Train your running routine using the 80/20 method.

Studies show that running at a slow pace for most of the training duration can provide more sustainable benefits and progress for runners.

Running slowly, at a pace where you can have a conversation with a fellow runner, is a useful exercise for runners. Photo: Runner's World

"From our research, elite athletes, including Eliud Kipchoge, train about 80% of the time at what we call low intensity and only spend 20% of the time training intensely," Dr. Stephen Seiler of Agder University, Norway, one of the world's leading sports physiologists, told Runner's World .

Seiler gained a better understanding of endurance in the early 2000s when he analyzed large amounts of research on training intensity and duration. Since then, further studies by sports scientists such as Veronique Billat, Augusto Zapico, and Jonathan Esteve-Lanao have corroborated Seiler's theory that the "80/20 method" is the pinnacle of running training.

"Whether elite runners train 20 or 40 hours a week, training typically follows this 80/20 split," Seiler said.

Legendary British marathon runner Paula Radcliffe adhered to the 80/20 training regimen during her peak in 2003. At that time, she ran at a low intensity 12 out of 15 times, totaling 257 km per week, in eight-day cycles.

This principle also holds true for amateur runners, who run a maximum of three or four times a week . Seiler says, "We did more research and showed that this method is effective regardless of whether you train four or 14 times a week." He adds that the 80/20 training method is considered even more important for amateur runners, as this group often misjudges their own intensity when they begin to feel progress in their fitness.

"Many amateurs try to push themselves to the limit every time, so they train a lot at this point. They'll improve initially, but then they'll stagnate. The problem is they become too tired to handle high-intensity training sessions," Seiler explained.

Continuous high-intensity training will not yield long-term results or progress for runners. Photo: Fitpage

Studies show that amateur runners prefer to run 50% at moderate-to-high intensity and 50% at low intensity. When Esteve-Lanao asked experienced runners from reputable running teams to follow a 50/50 and 80/20 training regimen, the 80/20 group improved their 10km performance by over 5% compared to the 3.5% improvement of the 50/50 group.

The runners in this study only ran over 50 km per week. But even if you run less than that, the 80/20 rule can still be effective.

A study conducted by Luca Festa at the University of Verona, Italy, compared amateur runners after half an hour of running each day for eight weeks. One group followed a polarized training program, in which 77% of the exercise was performed at low intensity, 3% at moderate intensity, and 20% at high intensity, while the other group performed 40% of the exercise time at low intensity, 50% at moderate intensity, and 10% at high intensity.

The training regimens for both groups were adjusted to ensure equal total training volume, so the 77/3/20 group ran slightly more (32 minutes) than the 40/50/10 group (27 minutes). The study showed that both methods yielded similar results in improving fitness, but the 40/50/10 group saved 17% less time. This suggests that the 80/20 method is just as effective as high-intensity training for short-distance runners, albeit taking more time.

How do you define the two intensity levels of 80/20 ? To simplify, there are two intensity levels with 80/20: low on one side, medium to high on the other. Seiler's research separates the threshold between these two thresholds as the ventilation threshold, which falls between 77 and 79% of the maximum heart rate in trained runners.

There are many different tests and measurement methods to determine your limits, but one easy way to determine intensity is to manually calculate your heart rate training zones, or even easier, to base it on the specifications of your running watch. It's important to remember that light, low-intensity runs should be done at a pace where you can sustain a conversation.

A low-intensity run should only take place within heart rate zones 1, 2, and 3. (Image: screenshot)

What are the physiological benefits of running slowly ? Running at a low speed trains the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to work more efficiently, allowing you to run with less effort during high-intensity runs.

Slow running also trains slow-twitch muscle fibers—the ones that allow us to move rhythmically—promoting better adaptation for endurance running. Therefore, if you don't include enough slow running sessions in your training plan, you won't receive the proper aerobic stress needed for long-distance running.

Running at a slower pace also helps to train and strengthen tendons, ligaments, joints, and bones without putting excessive stress on them.

Both moderate and high-intensity running put excessive stress on the body, hindering recovery. This not only increases the risk of injury but also makes subsequent high-intensity workouts less effective due to fatigue. Therefore, these workouts are inefficient.

This is why Kipchoge spends a lot of time training at low intensity, which allows the Kenyan legend to truly train properly during heavy sessions. Kipchoge only has two heavy training sessions a week, and the rest are done at a slow pace.

Kipchoge during a training session at a training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya. Photo: NN Running Team

Flexible application . Seiler suggests that the 80/20 ratio should be used as a guideline rather than a strict rule, and can be flexibly changed to 85/15 or 75/25. But he emphasizes that changes shouldn't be too drastic, and things shouldn't be overly complicated.

"The 80/20 rule is based on training sessions," Seiler explains. "I categorize training sessions into light and heavy. If you're running intermittently, switching between high-intensity and low-intensity training and vice versa, with your heart rate fluctuating, that's still a heavy session. If you run four times a week, regardless of length, and one of those is a heavy run, then the ratio is 75/25."

Hong Duy (according to Runner's World )

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