Concepts index

Physiological and theoretical ideas. Start with the basics, then the determinants.

• The basics (what actually matters) — the 95% that drives most of the gains for most runners
• Running for beginners — how to start running and keep at it
• Running for intermediates — the next stage: more volume, a long run, a little structure, strength work
• Motivation, habit and adherence — the real limiter for most runners is showing up; how to build the habit and keep it
• VO₂max — the aerobic ceiling, and what it does and does not predict
• Lactate threshold — why velocity at threshold predicts endurance performance
• Lactate shuttle — why lactate is a fuel the body produces, moves and reuses, not a waste product
• Critical speed and critical power — the highest pace with a metabolic steady state, and the finite capacity above it
• Running economy — the energy cost of running, and what separates runners of similar VO₂max
• Durability (fatigue resistance) — resistance to physiological decline late in long efforts
• VO₂ kinetics — how fast oxygen uptake responds to a change of pace, and why it matters
• Physiological adaptations and their timelines — what training changes, and why tendons and bones lag the heart
• Energy systems — the three ways muscle makes ATP, and why distance running is aerobic
• Muscular adaptations to training — mitochondria, capillaries, enzymes, fat oxidation
• Fat oxidation and metabolic flexibility — how the body blends fat and carbohydrate by intensity, and what shifts the mix
• Thermoregulation — how runners produce and shed heat, and why heat limits performance
• Cardiovascular and respiratory adaptations — the heart and blood drive VO₂max; the lungs rarely limit you
• Glycogen and glycogen depletion — the limited carbohydrate store, “the wall”, and how to manage it
• Lactate testing — how blood lactate is measured, in the lab and by finger-prick during sessions
• Muscle tone (Bakken) — a practitioner readiness concept from the Norwegian model; weak evidence
• Individual variation and trainability — why “works on average” is not “works for you”
• Anaerobic capacity and speed reserve — why top speed matters even for distance runners
• Fatigue mechanisms — central versus peripheral, an unsettled debate
• Biomechanics and gait — cadence, footstrike and overstriding, mostly self-optimised
• Training intensity zones — two thresholds, three domains, and how the zone models map onto them
• Theory of constraints (training the limiter) — find and train your actual limiter rather than polishing a strength
• Reading sports-science journals — how much weight to give a study by where it was published, and why the publisher and special-issue route matter

Populations and health

• The female runner — sex differences in physiology, and the male-default research problem
• Menstrual cycle and training — phase effects are individual and the evidence is thin
• Pregnancy and postpartum running — running through an uncomplicated pregnancy, and the gradual return afterwards
• Masters runners — how performance changes with age, and what preserves it
• Youth and adolescent runners — why children are not small adults, and the case against early specialisation
• Early and late developers — fast risers and slow bakers; why junior success poorly predicts senior success
• Running and health — the longevity benefit, and the contested “too much running” question
• Illness and immune function — heavy training and infection risk, and how to decide whether to train through illness
• Air quality and pollution — how polluted air affects runners, and why the benefits of running usually still win
• Heat illness — recognising and treating exertional heat illness
• Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction — the airway narrowing exercise triggers in many runners, why symptoms diagnose it badly, and what manages it