​What is the effect and magnitude of training disruptions on marathon performance?
“Completing a marathon usually requires at least 12-16 weeks of consistent training, but busy lifestyles, illness or injury, and motivational issues can all conspire to disrupt training.”…
Some interesting findings from this study of over 300,000 runners..
Runners who experience longer training disruptions (greater than 7 days) suffer a finish-time cost of 5-8% compared to when the same runners experienced only short training disruptions (<7 days)
long training disruptions lead to a greater finish-time cost for males (5%) than females (3.5%)
Faster runners also experience a greater finish-time cost (5.4%) than slower runners (2.6%)
When disruptions occur late in training (close to race-day), they are associated with a greater finish-time cost (5.2%) than similar disruptions occurring earlier in training (4.4%)
—-
Feely C, Smyth B, Caulfield B, Lawlor A. Estimating the cost of training disruptions on marathon performance. Front Sports Act Living. 2023 Jan 10;4:1096124.

​Faster running can result in LOWER stress on the knees!⁣
⁣
One recent study assessed twenty runners at four different paces from (2.5-4.2 m/s) and measured peak and cumulative force on the patellafemoral (knee) joint.⁣
⁣
PEAK forces and stress were higher at the highest speeds ⁣
⁣
But CUMULATIVE force and stress was LOWER at faster paces, with up to a 33% reduction from the slowest pace to fastest pace ⁣
⁣
Authors conclude: “Running at faster speeds increases the magnitude of peak PFJ kinetics but conversely results in less accumulated force over a set distance. Selecting moderate running speeds (~3.1 m/s) with reduced training duration or an interval-based approach may be more effective for managing cumulative PFJ kinetics compared to running at slow speeds.”⁣
⁣
In other words, intervals aren’t only for the track..Whether walk-run or fartlek, this can also be useful in a variety of contexts ⁣
…..
⁣
Doyle EW, Doyle TLA, Bonacci J, Beach AJ, Fuller JT. Cumulative patellofemoral force and stress are lower during faster running compared to slower running in recreational runners. Sports Biomech. 2023 Jun 26:1-13.