The Art and Science of Preparing for Running

Mark Cucuzzella MD,FAAFP

Associate Professor Family Medicine West Virginia University
Lt Col US Air Force Reserves
Chief Medical Consultant Air Force Marathon
Race Director Freedoms run www.freedomsrun.org
Owner Two Rivers Treads Center for Natural Running and Walking www.trtreads.org

John F Kennedy over 40 years ago outlined the current challenge to Air Force Fitness and gave us the solution.
Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security
We do not want in the United States a nation of spectators. We want a nation of participants in the
vigorous life. This is not a matter which can be settled, of course, from Washington. It is really a matter
which starts with each individual family

Thank you for the opportunity to share advice and experience with fellow runners, walkers, and fitness
enthusiasts. If you are training for an event, striving to improve your health and fitness, desire to experience
less discomfort in your endurance activity, or trying to improve on your PT test then read on. Although this
article focuses mostly on running, the principles apply to all endurance activity. Most of us understand you must
train if you wish to run well and for greater distances. What is mostly ignored in running is the concept of
practice. Imagine if you take up golf and were told to get buckets of balls and each week hit more balls harder
in hope that the result would be effortless and precise rounds of golf. Or you desire to finish a triathlon with
limited swim skills and hope to get better in the water just by fighting it harder each day. Seems crazy for these
sports, yet we allow runners to just go run harder and harder miles until something breaks down.
We are going to introduce you to practice for running. Practice is fun as you see more relaxed movement
develop, painless efficiency, speed improvement, and confidence. So how do we practice for running?
1. Understand and fully develop the aerobic system
2. Learn good form first, then add distance, than maybe later some speed efforts
3. Practice hydration and nutrition for your event and for life
4. Putting it all together for an endurance event
Keep everything as simple as possible.but not one bit simpler was Albert Einsteins approach. I will try in
this article to help simplify many confusing, although not complex concepts.

1. Building the Aerobic Engine

For running you need to develop the correct system- the aerobic system. This is the highly efficient system
utilizing oxygen, glucose, and fat metabolism. The modern analogy is this. Each of us is blessed with a hybrid
engine, actually millions of hybrid engines at the muscular level. The electric engine is your fat burning aerobic
system- highly efficient and can run all day on minimal added fuel. It is resilient to breaking down. In your
body this is fat metabolism at the mitochondrial level of your muscles. The physiology is complex but the
practical implications are this. Producing ATP allows muscle contraction. There are two types of metabolism,
anaerobic and aerobic, and important varieties of these.

Most understand the anaerobic because they feel it.

Explosive exercisingsprinting- with pure anaerobic respiration produces 6 to 10 seconds of immediate
energy with ATP and Creatine Phosphate in the stored in muscles. No glucose is needed, but
contractions stop after 10 seconds.
If you lower the pace to a hard effort you can sustain for only 1 to 15 minutes or so you are above the
anaerobic threshold. This is the glycolytic anaerobic system. You use muscle glycogen and lactate as
fuel, but the hydrogen ion waste products produce the toxic acidosis. This too is not efficient for longer
distances. You produce only 2 ATP per molecule of glucose.
The aerobic system is where the powerful hybrid engines lie at the muscular level.
If you lower the pace a bit to an oxygen utilizing zone you get 36-38 ATP per molecule of glucose- this
is the gas engine- somewhat efficient as we can store enough glycogen and blood glucose to give 90
minutes or so of activity.
Now if you slow down a bit more to below the aerobic threshold you can develop the mitochondrial
machinery to break down fat into energy. Your efficiency jumps exponentially-460 ATP per fat
molecule! This is the electric engine. (Endurance Sports Nutrition p 32). If you have ever driven a
Prius, you see the subtle mixing of gas and electric which you cannot detect as the driver. Your body is
doing this all the time in exercise. You want more electric! Any activity lasting more than a couple
hours is largely electric.

Many of us are running too hard daily and constantly using and replenishing the easily accessed glycogen tank
and blood glucose. When blood glucose levels drop we crash. Mind and body sense an overwhelming fatigue.
Topping off this tank at high levels of exertion is problematic as we do not feel hungry. Blood is being shunted
from the gut to the active muscles. Even if you do force down calories it tends to sit there, or worse toss back
up. When this occurs you have options. Walk, shelf the pride, and refill your tank a bit. Or take the more
comfortable option and call it a day.
To constantly access the deep fat burning tank you must train correctly. We will teach you how. Some added
glucose is still important, but we are most efficient in hybrid mode with the majority of the power coming off
electric (fat burning).
So how do you build these mitochondrial factories in your muscles so your hybrid engine is at optimum
performance? The analogy is this- your goal is to build a bigger engine- build millions of mitochondrial
factories and the capillary blood supply to deliver the oxygen to them. The heart and lungs are the fuel pump,
the engine is the millions of fat and glucose burning mitochondria in the muscles.
The good news is that it is all about running easy. For most highly motivated exercisers, the definition of easy
is not uniform. What level of effort is easy to build and utilize the aerobic system? How can you assess this
yourself?
The pioneer was New Zealands Arthur Lydiard who trained the best middle distance and distance runners in
the 1960s. His system is based on months of aerobic training followed by measured increases in intensity as
events approach. His principles still apply in almost all modern training. Lydiards runners were taught what
easy was under the masters eye. 800 meter specialists were running 22 mile long runs and 100 mile weeks in
their base phase- why? To build a massive and resilient aerobic system, on which everything else later would
be build upon.
Most of us do not have a master teacher, so how do we learn this pace? The secret is a heart rate monitor. The
modern masters of this technique are Lance Armstrong, 6 time Ironman Champ Mark Allen, and British
Marathon Legend Priscilla Welch.

Armstrongs coach Chris Carmichael describes Lances training in The Ultimate Ride. After his Tour de
France recovery, Lance would go into winter/spring aerobic system building setting his aerobic threshold HR at
145- no higher. http://www.lancearmstrong.com/training/nov99.html. The aerobic threshold is the fine and
mostly undetectable line where you are converting from more efficient fat energy to the more accessible
glycogen and glucose energy. The former has limitless supply, the latter good for about 1-2 hours.
Paradoxically, training these fat burning engines produces the rich capillary pathways that allow glucose to be
used more efficiently too when it is needed during faster running.
Lance rode 1000s of miles, became leaner, and generated more and more power and efficiency at the low HR.
He ate amazingly little before or during his rides, teaching his body to fat burn. When he was no longer
improving at the low HR he knew he could build no more factories- his electric engine was as large as it
could be. It was time now to train the glucose burning (gas) aerobic system and the glycolytic anaerobic system
required for sprints, time trials, and breakaways on final mountain climbs. Lance had full access to his gas
tank for these measured efforts, using his electric engine at all other times. Other riders were not so fortunate
and were spent at the time the hard effort was needed.
Another master of this is Mark Allen. He describes his evolution to this method in his website
http://www.markallenonline.com/heartrate.asp. Mark tried to finish each and every run all out. After seasons of
inconsistencies and fatigue, he soon discovered that running harder and harder was not the answer. Convinced
though skeptic of Phil Maffetones lower effort training he put a heart rate monitor on and at a pace of 8:15 per
mile his HR monitor would beep at the preset 155. This was slower than he ever ran. Convinced to take the
slow burn approach he took months and ran at 155 HR. During these months he became more efficient and
faster at the low heart rate and soon enough he was running effortless 5:30 miles at this easy effort.
Priscilla Welch won the 1987 New York Marathon at age 40, a feat likely never to be repeated. She took up
running as recreation in her 30s. Priscilla was a master of efficiency, with 10k times only a trace faster than
her marathon speed. She pioneered the Maximal Aerobic Function Test.
Priscilla was a believer of the powerful feedback of the Heart Rate monitor. In her build up for races she did the
bulk of her training below HR 150. She would not exceed this even if it meant walking up a hill. She would
judge her fitness not by a time trail (all out effort over a distance) but by the Maximal Aerobic Function Test.
Her HR was set to go no higher than 150 and she would measure her time over a 5 mile course. She knew she
was aerobically fit when she would hit her goal times at the easy effort.
These experienced athletes and coaches also understood that mixing in hard anaerobic work during the aerobic
building phase inhibited aerobic development. Many athletes are constantly doing cycles of hard intervals week
in week out all year and find themselves fatigued, injured, or lacking the joy in their running. Aerobic running
is the happy zone, where the runners high exists. Very short 6-10 second sprints can be done in this phase to
develop biomechanical efficiency and neuromuscular movement. These short bouts do not produce the
damaging acidosis.
So how do you determine what this go no higher HR is to maximize fat utilizing aerobic development and all
the cellular and vascular changes that occur. Most of us do not sense this until it is too late in our efforts. The
high tech way is in an exercise physiology lab. The simpler and more practical way is to apply the Maffetone
Method. Phil Maffetone has been the coach and advisor to many world class marathoners and triathletes, as
well as thousands of recreational athletes. See the link for a more detailed article but here is his formula:

The 180 Formula

To find your maximum aerobic heart rate:

1. Subtract your age from 180 (180 - age).

2. Modify this number by selecting one of the following categories:
a. If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation, any hospital stay) or on
any regular medication, subtract 10.
b. If you have not exercised before, you have exercised but have been injured or are regressing in your
running, subtract 5.
c. If you have been exercising for up to two years with no real problems and have not had colds or flu more
than once or twice a year, subtract 0.
d. If you have been exercising for more than two years without any problems, making progress in competition
without injury, add 5.
For example, if you are 30 years old and reasonably fit you would fall into category 2c: 180 - 30 = 150.This is your
maximum aerobic heart rate for base training. For efficient base building, you should train at or below this level throughout
your base period.

Other good references are Joe Friels Total Heart Rate Training or Edmund Burkes Precision Heart Rate
Training. These two books go into more detail about determining optimum heart rate zones for training and
are definitely worth the read. Joe Friels web site has some great free resources http://www.trainingbible.com/ .
The 30 minute test linked under free resources and calculating Zone 2 gives the most precise method outside
of the fancy exercise physiology lab.
To summarize what all this means for you as you start or develop your program.
For optimum performance it is critical to develop the aerobic system. Most have not fully developed
this. This is not no pain, no gain, but rather no painthank you
A few of us have good cues to what aerobic pace is and can run in this happy and efficient zone without
the feedback of a monitor.
Others of us are more hard chargers and need a feedback tool not to help us speed up, but to slow down.
It takes months to fully build the aerobic engine. Only then and when your event is nearing is it wise to
add speed. Doing speed too early can lead to burn out and injury and inhibit aerobic development.
There are no short cuts or six week plans.

Building the Electric Engine. Achieving You Maximal Aerobic Fitness through Proper
Heart Rate Training. My example at age 42.

There are many ways to determine your aerobic training zone from a wide variety of methods. Im going to
explain some of the more popular ways of determining your optimal aerobic training zones and give an example
for each.
The aerobic training zone is the optimal zone for aerobic development and building the billions of
mitochondria, capillaries, and fat burning enzymes to allow for optimal utilization of fat as fuel. This occurs
mostly at the muscular level, not in the heart or lungs. Remember each molecule of fat burned produces 460
ATP (energy units) vs. only 36 ATP per molecule of glucose. For most runners this is around 70% - 80%

effort.but what does that really mean in numbers. This would be high-Zone 2 according to the zones that Joe
Friel uses in Total Heart Rate Training.
In training one might even train at a little lower heart rate just to give some room for cardiac drift (when the
heart rates rises at the end of a workout due to fatigue). In order to compare these formulas fairly, I will use my
own numbers at 42 yo, running about 50-60 miles a week, no real speed work, and able to run a 2:35 marathon.
Vital Stats:
Age - 42
Max Heart Rate - 190
Resting Heart Rate - 40
Lactate Threshold: 178 (determined by 30 min hard temp run described by Friel)
Key Terms:
HR = Heart Rate
MHR = Maximum Heart Rate
RHR = Resting Heart Rate
HRR = Heart Rate Reserve or number of beats between your RHR (resting heart rate) and your MHR
(maximum heart rate)
BPM = (Beats Per Minute)
Age-Adjusted Method
The most commonly known way to determine your training zones. We have all seen this one: This is wrong
half the time, but can be a safe start point for a new runner.
220-age = MHR (maximum heart rate)
220-42= 178. 178 x .70 (70% of max) = 125
220-42= 178. 178 x .80 (80% of max) = 142
In this example my Zone 2 aerobic training zones would be from 125-142 BPM.

Karvonen Formula
Another widely accepted method to determine your training zones. Its a little more complicated:
The formula is: ((MHR- RHR) x 70% intensity) + RHR = Training Zone
190 (my max) - 40 (my RHR) = 150
150 x .70 (70% of max) + 40 (RHR) = 145

190 (my max) - 40 (my RHR) = 150

150 x .80 (80% of max) + 40 (RHR) = 160
In this example my Zone 2 aerobic training zones would be from 145-160 BPM
MAF Method
This is the method developed by Phil Maffetone. This formula determines your maximum aerobic zone.
Athletes such as Mark Allen and Mike Pigg have successfully used this method for base building. This is what I
call high end Zone 2.
Take 180 - Age
We need to adjust this number based on your current level of fitness. Make the following correction as it applies
to you:

If you do no working out subtract another 10 beats

If you workout 1-2 times a week subtract 5 beats
If you workout 3-4 times a week leave the number as it is.
If you workout 5 or more times as week and have done so for a year or more, then add an additional 5
beats to that number.

If you are about 60 years old or older OR if you are about 20 years old or younger, add an additional 5 beats to
the corrected number you now have.
From these adjustments I calculate the following:
180-42= 138
Adjustments: I work out 5 or more times per week so I will add 5 beats to that number.
Using this method, I end up with a maximum aerobic zone of 143
Freil Method (based on Lactate Threshold)
Using the protocol in the Triathletes Training Bible and from my own personal LT tests, I calculated my run
Lactate Threshold to be 178. From here I can calculate my Zone 2 ranges. Friel uses the range of 85-90% of LT
vs. any MHR formula.
178 x .85 (85 % of LT) = 151
178 x .90 (90 % of LT) = 160

2. Focus on Form
The next practice point is learning how to run correctly. Dont we all know how to run by being human?
Doesnt improvement come from running more and harder? This may be fine advice if you have never been
hurt, always feel perfect effortless motion, and have a rare insight on when to push and when to rest. If you
were trying to improve your swimming and in the process were feeling shoulder pains, fighting the water with
inefficient strokes, and frustrated to the point of giving up; would good advice be ignore your form, keep
working harder and maybe it will all work out? Maybe this is why many runners quit the sport for good.
Runners suffer high injury rates (over 50% per year in most surveys) and there is no consensus or evidence on the best
approach to the heterogeneous and multifactorial issues which lead to injury. In the most recent survey of Air Force
injuries running was the #2 injury sport behind basketball, and many of the basketball injuries were running related.
Traditional approaches have focused on (1) treating local injury with rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medications (which
indeed may inhibit healing); (2) orthotics and footwear- often with rigid support and heel cushion technology; (3)
stretching and strengthening exercises; and (4) modifying training and surfaces. Despite all this care we have not had
affect on reducing injury rates. What is mostly ignored is prehab- learning proper posture, core strengthening, and
movement- as a means to prevent injury

Is there proper running form and can one learn it? Observational and preliminary research data support yes and
yes. Highly efficient runners, especially the East Africans, run with these common principles.
Landing with bent knees with feet landing softly under the center of mass. No hard heel striking or
reaching out in effort to lengthen stride. This is a high impact braking motion and momentum is lost.
Run over the ground, not into it. Visualize riding a skateboard or Razor scooter. Ideal ground contact is
with your foot under your center of mass, and ideally accelerating back a bit.
Touch down quickly and pick up the foot or heel. This is tap,tap,tapnot thud, thud, thud. Keep the
knees low and just pick up the heels. High forward knee drive is for the sprinters.
Shorter strides with quicker cadence and less vertical movement. Running is a series of short efficient
movements. Shorter strides have less vertical movement to get from one point to another, like throwing
a ball between two points- the ball must go higher if the points are farther separated. The ideal cadence
is about 90 steps a minute, but build up gradually to this.
Focus on the core and prefect posture. If you can teach your core muscles to lift your legs as opposed to
pushing off with the small muscles of the feet you have discovered new power. Think run tall and
straighten your spine. Connect the dots between your ear, shoulder, hip, and bony prominence of ankle.
(see picture)
A slight forward lean from the ankles (not the waist). This harnesses some of the power of gravity. Are
you a bit skeptical?.practice ChiRunning for a few weeks and feel the difference. Practice running
down a very gentle hill. When you allow yourself to relax and lean gently while maintaining good
posture, and let your feet land under you to avoid braking- you are harnessing the power of gravity.
This can be applied on the flats as well. Just watch the body positions during any world class track meet
or marathon and youll see.
Elbows bent to 90 degrees to shorten the pendulum. No crossing the center line. Arm drive back, not
forward.
Relax your breathing. Respiration occurs in the lower lung fields so learn belly breathing. Ive heard
comment that often Kenyan runners look like they have a pot belly. They do for the moment their
diaphragms are dropping on inspiration. Visualize filling a beach ball below your belly button as you
breathe inthen youve got it.
And finally and most importantly relax your arms and legs while keeping your core solid and aligned.
Needle (core) and cotton (extremities) will produce fast efficient movementtry it.

How you visualize or cue these movements is not complex and fortunately programs exist to teach it. All use
slightly different focuses. I encourage you to explore any or all of them.
ChiRunning
Newton Running
Cady Stride Mechanics
Evolution Running
Radiant Running
Pose
Can this be learned and does it decrease injury and effort? The author of ChiRunning and I did a survey of
folks who have tried ChiRunning. We got over 2500 responses with enlightening results. Over 40% missed
more than 10 days over six months before the technique. That number was reduced to 11% in the 6 months
after the technique. 45% reported perceived exertion before ChiRunning to be very hard or hard. Less than 5% reported
perceived exertion as hard or very hard after practicing ChiRunning. Almost all felt it easy to learn and had recommended
the method to others. We cannot draw conclusions from this but is opens us up to new ideas. We are following this with
further study now, as are the innovators at Newton Running. Newton Running has some great teaching videos at
www.newtonrunning.com.
The study can be accessed with all the comments at http://www.chirunning.com/shop/pages.php?pageid=63

March 2009 Running Times highlighted our WVU research and the work of several coaches and shoe designers
all working together to help keep people running healthy for life.
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15751
Family Practice News also featured the research in their March 1, 2009 issue.

For some of you this is like taking the red pill in the Matrix. Your choices are taking the blue pill and
continue what you are doing, or take the red pill and open your mind to what may be some new magical
experience. If you are often sore, injured, or moving much slower than you think you should then go for the
red.
What is my personal experience with what seems to be too simple to be true? I took the red pill. Trust me; I
would never suggest anything without the personal road test of many years. In 2000 after 20 years of
competitive running I needed surgery to correct severe osteoarthritis changes in my large toe joints (essentially
big toes could not bendnot good for running) and advised to find a new sport. (See NPR story
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6070170)
Not satisfied with that answer I needed to figure out how to continue the enjoyable lunchtime diversion. I
studied and applied the aerobic heart rate techniques and form focuses. I needed to relearn how to run without
hammering my feet and lower extremities. I ran slower than I ever had to keep my own HR below 155. When
the beeper went on signaling too high a HR Id relax, focus on easy efficient form, and usually without slowing
the HR would lower. My time at the set HR went from 9 minutes a mile to 6 minutes a mile after a summer of
doing this alone and no faster interval running. Surprisingly 6 months after the surgery I ran 2:28 for 3rd place
at the 2000 Marine Corps Marathon. Never had running seemed so effortless and enjoyable. No paingood.
Ive not missed a day due to injury or illness since the surgery and at age 40 won the Air Force Marathon in
2:31. As can be true with all of us, I continue to practice and learn every day. Ive applied the principles to
continue running marathons under 2:35 even at age 43. More importantly though is my role in helping others in
the Air Froce as the Air Force Marathon Medical Consultant and as a ChiRunning Medical Advisor.

3. Fuel for Training and Race Day

Practice point 3 is learning your bodys nutrition and hydration needs for both healthy living and event specific.
For general healthy nutrition principles no advice is better than Amanda Carlsons of Athletes' Performance

Institute. Amanda is a sports nutritionist and exercise physiologist working with recreational and elite athletes,
and the US Navy. She has devised the 10 Rules to Live By.
1. COME BACK TO EARTH: Try to choose the least processed forms of food. Fruits, veggies, whole
grains, and high fiber carbohydrates.
2. EAT A RAINBOW OFTEN: Eat Fruits or Vegetables with each meal. Choose a wide variety of colors
for the biggest benefit.
3. LESS LEGS THE BETTER: This means fish is better than chicken which is better than the cow.
Include a LEAN protein source with each meal.
4. EAT FATS THAT GIVE SOMETHING BACK: Include healthy fats in your diet like olive oil, nuts,
seeds, avocado, fish, and flaxseeds.
5. Eat BREAKFAST every day!
6. THREE FOR THREE: Eat smaller portions more often, spread evenly across the day. No excuses --you should be eating 5-6 meals/day! Aim for all three nutrients (protein, carbs, good fats), every three
hours.
7. STAY HYDRATED (.5-1.0 x body weight = ounces of water per day) by drinking non-caloric
beverages (water/green tea).
8. DONT WASTE YOUR WORKOUT: Have a post-workout recovery shake or meal immediately after
your training
9. ADD a multivitamin with anti-oxidant complex and a fish oil supplement into your daily routine.
10. SLEEP: Get some rest. The body recovers and repairs best when it is sleeping.

Now for the nutritional practice for the event. For activity longer than 2 hours we mentioned earlier that you
want to use body fat as your primary fuel source, but keeping the blood glucose topped off in longer events is a
strategy to keeping that extreme sense of mental and physical fatigue away. Most of us have experiences even
in our usual busy workday when a mid-morning severe drag is magically relieved by a piece of fruit. Many
athletes interpret this easily preventable and reversible feeling as the big bonk. Often this is not the case. The
best plan is prevention; back up plan is awareness and remedy. You must practice.
Many proceed in their long exercise efforts feeling the accomplishment is in the survival. They carry no fuel
and take a little water and hope to find a fountain or gas station. Here are a few guidelines to start and adapt
from. If you are running efficiently in the aerobic zone your gut can digest some calories. Run too fast and it
cannot. If your event or activity is greater than 1 to 1.5 hours, an equivalent of 2 Powergels an hour with water
is good to keep the blood glucose tank topped off. The body can absorb about 240 calories an hour on the run.
Fluid management is a bit more individual and complex. Recently we were told Do not wait till you are
thirstydrink early and often. Most did fine with this advice but an unfortunate few took it too the extreme
and met grave results from hyponatremia (water intoxication). See recent revised fluid guideline for
explanation of hyponatremia and how better to tailor your fluid needs (see link) Proper electrolyte drinks,
Powergels (fortified with electrolytes), or salt tablets can help you avoid this. Powergels have evolved in their
formulation to include electrolytes and they also make a great endurance drink. Familiar gels eliminate a lot of
uncertainty for events as you can carry these and take them with readily available water instead of relying on
unfamiliar drinks, or having to carry large volumes of your special drink. Michael Wardian and I both applied
the gel strategy at the 2007 JFK 50 Mile (largest and oldest Ultra in the US). 2 gels an hour and water propelled
Mike to the win in near course record time. I managed 16th and repeated the strategy for an 11th place finish in
2008, cutting 12 minutes of my time, and 20th place in 2009.
Does nutrition matter for your 1.5 mile Fitness Assessment? The short answer is not on the day of the event.
You will be mostly running in the aerobic gas zone utilizing glucose and will have plenty of stored glucose in
your muscles, liver to get through this. Remember that the important easy fat burning (electric) running has
allowed rich pathways to develop to allow the glucose to be burned efficiently.

Now youve practiced and improved in your aerobic level training, your running form, and your nutritional
strategy, but often all conditions cannot be anticipated. For example in 2005 it was 90 degrees at the start of the
April Boston Marathon and most of us had come off a winter of layered running. In 2007 it was held in the
middle of a Noreaster and they considered canceling for the first time in 110 years. Does this mean your
preparation is complete chance so why bother? Of course not. In longer events the uncertainties are magnified.
Try to simulate various conditions and be prepared.

4. Event Day: Applying all these Concepts

If you have applied the principles of good form first, then add distance, and then watched the speed come- the
1.5 mile test is a breeze. You have fully developed your aerobic system with comfortable and easy running and
watched your pace at the easy effort drop. This process takes 2 to 3 months so real preparation begins now.
Once the aerobic system is developed it is easy to maintain.
For example if your goal pace for the 1.5 mile is 9 min/mile and your easy fat burning aerobic pace has reduced
to about 10 min/mile you are there. All you need to do now is relax, open your stride behind you, and dial in
all gas. This test is short enough you will not run out of gas. You must stay relaxed in the first half to avoid
becoming completely anaerobic (usually 1-5 minutes and you are done) and shutting down efficient movement.
Again, practice is everything. Every couple weeks do a simulated 1.5 miles and use different focuses along the
way to cue efficient movement and relaxation. The book ChiRunning is a great tool for specific instruction in
this vital but often ignored component of test success.
Now some extra credit for those preparing for and running the Air Force Marathon
Here are a few visualizations to help you set your plan. Running your best marathon is part art, science, guts,
faith in what you can do, and a little luck. Running your best PT Test is mostly about fitness.
Ive had the pleasure of running this race 6 times, all top 5 finishes and winning the event in 2006.
If you have trained your body properly with the right mix of aerobic level training and some up tempo stuff in
recent weeks, you have built your efficient hybrid engine ready to race the marathon. Many of you have driven
in a Prius and watch the subtle shifts between gas and electric on the screen. You do not perceive these shifts.
Your engine runs on gas, electric, or a mix- depending on the effort.
You are starting the race with one gallon in the tank- assuming you have eaten a nice meal the night before with
a breakfast top off.
If you are in all gas mode, your engine will run about 1.5 hours at a strong pace.then you are out of
gas.
If you are mostly electric you can run all day, but maybe maybe not so quickly.
If you are using the proper mix you will go quick and efficient for duration of your event, and you can
even do some topping off along the way.
The glucose utilizing pathway is the gas. This is your stored glycogen and blood glucose (pasta meal and
breakfast) - easy to access for ready energy. The fat utilizing pathway is the electric. In marathons you must be
in hybrid until the last few miles. Hybrid is where your energy (ATP) is coming from both sources.
Many runners are in great 10k shape (an all gas event), then run their marathon in the gas mode- and usually
crash. No glycogen sparing factors apply in races of less than an hour as long as you had a good pre-event meal
to fill the tank. In marathons and ultras- top end fitness matters little and can only be applied very near the

finish. Glucose gives 36 ATP per molecule, fat 460 ATP per molecule. Now you know how a bird can migrate
7000 miles without a Powerbar.
So how do you know you are running in your best hybrid mode?
This is difficult because the sense is not as profound as aerobic/anaerobic. A slight increase from your optimal
pace will switch you from hybrid to all gas without you realizing it, and the effects are felt miles later. Charging
up hills early will tap your gas quickly. Maintain effort not speed.
You must rehearse a bit in training. I focus on relaxation and breathing. If Im breathing one cycle to 5 steps,
then Im hybrid. Any faster Im using glucose as sole fuel. Belly breathe- allow lower belly to blow up like a
beach ball on inhalation and pull your belly button back to your spine on exhalation. Then you will fill the
lower lung areas where oxygen exchange occurs.
Notice the breathing efforts of those around you and many are rapid breathing- they tend to suffer somewhere
past half way. Rehearse complete relaxation from the top down- eyes, jaw, shoulders, allow your legs to relax
and extend behind you, relax and soften your knees and ankles. Find you own cue for this. If you use the Heart
Rate Monitor in training strongly consider one during the event.
In a marathon, the last 3-4 miles you will be all gas to maintain the same speed as fatigue sets in. The breathing
is usually on a 3 to 4 step per breath cycle- that is OK. Still stay relaxed and use some relaxation cues that you
have rehearsed to keep your form.
Land softly, especially on the early downhills. I use a running method called ChiRunning which focuses on
midfoot strike, slight forward lean, and letting gravity do some of the work. A few months after learning this
technique I ran a 2:31 here at age 39 and felt none of the usual post Boston soreness. Felt so good I lined up 5
weeks later in Ottawa for another 2:32. Im never sore after marathons now thanks to ChiRunning and feel I
can keep doing them until I enter the retirement home. No painthank you.
Your shoes matter too. Not that you are going to change your shoes in the next day based on my advice...but
make strong consideration to not running in minimalist racers unless you have trained substantially in them.
Your body will need some protection on the downs to save muscle fiber for the later rolling sections. My
favorite shoe is the Newton Neutral Racer, an incredible marathon shoe if you are running with a proper
midfoot landing. If you relax your lower legs and not push offthese shoes with no heel elevation put you in
perfect position to allow natural elastic recoil of plantar fascia, Achilles, calf muscles, and hip flexors. Try to
learn the midfoot strike and test the Newtons before Boston 2011. Read Dean Karnazes new book 50-50 (50
Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days). He has figured this gait efficiency technique to and it has allowed him to
accomplish some amazing endurance and durability feats. Born to Run also makes the case for running with
a more efficient stride and questions modern running footwear. The evolving world of modern sports medicine
is going back to the future too and rediscovering what evolution has taught us. For an all inclusive document go
the from the homepage.
Now a few extra ways to get from start to finish quicker on the same gallon.

If you can add a little gas along the way then you can go more into gas mode. This works a little at best.
If running too fast you shunt all blood to working muscles and nothing digests. If you are in hybrid the
early going you can continually add fuel- the key is not only the correct fuel, but the right pace. A
Powergel every 25 minutes is easy to digest and tops off the tank. Carry them with you at the start. The
weight is nothing compared to the benefit you will get. If you do the gels then you can drink water
instead of the energy drinks which are often less predictable on the run. Boston has a Powergel station at
Mile 17. Carry 4 at the start (one every 4 miles or so) and reload at mile 17.

Maintain effort on uphill. Your pace will slow. You can easily use all your gas here if your effort
increases. Shorten your stride, relax, and use your arms. Then allow gravity to take you down.
If you are having a bad patch try to refocus on relaxing, fuel a bit (sometimes a blood glucose drop
triggers the sense of doom) , and have faith in your training and race plan. Another nice trick is when
you hit mile 21 it is not 5 miles to go, it is 4 and change. Mile 22 is 3 and change to go. Just run to the
next mile marker.

The fun of the marathon is that we are always learning and enjoying the adventure of it. Ive done over 50
marathons now with a couple under 2:25 in my younger years. Ive had one DNF at my first Boston in 1989. I
raced the first half in 1:08 in gas mode not realizing it, in really minimal shoes that Id not trained in, and was
done by 20 miles. My worst time of the all the others has been a 2:44 at run for hoses Boston on 2005- 90
degrees and sunny. No hybrid here as efforts to cool were overwhelming. Another slow day was a 2:41 in the
run for cover Boston in 2007. This was year with 30 mph headwind and Noreaster rain. I was not in hybrid
in this race in efforts to fight wind and cold, hit half way in 1:16, and suffered coming home.
We learn from experience, taking chances, and occasional failures. My first marathon in 1988 was 2:34. This
year (22 years later) I ran a 2:34 in the 2010 Boston Marathon. Along the way Ive accumulated 22 years under
2:35 except for my year of medical internship when there was no time to find a race and a 2:37 in 2009. Ive
learned a few things in 20 plus years, but still there are uncertainties every time you line up. Relax, taper up,
and seize the day.

Mark Cucuzzella MD,FAAFP

Associate Professor Family Medicine West Virginia University
Lt Col US Air Force Reserves Health Promotions

Appendix

We have many resources available on the art and science of running at our store website
www.trtreads.org
browse the Footwear Education, Links, Articles, Blog, and Videos

Best Reads on Concepts of Exercise Physiology and Training for Non Scientist

1. ChiRunning and ChiWalking by Danny Dreyer

Best written advice on helping running form
2. Born to Run by Christopher McDougal
New York Times Best Seller tells the tale of injured runner discovering the running secrets of the
legendary Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. No surprise that they are using ChiRunning principles
in their gait and Maffetone principles in their training..which entails lots of easy trail
running in sandals
3. Healthy Intelligent Training by Keith Livingston
Lydiard Method outlined in easy insightful reading
4. The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-Stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness by Philip
Maffetone.

A must read to understand basic aerobic vs. anaerobic and ADS (aerobic deficiency syndrome).
Maffetone trained Mark Allen, Mike Pigg, and Stu Mittlenman.all ultra legends. Principle are
great for entry level and high level runners.
5. On Getting Fit and Feeling Great (actually 3 books in one How to Feel Great 24 Hours a Day, Running
and Being, and This Running Life) by Dr George Sheehan.
Dr. Sheehan is the original doc/runner/philosopher/exercise authority.
6. Precision Heart Rate Training by Edmund Burke
Good technical guide for applying HR monitor
7. Barefoot Running Book by Jason Robillard. Science and Art of running technique
8. Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously by Bill Mckibbon
Great read on exercise physiology principles
9. Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael
Learn how Lance built his engine back. Principles apply to runners also.
10. Slow Burn: Burn Fat Faster By Exercising Slower by Stu Mittleman
Learn from a guy who sued to be the worlds best at 100 miles and 6 day (no kidding) races
11. Total Heart Rate Training: Customize and Maximize Your Workout Using a Heart Rate Monitor by Joe
Friel
Another great heart rate book along with Burkes
12. Why We Run: A Natural History by Bernd Heinrich
Realy interesting for the anthropologist in us all. Why do birds fly for miles on little
food.hmmmm aerobic (red meat)fat burning. Highly efficient and tasty.
13. Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy Until You're 80 and Beyond by Crowley and Lodge
Read this for putting all the principles of healthy living and living longer in non rocket science
dialogue
14. The Lore of Running by Tim Noakes
If you want to tackle this one it is invaluable but think. Takes mega science but explains it.

Appendix

We have many resources available on the art and science of running at our store website
www.trtreads.org
browse the Footwear Education, Links, Articles, Blog, and Videos

Training schedules Apply these guideline schedules with good form and knowledge of pace.
www.chirunning.com

The folks at ChiRunning got it right by combining schedules with focuses on good form and efficiency.
I suggest their 5k/10k, Half Marathon and Marathon training guides for beginners and intermediate
runners.