Running economy is the energy cost of running at a given submaximal speed. Two runners with the same VO2max can finish a marathon thirty minutes apart because one of them uses less oxygen at every pace. The published evidence on improving economy is now substantial, and the interventions are specific. Most are unglamorous.
What running economy actually is
The technical definition matters. Running economy is typically expressed as the volume of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body mass per kilometre, at a defined submaximal speed. A more economical runner uses less oxygen at the same pace. The metric was popularised by Daniels and colleagues from the 1970s onward and remains the most useful predictor of distance performance among runners with similar VO2max.
Saunders and colleagues, in a 2004 review in Sports Medicine, surveyed the factors known to influence economy: anthropometric, biomechanical, metabolic and training-related. The most actionable for a recreational runner are training-related. The rest are largely fixed.
Why economy matters more than VO2max for most runners
VO2max responds to training within a window of roughly 10 to 25% for an untrained adult and substantially less for someone already running consistently. Running economy, by contrast, continues to improve with training years in and out. The 2012 paper by Barnes and Kilding in Sports Medicine summarised this: for trained distance runners, economy improvements often explain performance gains better than VO2max changes do.
Interventions with the strongest evidence
Four interventions have repeatedly demonstrated improvements in running economy in controlled trials. They are not in vogue. They are in the data.
Heavy strength training
The largest body of evidence supports heavy, low-rep resistance training as a tool to improve economy in distance runners. A 2017 meta-analysis by Berryman and colleagues in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance found that resistance training improved running economy by an average of approximately 3 to 5% in trained runners, without increasing body mass.
The protocols used in the trials are specific: heavy compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, lunges) at 80% or more of one-rep max, two sessions a week, four to eight weeks minimum. Not circuit training. Not bodyweight squats. Heavy.
For Indian recreational runners, the practical translation: find a coach or facility that can teach a safe squat and deadlift. Two sessions a week of three to four sets of three to six reps. Keep running easy on lifting days. See our Daniels VDOT primer for how to fit this into a weekly structure.
Plyometric training
Plyometrics — bounding, hopping, drop jumps — improve the elastic recoil of the lower leg, particularly the Achilles-soleus complex. A 2003 study by Saunders and colleagues found a 4% improvement in running economy in trained runners after nine weeks of plyometric training, with no change in VO2max or body composition.
The dose is modest: one or two sessions a week of 60 to 100 ground contacts, performed when fresh, not after a long run. Bilateral hops, single-leg hops, ankling drills. Easy to overdo, particularly on hard Indian footpaths, so start with grass or a track.
High-intensity interval training
HIIT improves economy through a different pathway — improved mitochondrial density, better neuromuscular coordination at speed. A 2013 review by Bacon and colleagues in PLOS ONE catalogued interval protocols and their effects on submaximal oxygen cost. Short, fast intervals (200 to 400 metres at 3K to 5K effort, with full recovery) appear particularly effective for economy.
The trap is doing them too often. Once a week, in addition to a longer threshold or tempo session, is sufficient. More than that and recovery breaks down. Browse our types of run primer for how interval work fits alongside long runs and easy mileage.
Volume of easy running
This is the boring intervention. The most consistent predictor of running economy in elite endurance athletes is years of high weekly volume at easy intensity. The mechanism is mitochondrial biogenesis, capillary density and improved fat oxidation, all of which reduce the oxygen cost of any given submaximal pace.
For a recreational runner, this translates to a multi-year project of accumulating easy kilometres. Our marathon plans structure this around a 70 to 80% easy, 20 to 30% quality split — the polarised distribution supported by Stoggl and Sperlich's 2014 work in Frontiers in Physiology.
What does not move the needle, despite the noise
I want to be specific about interventions that get attention without supporting evidence.
One: beetroot juice and other nitrate supplements. The literature is genuinely mixed. Early studies showed economy improvements at submaximal intensities; subsequent work in trained athletes has often failed to replicate. A 2016 systematic review by Pawlak-Chaouch and colleagues concluded the effect is small and inconsistent in trained runners. Worth trialling. Not worth depending on.
Two: barefoot or minimalist shoes specifically to improve economy. Some trials show short-term economy improvements; others show injury rates that wipe out the gain. The trade-off rarely favours a recreational runner. The carbon-plated shoe literature is more compelling and discussed widely elsewhere.
Three: form-cuing apps and gadget-led drills. Form will improve from accumulated volume, strides and strength work. It will not improve from a wrist-watch buzzing at you to change your cadence on every easy run.
An Indian-context note on heat and economy
Running economy worsens in heat. The oxygen cost of a given pace climbs as core temperature rises and cardiovascular drift accumulates. Periard's 2020 review confirmed this across multiple trials. For a runner training through an Indian summer, this has two implications.
First, expect submaximal heart rates to climb at the same pace through April to September. This is not a fitness regression. It is environmental.
Second, heat acclimatisation — a structured 10 to 14 day exposure — improves economy in heat specifically. Plasma volume expansion, lower sweat sodium, lower core temperature at the same workload. For race-day in a warm climate, this is worth planning.
Putting it together: a 12-week economy block
For a recreational marathoner who has run consistently for two years and wants to lower energy cost: 70% easy aerobic kilometres, two heavy strength sessions a week, one weekly plyometric session, one weekly interval session at 3K to 5K effort, one longer tempo or threshold run, and one true long run. Cutback every fourth week. Recalibrate paces every four weeks using our calculators.
Realistic expectation: 3 to 5% improvement over a single 12-week block, with most of the gain showing up in submaximal pace at the same heart rate, not in a flashier metric.
Your next step
Economy is built slowly and shows up at the end of long races. If you are looking for one decisive intervention, start with heavy strength training. If you cannot fit that in, add plyometrics. If you cannot fit either in, simply add easy kilometres. Generate a structured block via our plan generator and read more across Running Lab as you build the underlying picture.