What is Running Economy?

Running economy is the oxygen your body consumes to run at a steady submaximal speed. Lower cost at the same pace means better economy.

In simpler terms, it's how much energy you need to expend to run at a certain speed. Runners with better running economy can hold a given pace using less oxygen, and can sustain it for longer, than runners who are more expensive to run at that same speed.

A common analogy that aptly describes running economy involves thinking about fuel efficiency in a car. At some speeds, the car is more efficient than others. For example, driving my 6 cylinder Mazda by myself down the road at 55mph uses less fuel per mile than driving it 100mph down the road (if it even would go that fast).

The same is true with you.

You probably notice that certain paces seem to come natural to you. Some paces may feel "efficient", while others not so much.

Most scientifically-backed training programs will increase your running economy as a result of the training itself. The better you train, the more your running economy will improve over time.

How much you improve is really a function of time, training, genetics, and so on. Because proper training creates a stimulus (or stress) on your body, compensation and adaptation occurs so your body can adjust to that stress and improve.

Economy is not the same thing as efficiency

These two words get used interchangeably, but in exercise physiology they mean different things, and it's worth being precise about.

Economy is the energy cost of running at a given speed. Efficiency is a ratio of useful work performed to energy expended, which requires measuring the mechanical work you produce. Running economy doesn't attempt to measure that.

Form, technique and gait can influence your energy cost, but they aren't the same thing as running economy, and they're a smaller lever than most runners assume. More on that below.

Running economy and the relationship with VO2 max and other factors

You will often hear runners associate VO2 max (maximum oxygen uptake) as the prime measurement for their running economy. However, running economy is not just about your VO2 max. VO2 max is the size of your aerobic engine. Running economy is how much of that engine you have to use to hold a given pace.

Running economy encompasses a combination of factors like:

• Metabolic efficiency: How well your body converts fuel into usable energy, and which fuels it chooses at a given intensity.
  

• Cardiorespiratory efficiency: How effectively your heart and lungs transport oxygen to your muscles.
  

• Biomechanical factors: How your stride, ground contact and elastic recoil affect the energy each step costs you.
  

• Neuromuscular efficiency: How efficiently your nervous system and muscles coordinate movement.
  

One technical note worth knowing if you ever get tested: economy is often reported as oxygen consumption, but oxygen alone doesn't capture the whole picture, because your body gets different amounts of energy from fat than from carbohydrate. Researchers increasingly report economy as a caloric cost per kilometre instead, which accounts for what you're actually burning.

Why running economy matters

Better running economy means a lower energy cost at any given pace, and that shows up in two ways that matter to you:

• Improved endurance: The same pace costs you less, so you can hold it for longer before fatigue forces you to slow down.
  

• Faster racing: At the same level of effort and the same VO2 max, a more economical runner covers ground faster.
  

You will sometimes see running economy sold as a way to prevent injuries or recover faster between workouts. Be careful with those claims. There isn't good evidence that being more economical makes you more durable or speeds up recovery, and the research review most often cited on running economy doesn't address either one. Injury risk in particular is driven far more by your training load and how quickly you change it.

How to improve your running economy

There's no magic bullet, but several training methods have real support behind them. They are not equally well evidenced, so they're listed strongest first.

Adding strength training without wrecking your legs covers how to fit it around your mileage so the two support each other instead of competing.

Beyond that, the running itself does plenty of the work:

• Consistent aerobic mileage over years: The single biggest predictor of good economy is training age. Economy improves as a by-product of running consistently for a long time, which is why experienced runners are usually more economical than newer ones at the same fitness level.
  

• Tempo runs: Running at a sustained, comfortably hard pace for an extended period develops your upper aerobic capacity and your ability to clear and reuse lactate at higher intensities.
  

• Interval training: Alternating periods of high-intensity effort with recovery periods. These types of workouts help develop VO2 max and also improve economy.
  

• Hill repeats: Running uphill builds strength and power in a running-specific way, which is part of why hill work shows up in almost every distance program.
  

• Racing shoes: Footwear genuinely changes your energy cost. Shoes combining a resilient foam midsole with an embedded carbon plate were shown to reduce the energy cost of running by roughly 4 percent compared to conventional racing flats. This is real, and it is also the only item on this list you can buy.
  

If you want to understand the stride side of this in more detail, running cadence and stride length covers how step rate and step length combine to produce your pace, and why 180 steps per minute is not a universal target.

Remember, improving running economy takes time and consistent effort. Be patient, track your progress, and keep working towards becoming a more efficient runner!

Resources and Citations

Barnes KR, Kilding AE. Running economy: measurement, norms, and determining factors. Sports Med Open. 2015 Dec;1(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s40798-015-0007-y. Epub 2015 Mar 27. PMID: 27747844; PMCID: PMC4555089.

Llanos-Lagos C, Ramirez-Campillo R, Moran J, Sáez de Villarreal E. Effect of strength training programs in middle- and long-distance runners' economy at different running speeds: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2024;54(4):895-932. doi: 10.1007/s40279-023-01978-y.

Blagrove RC, Howe LP, Howatson G, Hayes PR. Heavy resistance training versus plyometric training for improving running economy and running time trial performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med Open. 2022;8:136. doi: 10.1186/s40798-022-00522-y.

Hoogkamer W, Kipp S, Frank JH, Farina EM, Luo G, Kram R. A comparison of the energetic cost of running in marathon racing shoes. Sports Med. 2018;48(4):1009-1019. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0811-2.

Moore IS. Is there an economical running technique? A review of modifiable biomechanical factors affecting running economy. Sports Med. 2016;46(6):793-807. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0474-4.