Running Economy: Why Strength Training Makes You a Better Runner

Why Strong People Are Often Terrible Runners (And How to Fix It)

There's a specific type of person who walks into a running club for the first time. They're clearly strong — you can tell from the build. They've been lifting for years. They're fit in a gym sense.

And then the run starts and they're absolutely gassed by kilometre 3.

This is the running economy problem. And it's fixable.

What Running Economy Actually Is

Running economy is the oxygen cost of running at a given speed. A runner with good economy uses less oxygen — and therefore less energy — to run at a given pace than a runner with poor economy.

It's the running equivalent of fuel efficiency in a car. Two runners might have the same VO2max (maximum oxygen uptake capacity), but the one with better running economy will run faster at the same effort level because they're using the available oxygen more efficiently.

Saunders et al. (2004) — A review in Sports Medicine identified running economy as one of the three key determinants of distance running performance, alongside VO2max and lactate threshold. Importantly, running economy can be improved through training even when VO2max has plateaued — making it a critical variable for experienced runners.

For lifters who take up running, running economy is typically the limiting factor. They often have adequate cardiovascular capacity but poor movement efficiency — they're wasting energy with every stride.

Why Lifters Tend to Have Poor Running Economy

Several factors contribute to poor running economy in people who primarily lift:

Muscle mass and body weight: More muscle mass means more weight to carry. Running economy is partly determined by the ratio of power output to body weight. Very muscular individuals are carrying more mass per unit of cardiovascular capacity. This is not a reason to stop lifting — it's a reason to understand the trade-off.

Stiff ankles and limited dorsiflexion: Heavy squatting and deadlifting without adequate mobility work can reduce ankle dorsiflexion range of motion. Limited dorsiflexion impairs the ability to use the Achilles tendon as an elastic spring during running, which significantly reduces running economy. Munteanu & Barton (2011) — Research in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research found that limited ankle dorsiflexion is associated with altered running mechanics and increased injury risk.

Lack of running-specific neuromuscular patterns: Running is a skill. The neuromuscular patterns — the timing and coordination of muscle activation during each stride — are developed through running practice. Lifters who are new to running haven't developed these patterns yet, which means they're using more energy per stride than an experienced runner.

Excessive upper body tension: Lifters often carry tension in their shoulders and arms during running, which wastes energy and disrupts running mechanics. Relaxed upper body running is a skill that takes practice.

How to Improve Running Economy as a Hybrid Athlete

The good news: running economy responds well to training, and several of the interventions are things hybrid athletes are already doing or can easily add.

1. Strength training improves running economy

This is the counterintuitive finding that most lifters are pleased to hear. Beattie et al. (2017) — A systematic review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that heavy resistance training (squats, deadlifts, and single-leg exercises) significantly improved running economy in endurance runners. The mechanism is thought to involve improved neuromuscular efficiency and greater elastic energy storage in tendons.

The practical implication: your strength training is already helping your running economy. The key is including exercises that are relevant to running mechanics — single-leg work, hip hinge patterns, calf raises, and plyometric exercises.

2. Plyometric training

Plyometric exercises — box jumps, bounding, single-leg hops — improve the elastic energy storage and return in tendons, which is a major component of running economy. Turner et al. (2003) — Research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that 6 weeks of plyometric training improved running economy by 4.1% in well-trained distance runners.

For hybrid athletes, adding 10-15 minutes of plyometric work to 1-2 strength sessions per week is a practical way to improve running economy without adding significant training volume.

3. Running form drills

Running drills — high knees, butt kicks, A-skips, B-skips — improve the neuromuscular patterns of running and can meaningfully improve running economy over time. Most running clubs include drills in their warm-up for this reason.

4. Ankle mobility work

If you have limited ankle dorsiflexion from years of lifting, dedicated mobility work can improve running economy by restoring the ankle's ability to function as an elastic spring. Calf stretching, ankle circles, and wall ankle stretches performed daily will produce meaningful improvements over 4-8 weeks.

5. Accumulate running volume

Running economy improves with running practice. The neuromuscular patterns of efficient running are developed through running. There's no shortcut — you need to run consistently to become a more economical runner.

The Hybrid Athlete Advantage

Here's the thing that doesn't get said enough: hybrid athletes who lift have a genuine advantage in running economy development compared to pure runners who don't lift.

The strength training produces tendon adaptations — increased stiffness and improved elastic energy storage — that directly improve running economy. The single-leg work improves hip stability and reduces energy waste from lateral movement during running. The posterior chain development improves propulsive force.

The lifter who takes up running is not starting from scratch. They have a foundation of strength that, once the running-specific neuromuscular patterns are developed, will translate into better running economy than a similarly fit person who has never lifted.

It just takes a few months of consistent running to get there.

The Bottom Line

Running economy is why strong people are often poor runners initially. It's not a cardiovascular problem — it's a movement efficiency problem. And it's fixable through consistent running, targeted strength work, plyometrics, and ankle mobility.

The hybrid athlete who lifts and runs will, over time, develop better running economy than a pure runner of equivalent fitness. The strength training is doing more for your running than you probably realise.

Keep running. Keep lifting. The two are building on each other.

References: Saunders et al. (2004) Sports Med; Beattie et al. (2017) J Strength Cond Res; Turner et al. (2003) J Strength Cond Res; Munteanu & Barton (2011) J Foot Ankle Res