Running Economy: What It Is and How to Improve It

Most runners spend a lot of time thinking about their fitness. They track their paces, check their heart rate zones, worry about their VO2 max. All of that matters. But there's a metric that often gets overlooked, and for many trained runners it's the one that actually separates good performance from great performance.

That metric is running economy.

It doesn't get as much attention as aerobic capacity, but the research is pretty clear: among runners with similar fitness levels, the one with better running economy usually wins. Understanding it, and training to improve it, is one of the most practical things you can do as a runner.

What Running Economy Actually Is

Running economy is a measure of how much oxygen your body uses to sustain a given pace. The lower your oxygen cost at a set speed, the better your running economy. Think of it like fuel efficiency in a car. Two cars might have the same engine size, but one gets significantly more kilometres per litre. Same concept applies here.

Where VO2 max tells you the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use, running economy tells you how efficiently you use it at sub-maximal efforts. And since most of your training and racing happens below your absolute ceiling, efficiency matters enormously.

Research consistently shows that running economy predicts race performance better than VO2 max alone among trained runners. That's because VO2 max tends to plateau after a few years of consistent training, while running economy keeps improving with the right work. Two runners with identical VO2 max scores can have very different marathon times simply because one uses oxygen more efficiently at race pace.

Why It Matters More As You Get Fitter

When you're new to running, almost everything improves your fitness quickly. Your aerobic capacity grows fast, your times drop week after week, and the progress feels obvious. But after a couple of years of consistent training, the easy gains slow down.

This is where running economy becomes the main lever. It's the thing that separates runners who plateau at a certain level from those who keep getting faster. And unlike raw aerobic capacity, economy responds well to a range of training approaches that even recreational runners can apply.

What Affects Running Economy

Several factors influence how efficiently you move at a given pace.

Running form. Inefficient mechanics waste energy. Poor posture, overstriding, excessive vertical bounce, and arm crossing all force your body to work harder than it needs to. Improving your running form doesn't need to be complicated, but small changes can make a real difference over time.

Cadence. Most recreational runners take fewer steps per minute than they could. A slightly higher running cadence reduces the time your foot spends on the ground, which reduces impact loading and often improves efficiency. You don't need to hit a magic number, but experimenting with increasing your cadence by five to ten percent can be worthwhile.

Strength and stiffness. The tendons and muscles in your legs act like springs. When they're strong and stiff enough to store and return energy efficiently, less work falls on your aerobic system. This is why strength training for runners has such a direct impact on economy, not just injury prevention.

Running volume. Simply running more, at easy effort, teaches your body to move more efficiently over time. The adaptation is gradual but real. This is one reason Zone 2 training is worth understanding. The bulk of your mileage at genuinely easy effort builds the aerobic base and mechanical efficiency that underpins everything else.

How to Train to Improve It

The good news is that running economy responds well to training. Here's what the evidence points to.

Strides at the end of easy runs. Four to six short accelerations of 80 to 100 metres, done at the end of your easy runs a few times a week, are one of the most underrated tools for improving economy. They're fast enough to stimulate neuromuscular adaptations without creating meaningful fatigue. Running strides are simple to add and the compounding effect over months is significant.

Strength work, twice a week. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, calf raises, and single-leg work build the leg strength that translates directly to better ground contact mechanics. Plyometrics (jumps and bounding drills) produce particularly strong economy improvements. Research has shown six weeks of plyometric training alone can improve economy by 2 to 3 percent with no change in VO2 max.

Speed work and intervals. Higher-intensity sessions train your body to move efficiently at a wider range of speeds. Speed work and intervals done regularly keep your neuromuscular system sharp and reinforce good mechanics under fatigue.

Consistent mileage over time. There's no shortcut here. Running economy improves with years of consistent training. The longer you run regularly, the more efficient your body becomes at the mechanics of running. This doesn't mean running as much as possible. It means building mileage progressively, staying healthy, and staying consistent.

Gear That Helps You Move More Efficiently

Training is the primary lever for running economy. But the gear you run in can also reduce wasted energy, particularly over long distances where small inefficiencies accumulate.

Running shoes with good energy return. Modern shoes with supercritical foam and carbon plates genuinely improve efficiency. The foam returns more energy with each footstrike, and the carbon plate stiffens the toe-off. The improvements are measurable, particularly for longer distances and faster paces.

Lightweight, well-fitted kit. Anything that moves against your body or adds unnecessary weight creates a small but real energy cost. Running in kit that fits well and stays in place removes one more variable.

Running sunglasses that don't move. This one sounds minor, but it isn't. Sunglasses that bounce on your nose force you to squint, adjust, and compensate throughout a run. That distraction costs focus and can subtly affect your stride. A lightweight pair that sits securely and stays in place is one of those small annoyances removed from the equation. Re. sunglasses are built specifically for runners. Frames like the Re.flex or Re.glide are designed to stay in place at pace. If you want optics that adapt to the full range of morning to midday light, the Adaptor lens is worth a look. You can explore options at the lens guide or use Find Your Pair to match lenses to how and where you run.

A GPS watch. Not for pace obsession, but for tracking effort zones accurately. Running your easy days genuinely easy is one of the most consistent ways to improve economy over time, and a watch helps you stay honest about that.

Realistic Expectations

Running economy doesn't improve overnight. It's one of those adaptations that compounds over months and years, not days. You're unlikely to notice it in a single session. But runners who focus on it consistently tend to find that they can sustain paces that used to feel hard with considerably less effort over time.

The most common mistake is trying to address everything at once. Form, cadence, strength, strides, and volume are all worth working on. But stacking too many changes simultaneously makes it hard to know what's working and increases injury risk. Pick one or two things, be consistent with them for six to eight weeks, and then build from there.

Running is a long game. Running economy rewards the runners who play it that way.

The Takeaway

If you want to run faster with less effort, running economy is the concept worth understanding. It improves with consistent mileage, strength work, strides, and good mechanics. Among trained runners, it often matters more than raw aerobic capacity.

Combine that with gear that removes small inefficiencies and you're building the kind of running that compounds over time. Start with the training. Get the mechanics right. And remove the small annoyances that shouldn't be there in the first place.