Hello everyone!
I’m aware that lately the level of discussion on LetsRun hasn’t been what it used to be. In the past, you could access a lot of insider information and high-level training theory from top coaches and sources like Jack Daniels, Rinaldi, Renato Canova, Timman, and others , things you couldn’t really find elsewhere. In my own research and coaching work, I also learned a lot from older LetsRun threads. I think these factors also contributed to making modern training methods widely accessible today, and, to a certain extent, training has become fairly uniform. I’d like to bring this kind of topic back to the forum. Recently,
I had a recent article published titled “Emerging Trends in Distance Running: Bridging Science and Empirical Insights – Narrative Review”, in which I analyzed numerous peer-reviewed journals and grey literature, including podcasts, running calculators, and similar sources. From this, I drew several conclusions and general analyses that are now appearing among elite runners. I’d really like to start a high-level discussion here to explore these ideas further. Unfortunately, the article is not open access, but maybe we can discuss the concepts and insights here.
In my article, I observed the following current trends in distance running. Broadly speaking runners now train in very similar ways from 800 meters up to the half marathon, with some exceptions among 800-meter specialists who come more from the speed side. But from 1500 meters to the half marathon, training is remarkably uniform.
Most of the year is focused on developing the second lactate threshold (LT2), while anaerobic capacity and anaerobic endurance are maintained throughout the year.
Compared to training approaches from previous decades, a few key shifts stand out: Traditional long (800–2000m) VO2 max intervals (3k–10k race pace) are largely de-emphasized for most of the year. Instead, athletes maintain high-intensity work with shorter intervals of 30–60 seconds, done in a controlled manner during the base phase (as track repeats or hills), typically totaling 3–4k of work weekly once.
There is a very large volume of threshold work. For elite athletes, this often means 1–2 hours per week (or more in some cases), with some doing double threshold sessions and others single threshold, typically around 30–40 minutes worth of threshold work per workout.
Broadly, I distinguish three types of threshold sessions:
1. First lactate threshold (LT1 or “aerobic threshold”) intervals, typically longer (6–10 minutes).
2. Second lactate threshold (LT2) intervals, around 2–4 minutes. (Typically done 0.3-0.5 mmol under the runners LT2 lactate value)
3. Shorter second-lactate-threshold intervals, performed at faster speeds (roughly 10K–5K pace), lasting 45–75 seconds—mainly 300–400m reps with short rests of 15–45 seconds.
One notable trend is that continuous tempo runs are gradually disappearing from the base phase, though half marathoners may still use them more frequently before the racing season as specific workouts.
The way these stimuli are grouped varies by methodology—for example, the Norwegian model, the American NCAA system, or certain European approaches differ in whether they use single vs. double threshold days. Some coaches, like Grete Koens, mostly stick to single threshold sessions only. Others, like Tim Moriau (who is influenced mainly by Jan Olbrecht), mostly use LT1 reps.
Most training systems try to schedule only three workout days per week, never on back-to-back days, and surround these days with as much easy aerobic running as the athlete can handle. There is also a trend to use more double shorter easy runs (under 60 mins), sometimes even neglecting the traditional long easy run, and rather incorporating some form of workout into it (e.g., progression to marathon pace or longer threshold efforts).
Another emerging trend is the development of anaerobic speed reserve (ASR), mainly via maximal sprinting speed (MSS). This involves very short, near-maximal or “overspeed” sprints of 30–60 meters in small volumes, with full recovery, aimed at maintaining speed reserve.
Anaerobic running is mostly limited to those shorter reps until the 4–8 week pre-competition phase, where threshold work continues in a “maintenance mode” (lower volume and frequency), while longer race-specific anaerobic intervals are introduced (more polarized distribution in pre-comp. period instead of pyramidal in the base phase).
These hard workouts are often combined with shorter threshold reps for warm-up or to exploit lactate-shuttle mechanisms after, as a cool-down (or sometimes sandwiched in the middle, between harder sets).
Certainly, there are notable outliers from this style—for example, lower mileage, more intensity-based approaches (Manchester TC, Ben Thomas), and typically East African training groups also use somewhat different methods.
Any insightful comments are highly appreciated!
