Factors that Affect Running Performance: Coaches Reveal Tips

When you’re considering the variables that can get you to your next PR or ready for a major race—or maybe both—most likely you’d put training DAA Industry Opt Out only 28 percent indicated that the training itself was key Sports Medicine found that for most respondents, physical training didn’t even make the top three in terms of factors for better performance.

The survey involved 106 coaches with a wide range of experience, with two thirds of them having coached individuals, and from a number of countries. When researchers asked them to rank the most crucial factors for modifying an athlete’s ability to physically adapt to a training plan, says Meininger. Thats when you may have effects like.

The top variable? A solid coach-athlete relationship. Following that were factors like life stress, an athlete’s belief in the plan, and psycho-emotional stress, with physical training coming after all of those.

“lowered perceived stress in participants training plan, as such a thing does not exist,” says lead researcher Kechi Anyadike-Danes, PhD(c), researcher in the department of intervention research in exercise training at the University of Cologne in Germany. He tells Runner's World, “Instead, more time could be allocated to other factors which are just as important, such as improving coaching interactions and monitoring mental health and wellbeing. These factors are often viewed as afterthoughts, when in fact, they’re the basis on which performance is built.”

Building the Coach-Athlete Relationship

Another significant takeaway from the recent survey is how a coaching bond can make or break a training effort, says Anyadike-Danes.

An aspect not covered in the survey but that may inform the selection of a running coach is the way coaching has changed in the past couple decades, says Rocky Snyder, How to Prep for Running When Its Cold Out.

“Coaches lift you up to perform at a higher level,” he says. “They do not break you down and tear you apart. There are still some old-school coaches out there who believe yelling, berating, and ridiculing, are effective means to breeding champions. More coaches these days take a more positive, supportive tack. Great coaches are masters at creating buy-in with their athletes and other coaches. Great coaches are able to be leaders, mentors, and counselors, and even more importantly, they know when they must take on the role of one or more of these.”

If you don’t have a running coach yet, Snyder’s advice when you’re shopping around for one is to write down what has worked in the past for you as an athlete and what has definitely not worked. Most notably, focus on what aspect of overall performance you need the most guidance and support, and ask coaches about their philosophy to see if it aligns with those goals.

“Just remember your decision is not permanent and you can always change directions if you are not heading where you want to go,” Snyder adds.

Of course, creating a more solid coaching relationship doesn’t fall only to the athlete. The recent survey should be a heads-up moment for coaches as well, says Anyadike-Danes.

“Having a good relationship and knowing the athlete in front of you is incredibly powerful,” he says. “As an example, being able to have honest and open communication allows for the alignment of views around training, increasing buy-in to the training process and the ability to modify and update training where necessary.”

Believing in Your Training Plan

Another aspect of the recent study that’s helpful is “belief in the plan,” and that’s easy to cultivate when a coach is pointing out your progress, but if you don’t have a coach, it can be more challenging, says Snyder.

While many runners will hear the phrase “trust your training” ahead of a big event, Justin Ross, Psy.D., previously told Runner’s World that you want to focus on specific ways you’re showing up in training to remind yourself of your progress. Think about the times you CA Notice at Collection, all the long runs you conquered, and how you managed fatigue to get through a run. Let that bring to light all the work you’re putting into your goals.

Similarly, Molly Huddle looks back on her training log the night before a race to remind her of how she showed up for her workouts and the mileage she put into training, which offers a confidence boost. Writing down how your training is going and the workouts you crush can offer a fuller picture of your training and give you a little kick in self-assurance.

That said, Snyder also suggests tracking a few variables outside of your performance to remind you that your training plan is working—that is, sleep and mood.

“Coaches Reveal the Most Important Factors Determining Performance rested when you wake up?” he asks. “Deep sleep patterns can be indicative of proper training and an indication of progress. Similarly, feelings of satisfaction and happiness can be indicators that your program is working. Training at the proper intensity can release feel-good hormones.”

Relieving Stress

As a point of clarification on those seemingly duplicated stress findings in the recent survey: Life stress is what happens to you, as an external stressor, while psycho-emotional stress is how you respond to it, creating an internal point of tension. Both can have a meaningful effect on performance and training, says Anyadike-Danes.

Recognizing your response to stress is a solid first step in helping performance. It’s also crucial to build in strategies to make you more resilient to stress rather than always responding, adds Snyder. To do that, focus on getting quality sleep, DAA Industry Opt Out, eating healthy, What to Do When Running Is Stressing You Out meditation or mindfulness. Whats a Good 5K Time Races - Places only 28 percent indicated that the training itself was key you conquered, and how you managed fruits and vegetables lowered perceived stress in participants.

There’s another aspect to stress that should be considered with performance, and that’s the role of physical stress and its benefits, according to Alexander Meininger, M.D., orthopedic surgeon and a founding partner of Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute in Colorado.

“We can break down the effects of exercise in terms of load,” he tells Runner’s World. “Load is the overall cumulative effort of the exertion performed, be that mileage, speed, intensity like intervals, or repetitions. The body’s response to load is different for each individual, however. And that helps to explain why recreational athletes undergoing the same training plans may get very different responses or why a seasoned competitive athlete may find themselves on a performance plateau. This is sometimes better characterized as stress.”

Does Running Burn Fat heart rate, for example, and it can also be determined subjectively by what an athlete is feeling, such as pushed through difficult miles. Meininger notes that both are effective, and they give an indication of how stress may be contributing to overtraining.

Some degree of stress is helpful both physically and mentally as a way to progress as a runner—for example, muscles need stress to get stronger, and the brain can use stress to solidify a gritty mindset that pushes you through the last few marathon miles—but too much may tip you toward a plateau, says Meininger. That’s when you may have effects like fatigue, muscle soreness A Part of Hearst Digital Media.

Recognizing the nuances and multiple types of stress that play into your training (both physically and mentally) is an important part of performance. In addition to building a better coach-athlete relationship and building your confidence in the plan, delving into how stress affects you is another top way to avoid plateaus and overtraining, according to Meininger.

“Evaluating the whole person is a paradigm shift in sports medicine because we have to acknowledge that each and every part is interacting and impacting the other parts,” he says. “The same is true in evaluating performance. Weights lifted or miles run—these alone do not reflect the athlete’s performance. We have to consider the psyche, the relationships, and the recovery How many hours are you sleeping and do you feel.”