are usually loading in a lot more hills and a higher volume, which means they’ll probably get most or all of the strength they need just from their run training,” she says.

The most important thing is that you get to the line healthy and ready to run hard.

appropriate for where I was in my life,” she says. “A lot of it comes down to working within your lifestyle, and what your body can manage to do and still recover from.”

• Quality over quantity and comparison When it comes to creating lower-mileage training plans for her athletes, Mayer focuses on polarising their training, with two harder but longer-distance sessions per week and a recovery run the next day that’s shorter and very easy. Rojas, who coaches a range of athletes from high-school students to recreational and sub-elite runners, typically gets her clients to run four or five days per week with just one hard workout – anything from a threshold workout to 200m intervals – and one long run as the key quality sessions.

Rojas incorporates regular strength workouts, too, which she credits as a key component of her own strong performances as an elite marathoner. “The purpose of strength work is to recruit more muscle fibres and produce more power in each stride, in

Lower-mileage runners should also stay focused on their own training. Even seasoned runners struggle with second-guessing themselves around their peers. I know I did. But I’ve come to learn that comparison is the thief of joy in both life and running.

Rojas, Mayer, and Roche all emphasise that it’s key to remember that social media only tells a small part of the picture. Breaking 1:40 in the half marathon was huge for me, and I spent a year and a half chipping away at that goal. The idea that I (or anyone like me) might not be considered a ‘real runner’ because I met my big goal by training at a much lower volume than my peers is absurd.

“We continually forget what works for us, get scared or insecure based on what we see others doing, and then fall into the same vicious cycle of injury or overtraining mistakes,” Rojas says. “I’ve had to learn that hard lesson of not comparing myself to other athletes over and over again, and remind myself that it’s about what works for me. I have to just trust the process.”

SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE OVERTRAINING, AND WHAT TO DO

Key signals that your body is craving more rest and recovery include: • heavy legs during easy runs • constant soreness, physical fatigue, or overuse injuries • burnout and mental fatigue • increased resting heart rate • decreased immunity • abnormal hunger responses and cravings • loss of menstruation in women. If you experience any of these, dial back your training and get more sleep. If symptoms persist, talk to your doctor, who can perform blood tests to check for hormonal irregularities and iron levels that give clues for a diagnosis. The most common issues are nutritional – like not taking in enough kilojoules for athletic expenditure – and can be fixed with a smart nutrition plan, or working with a sports nutritionist. – Dr Jordan Metzl