Mile After Mile

Strength training makes a big difference when you need it the most.

In a 2025 study using a randomized control trial, researchers compared a group of trained male runners over a 10 week period. One group only ran. The other included 2 strength and plyometric sessions a week.

They found that at the end of a hard, race equivalent effort (90 minutes close to marathon pace) that the strength training group had increased running economy and time to exhaustion compared to the control group which decreased in both metrics.

While there are limitations to this study: only young male subjects, small sample sized, well trained athletes

It does provide evidence that strength training can stave off fatigue later in hard efforts and could be the key to a more durable, late race performance.

Also notable is that this was done in only 2 sessions a week so this doesn’t require hours and hours at the gym.

Researchers continue to find more benefits of strength training to runners, at all distances so if you’re not already doing so, this is the sign to start adding it to your workout routine.

Follow for the breakdown of one scientific article each Friday and why it matters for you

Why your race training block looks different coming back from injury:

The training: Slower build, reduced or no intensity

The mindset: learning to trust your body; hyper awareness

Less margin for error: pushing when you shouldn’t, not eating or resting enough all can have outsized consequences

Adjusting expectations for outcomes: You may not hit a pr for your race, but appreciate that you can achieve what you did coming back frm the injury

If you are training for a race coming back from an injury, you already know things are different than they were before.

There are four major shifts that happen:

How you build your training block - The build up is slower. You’re likely starting from a lower base and ramping up training load too quickly can increase risk of reinjury. Similarly, adding intensity through workouts and speed work should come later and be added carefully (if at all)

The mental shift of learning to trust your body - You are paying attention to everything you feel. Niggles that wouldn’t have registered before. You are hyperaware of how you’re feeling at every step.

Less room for error - Pushing harder than you should or skipping recovery can have greater consequences. Your body is already working hard to rebuild plus train for a race; it’s much easier to get to the breaking point

Adjust your expectations - This may not be the race to try to PR. Running is sometimes about being the best version of the runner you are right now. Success for this training block may just be finishing the race or a slower time than usual.

What was the most difficult shift in your comeback training block?

Still capping your carbs at 90g/hour on race day? A new review supports the trend that we’re seeing with a lot of elite athletes; that 90g isn’t really the cap.

While it may not be the limit any longer, that doesn’t mean you should be taking 180g/hr on your next race day.

Published in The Journal of Nutrition (Feb 2026), the review revisits the long-standing ACSM guideline published in 2016 of 90g of carbs/hour for exercise over 3 hours.

The authors consideration of the emerging evidence demonstrates that well trained athletes using the right carb blends can likely handle 90-120g/hour and these higher rates can improve performance.

However, the trend of some athletes reporting even higher intake rates of 150-160 g/hr doesn’t have the same evidence right now (but science is continually changing).

Now it’s important to note that most of these athletes were elite with very fast marathon times. AND they trained not just running, but also their GI tracts to be able to take in that much fuel.

What does this mean for you? You could see benefits from higher carb intake, but it is essential to train your gut gradually during long runs and test your own ceiling before you ever jump into a race. GI distress was one of the major side effects from higher fueling efforts.

Follow for more running research tailored to you.

A steamy day but a lot of fun this morning at Del Ray Run Club.

We meet every Saturday morning at 7:30am in front of Swings

Eating more carbs per hour on the run means that you’ll use less muscle glycogen, right?

That’s true to a point.

A 2025 meta-analysis in the Journal of Applied Physiology pooled 31 studies looking at much muscle glycogen carbohydrate intake spares during prolonged exercise.

The two biggest takeaways for runners:

Carbs do matter: Moderate intake did show a glycogen-sparing effect for muscles

A higher rate of carb intake doesn’t save more glycogen: there is a diminishing rate of return for this metric from increase carb intake.

As with any study, there are limitations. The subjects were mostly young, males. It didn’t examine intake over 100g/hr. And, most importantly, it only looked at this one metric, muscle glycogen sparing. There are so many other factors that play into performance and recovery.

What does this mean for you as a runner? Fuel your long runs and your races. But fueling above the 60g/hr or so range will not change the effect on saving muscle glycogen on your run. However, that doesn’t mean higher fueling rates can’t be more effective for you. Given this shift towards higher fueling for many elite runners, there can clearly be a benefit; it is just related to other factors.

Follow for more weekly science breakdowns for runners.

Ready to run? Join us on Saturday August 8th at 7:30am outside of Swings Coffee (501 E Monroe Ave) for Del Ray Run Club!

See you there!