80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower
- Downloads：7242
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-20 09:54:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matt Fitzgerald
- ISBN：0451470885
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
This revolutionary training method has been embraced by elite runners - with extraordinary results - and now you can do it too。
Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program - in which you do 80 per cent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 per cent at a higher intensity - is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance。 With a thorough examination of the science and research behind this training method， 80/20 Running is a hands-on guide for runners of all levels with training programs for 5k， 10k， half-marathon and marathon distances。
In 80/20 Running you'll discover how to transform your workouts to avoid burnout。
Runs will become more pleasant and less draining
You'll carry less fatigue from one run to the next
Your performance will improve in the few high-intensity runs
Your fitness levels will reach new heights
Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program - in which you do 80 per cent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 per cent at a higher intensity - is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance。 With a thorough examination of the science and research behind this training method， 80/20 Running is a hands-on guide for runners of all levels with training programs for 5k， 10k， half-marathon and marathon distances。
In 80/20 Running you'll discover how to transform your workouts to avoid burnout。
Runs will become more pleasant and less draining
You'll carry less fatigue from one run to the next
Your performance will improve in the few high-intensity runs
Your fitness levels will reach new heights
Reviews
Bob
，
Most of the book is very helpful。 I particularly appreciated the history of workouts and the detailed description of how runners evolved in their training approaches。 The take away from this is basically， run slow and long to build stamina。 Run fast to build speed。 The problem is running fast for extended periods of time requires stamina。 It's difficult to build stamina if you are running fast all the time。His criticism of running form approaches （such as Pose which I use） I disagreed with。 He s Most of the book is very helpful。 I particularly appreciated the history of workouts and the detailed description of how runners evolved in their training approaches。 The take away from this is basically， run slow and long to build stamina。 Run fast to build speed。 The problem is running fast for extended periods of time requires stamina。 It's difficult to build stamina if you are running fast all the time。His criticism of running form approaches （such as Pose which I use） I disagreed with。 He says there's no evidence it helps with performance， that efficiency is learned regardless of form。 I am skeptical of the studies he cites。 I think that an accomplished runner will take more than 6 weeks to become efficient if they change their form in a significant way。In his discussion of injury， there is no mention of form and how it could or might prevent injury！ Also no discussion on shoe technology and it's effect on injury， quite shocking in my opinion！ 。。。more
Roy Lotz
，
I ran my first half-marathon just three months after I started running， and finished with a stately 2:05。 Considering how much I improved in those three months， I figured that my next time would be well under two hours。 But when that race finally rolled around—more than two years after the first one， partly due to COVID—I did not even break two hours。 This is pretty paltry improvement for two years of consistent running， so I figure that I am doing something wrong。ttAccording to Matt Fitzgerald， I ran my first half-marathon just three months after I started running， and finished with a stately 2:05。 Considering how much I improved in those three months， I figured that my next time would be well under two hours。 But when that race finally rolled around—more than two years after the first one， partly due to COVID—I did not even break two hours。 This is pretty paltry improvement for two years of consistent running， so I figure that I am doing something wrong。ttAccording to Matt Fitzgerald， I am。 Most amateur runners reportedly gravitate towards a training regime that is evenly split between high- and low-intensity workouts， or what you can call 50/50。 （Honestly my own training habits were probably worse; I tend just to run as fast as I can without feeling miserable， which puts me in the “moderate-intensity” black hole。） He is here to advocate a shift that， unless you are a runner， will probably not seem especially profound: instead of a 50/50 split， devote 80% of your training to low-intensity workouts。ttHe spends the bulk of this book defending this approach—tracing its history， citing examples， referring to studies—which may seem rather belabored。 However， after I repeatedly tried myself to keep my heartbeat at the prescribed leisurely rate， I realized why he takes such pains to defend the approach。 Simply， it is quite counter-intuitive in practice。 As I crawled past abuelas pushing shopping cards， and abuelos with their walking sticks， I could not believe that this was the right way to train。 Surely， I should be pushing myself—harder， faster， stronger， as Daft Punk insisted。ttThe idea， in a nutshell， is that endurance， not speed， is the most important factor in winning races。 Most reasonably fit people could run at a professional marathoner’s pace—for a few seconds， that is。 The challenge is maintaining that pace for hours at a time。 While high-intensity workouts bring many benefits， the low and slow burn of mile after mile （for the other side of this low-intensity coin is high-volume） is what really builds our physical and mental endurance。 It even， Fitzgerald argues， gradually helps to improve our form。ttI certainly do not know nearly enough to say whether any of this is reasonable and correct。 But since I clearly have little idea what I am doing， I will do my best to incorporate his principles as I prepare for a 10K in December。 I could hardly get any slower。____________Two tidbits I learned from this。 First， Fitzgerald confidently argues that you cannot explicitly train form。 He cites studies indicating that when runners consciously manipulate their running form， they get less efficient。 Second， according to Fitzgerald， training for long-distance running actually has a negative effect on maximum sprinting speed。 So I hope I don’t encounter any lions。 。。。more
AJW
，
The title summarises the book， and in a way， tells you all you need to know。 So why bother to read all the pages inside the book when you can just read the cover？ What I liked about this book is all the supplementary information Matt Fitzgerald gives。 He mentions research study after research study。 He talks about the training regimes of dozens of famous runners （well， I assume they’re famous - as a newbie to distance running I only knew of Paula Radcliffe & Mo Farah）。 He explains technical term The title summarises the book， and in a way， tells you all you need to know。 So why bother to read all the pages inside the book when you can just read the cover？ What I liked about this book is all the supplementary information Matt Fitzgerald gives。 He mentions research study after research study。 He talks about the training regimes of dozens of famous runners （well， I assume they’re famous - as a newbie to distance running I only knew of Paula Radcliffe & Mo Farah）。 He explains technical terms like ventilatory and lactate thresholds。 He lists all the different types of runs there such as hill repetitions， intervals， fartlek/speed play， tempo， etc。 He describes how to put a training plan together and gives loads of detailed examples。In short， this is a runner’s textbook that will equip me with the technical knowledge to train in the best possible way that suits me personally。 I know that I’ll be referring to this book repeatedly as I learn how to become a better runner in the coming years。 。。。more
Rachel
，
It would seem that the target audience for this book is folks who are already seasoned runners （i。e。， not me）。 However， it still provides lots of valuable information and sample training plans for people of most fitness levels。 I'm already thinking about how I'll adjust my own training plan， after finishing my first 5k in years， based on his suggestions。That said， I wish he had spent more time addressing recent studies that seem to indicate that long-term， high-volume running could potentially n It would seem that the target audience for this book is folks who are already seasoned runners （i。e。， not me）。 However， it still provides lots of valuable information and sample training plans for people of most fitness levels。 I'm already thinking about how I'll adjust my own training plan， after finishing my first 5k in years， based on his suggestions。That said， I wish he had spent more time addressing recent studies that seem to indicate that long-term， high-volume running could potentially not be as healthy as we used to think。 But， I guess the book is about how to be a "stronger， faster" runner， so maybe that's an unreasonable expectation on my part。 🙃 。。。more
Rachel
，
This book has changed my thinking on slow running。 Previously， I had spent too much time in hard running， especially for easy runs。 Now， I can enjoy my runs。
Jake Jake
，
I didn’t think this running style would work but it has helped in my training immensely。 Pretty simple， spend 80% of your run training time at low intensity and the other 20% at high intensity。 Avoid the desire to achieve a “fast pace” for its own sake。 Running at low intensity is less stressful on the body and allows for more time spent running， which inevitably increases your fitness。 The book itself isn’t written as well as I would’ve liked but the principles within are worth the price of ent I didn’t think this running style would work but it has helped in my training immensely。 Pretty simple， spend 80% of your run training time at low intensity and the other 20% at high intensity。 Avoid the desire to achieve a “fast pace” for its own sake。 Running at low intensity is less stressful on the body and allows for more time spent running， which inevitably increases your fitness。 The book itself isn’t written as well as I would’ve liked but the principles within are worth the price of entry 。。。more
Jamal T
，
Very good in that it took me from hating running for running’s sake to becoming a regular runner！ Quite repetitive and tedious though so I knocked it down 2 stars。
Grinsnow
，
Surprisingly no mentions of Pareto。A fairly short book， covering a simple concept - "run slower to get faster"。 Has the annoying tendency to attempt to blind the reader with "science" by citing papers， with no bibliography at the back。 Compare with the one of the running bibles "Advanced Marathoning"， and you see why that is a highly respected work， and this less so。 Fairly well explained， wish the author knew what "equivalence" means。 Should probably review "Today we die a little" on Zatopek ag Surprisingly no mentions of Pareto。A fairly short book， covering a simple concept - "run slower to get faster"。 Has the annoying tendency to attempt to blind the reader with "science" by citing papers， with no bibliography at the back。 Compare with the one of the running bibles "Advanced Marathoning"， and you see why that is a highly respected work， and this less so。 Fairly well explained， wish the author knew what "equivalence" means。 Should probably review "Today we die a little" on Zatopek again。Find the commentary on fixing form interesting。 Claims that fixing your form （cadence， for example） makes you less efficient because your body naturally reaches the "optimal form" for your biomechanics based on your physiology， moreover， to fix your form， you have to consciously think about it， making your running economy less efficient。 Therefore， it is better to just run more， and the form will fix itself， improving your running economy in the process。 Although this seems to make sense， this runs counter to everything I've read about changing your form （for the purpose of improving running economy） so far。 Should probably read more running books！ 。。。more
Kelli =^。。^=
，
Annoyed by how much this was centered around male athletes。
Nancy
，
I recommend reading this rather than listening to the audiobook version。 Since I didn't want to down load all the PDF pages， it was tiresome to hear the reader say， "refer to PDF#___。" In a text format， I would have glanced at the charts when referenced。However， I still rated this four stars because the research was presented clearly and supported this training style very solidly。I usually read running books for motivation rather than for information， but I actually put into play some of his sug I recommend reading this rather than listening to the audiobook version。 Since I didn't want to down load all the PDF pages， it was tiresome to hear the reader say， "refer to PDF#___。" In a text format， I would have glanced at the charts when referenced。However， I still rated this four stars because the research was presented clearly and supported this training style very solidly。I usually read running books for motivation rather than for information， but I actually put into play some of his suggestions。 I found his "Week of Slow" to be challenging and instructive。 （I've been training too hard during my base-building and easy runs。） There were several other training concepts that were new to me， so I found it an informative read。 。。。more
Katie Esposito
，
This is a great book not because it’s a super enjoyable read but because it has great content。 To very casual athletes， I could see this book being very dry and honestly not useful or enjoyable at all， but for competitive （esp long distance） runners， this is basically textbook for the art。The training guides and workout structures are the meat and potatoes of the book but the history behind it is necessary even if it was a little dry。 Great reference guide if nothing else
Alberto
，
Too much theory at the beginning。 It starts to get interesting at page 100。
Lauren
，
I’m a runner and read this book to learn more about 80/20 running， but many of the studies cited seem like junk science and many of the conclusions are sweeping generalizations。
Alexei
，
Really informative stuff for beginners and intermidiates alike。 Easy to read， not much scientific mumbo jumbo（which I like， hence one star off） And plenty of training program examples at the end of a book。
Carlos Ramos
，
Perfect for beginnersStraightforward and simple， I'm planning to use this book to organize my training as a beginner runner。 I recommend it Perfect for beginnersStraightforward and simple， I'm planning to use this book to organize my training as a beginner runner。 I recommend it 。。。more
Yevgeny
，
Нормальная книга， есть детальное расписание на тренировки。 И конечно основное понимание концепции 80/20。 Однако， это прям для подготовки к спортивным результатам。Т。е。 для тех， кто прям 4-7 раз в неделю будет бегать и готовится к соревнованиям。
Michelle Halek
，
Great -backed up by data- info。 No need to burn yourself out！Loved the data shared to back up the claims。 Makes sense and I am going to implement to hopefully prevent burnout， overtraining。， and injury。
Marcel
，
A lot of good stuff in here。 I'm definitely going to 1。 up my volume in the way described and 2。 use some of the programs。 There is just one thing that bothers me。 There are a lot of sentences that start with "studies have shown" or some variation of that but my copy of the book did not contain any literature references to those studies。 A lot of good stuff in here。 I'm definitely going to 1。 up my volume in the way described and 2。 use some of the programs。 There is just one thing that bothers me。 There are a lot of sentences that start with "studies have shown" or some variation of that but my copy of the book did not contain any literature references to those studies。 。。。more
Hans
，
Good， meant for someone invested in improving their race times
Dustin
，
Go slow and see more progress。。。。longer。
Even
，
Not very impressed by this book。 The book speaks of 80/20 rule as something of a hard truth。 While it totally leaves out that the reason so many elite runners need to run so much at a slow pace is simply because they would not recovery if they trained 600hr/year or 200km/week at fast pace。 While any recreational runner training 3 times a week will。I do have a lot of respect for Dr。 Stephen Seiler’s work （referred to like 60 times in this book）， but you will gain much more knowledge by going dire Not very impressed by this book。 The book speaks of 80/20 rule as something of a hard truth。 While it totally leaves out that the reason so many elite runners need to run so much at a slow pace is simply because they would not recovery if they trained 600hr/year or 200km/week at fast pace。 While any recreational runner training 3 times a week will。I do have a lot of respect for Dr。 Stephen Seiler’s work （referred to like 60 times in this book）， but you will gain much more knowledge by going directly to the source and not through this book。 He has some excellent YouTube videos。 Watch them instead。 Or better still， read his papers。However， one of the main reasons I don’t think 80/20 applies as stated in this book is because it would totally depend on what slow is。 If you define it as below 2mmol/L lactate， or below 4mmol/L， would make quite the difference。 In this book it is defined differently throughout （like below LT， something Seiler’s defines as yellow zone （he uses 2-4mmol/L）And， while Seiler’s studies have proven very accurate towards rowing and skiing， we see now that the new generation runners train more just below lactate （middle ground according to this book）， just as the Kenyans traditionally have done。 Contrary to what the book would like you to believe。 You are better off reading Daniels or Martin & Coe to learn more about running。 。。。more
Carlos Martinez
，
Useful and practical， albeit repetitive， book on how to improve your running fitness。 Although it's directed primarily at people who run in races （from 5k to marathon）， I think it applies perfectly well to the casual jogger that simply wants to get fitter and generally level up a bit with their running。The bottom line is: run more， and go slower。 Going slower helps you run more。 The default run gets you to zone 2 of 5 in terms of pace， heart rate and/or perceived effort （or in my case， the exten Useful and practical， albeit repetitive， book on how to improve your running fitness。 Although it's directed primarily at people who run in races （from 5k to marathon）， I think it applies perfectly well to the casual jogger that simply wants to get fitter and generally level up a bit with their running。The bottom line is: run more， and go slower。 Going slower helps you run more。 The default run gets you to zone 2 of 5 in terms of pace， heart rate and/or perceived effort （or in my case， the extent to which I'm able to concentrate on my audiobook）。 This default is combined with a variety of mid- and high-intensity runs （primarily intervals of one kind or another） such that you're doing approx 80 percent of your running at low intensity and 20 percent at higher intensity。Have been tweaking my running routine along these lines over the last month or so。 Going well so far。 。。。more
Sarah
，
I loved this one。 Made me think about the too intense training I have been doing and the lack of positive results I have seen recently。 I’m going to work on slowing it down！
Noa
，
I'm rating this book 4* because ultimately it has convinced me that the majority of my running should be done at an easy level， taught me how to do that， and for the first time in 2 years I've been able to get back to running consistently （albeit extremely slowly） without injury。 HOWEVER， there are a few things I take real issue with in this book:1） His language based on how well training styles fit his thesis。 One athlete who trains 80/20 is 'an olympic bronze medallist'， another who didn't 'fi I'm rating this book 4* because ultimately it has convinced me that the majority of my running should be done at an easy level， taught me how to do that， and for the first time in 2 years I've been able to get back to running consistently （albeit extremely slowly） without injury。 HOWEVER， there are a few things I take real issue with in this book:1） His language based on how well training styles fit his thesis。 One athlete who trains 80/20 is 'an olympic bronze medallist'， another who didn't 'finished a distant 3rd'。 They are the same position。2） The basic assumption that form is natural and trying to alter it too much will not lead to improved running。 Fair enough for Mo Farrah， but doesn't account for any form issues which are actually causing injury （like mine）。3） The way the training plans are laid out is SO ANNOYING。 The plan will say 'Monday - Foundation Run 2'。 What is Foundation Run 2？ I don't know， I have to turn back several chapters to find the glossary of runs where I see that it is 5 minutes in Zone 1， 15 minutes in Zone 2， and 5 minutes in Zone 3。 Not only does this need to be done for every run in the 9-18 week plans， but it doesn't even tell you which page to refer to。 Foundation runs are on a different page to interval/long/fast finish etc。 runs。 Incredibly frustrating。 。。。more
Karsten Maschleim
，
Wissen gut aufbereitet， Trainingspläne nicht mein Fall
John Crisostomo
，
I think I should start with what I do not like about this book: it does not really explain why 80/20 running works。 It gives a lot of anecdotes and studies （with relatively small sample size） that it works， but it does not really explain the "why"。 Instead， it tells a lot of stories about Dr。 Stephen Seiler's research and the early training methods of Arthur Lydiard。This does not mean that this approach does not work， in fact， it really does。 It's just hard for me to comprehend in the beginning I think I should start with what I do not like about this book: it does not really explain why 80/20 running works。 It gives a lot of anecdotes and studies （with relatively small sample size） that it works， but it does not really explain the "why"。 Instead， it tells a lot of stories about Dr。 Stephen Seiler's research and the early training methods of Arthur Lydiard。This does not mean that this approach does not work， in fact， it really does。 It's just hard for me to comprehend in the beginning as it does not lay a strong foundation for understanding it。 With all the HIIT craze these days it is hard not to doubt this information despite all the anecdotal evidence。 For example， if you are quite unfit， you cannot even run at a Zone 2 heart rate （a very， very slow jog will probably make your HR jump to Zone 3）， which will make you question it more。I understood this concept more by reading the first chapter of a different book: Training for the Uphill Athlete: A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers。 It might be a bit geeky and too sciencey but it lays a very strong foundation on the "why"。 。。。more
Josh Peterson
，
Weirdly stumbled into this idea - mostly slow running with some harder workouts here and there - on accident in 2020。 It’s completely changed my love of running and I genuinely look forward to it every single day。 So， this had a lot of things I knew， but still was interesting to learn the background of。 That said， excited to give the marathon training plan a go this summer。 7/10
Joshua Cook
，
Great content， solid training advice， but could’ve been an article or just really short。 Gets a little redundant in the last half。
Wilson
，
This training plan has been huge for me as I train for my first marathon since 2017。 Gotta run slow to run fast。 Cannot recommend the 80/20 plan enough。
Martin Pienaar
，