The Running Public Training Tuesday: How Important is Strength Training?
Feb 5, 2026
A lively debate on whether strength work is necessary for distance runners. They argue muscle building versus injury prevention and tendon health. Practical tradeoffs around time, recovery, and periodizing lifting with key running sessions are discussed. The conversation covers plyometrics, upper-body lifts for recovery, and why strength matters more for trail and ultra racing.
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Make Strength Training Insurance
- Do treat strength training as an insurance policy for long-term durability and injury prevention.
- Prioritize consistent anabolic work alongside running to offset running's catabolic effects.
Multiple Paths To Elite Performance
- Lighter body mass often helps peak speed, but there are multiple successful body-type pathways to elite performance.
- Strength training is not strictly mandatory to reach the fastest race times for every distance.
Power Lives At The Attachments
- Much of running power and injury risk centers at tendon attachment points rather than muscle bellies.
- Strength or targeted loading that reinforces those insertions improves durability more than bulk alone.