Running Myths Fact-Checked: 10 Myths

Few sports are as rich in firm convictions as running. “180 steps per minute”, “stretch before you run”, “lactate makes your legs heavy” — sentences that have travelled from training group to training group for decades. Some contain a kernel of truth, others are plainly wrong, and a few were never supported in the form they are repeated today. This article fact-checks ten of the most stubborn running myths against the evidence.

Myth 1: “You have to run at 180 steps per minute”

The number 180 goes back to coach Jack Daniels, who counted the stride rate of around 50 elite runners during an Olympic 10,000 m race and found values near 180 steps per minute — except for the eventual winner, who ran more slowly. That is a description of elite runners in a race, not a training standard for recreational athletes.

Cadence depends on height, leg length and speed. Shorter runners automatically take more steps at the same pace. Measurements in amateurs show typical values of 160 to 175 steps per minute. Raising your cadence by 5 to 10 steps can improve running economy through a shorter ground contact time and less vertical oscillation — but only if it is achieved by taking shorter steps, not by overstriding. More on this in Running cadence: the 180 myth.

Myth 2: “You must stretch before running”

Static stretching before a session has shown no injury-preventing effect in studies — and in some investigations strength and running economy dip slightly for a few minutes afterwards. The passive hold lengthens the muscle but does not prepare it for load.

What works is a dynamic warm-up: running drills, strides, active hip and ankle mobilisation, gradually rising pace. The endurance muscle needs temperature, blood flow and neuromuscular activation, not length. Long static stretching has its place — but it belongs after the session as recovery, not before it. Read more in Stretching for runners: dynamic vs. static.

Myth 3: “Lactate is waste and makes you tired”

Lactate is produced at every intensity, even at rest, and is an energy-rich molecule. It is taken up and used as fuel by the heart muscle, skeletal muscle and the brain — it circulates through the body as a lactate shuttle between tissues. “Lactate is rubbish” gets the biochemistry exactly backwards.

What causes fatigue is acidosis: at high intensity, hydrogen ions accumulate faster than the muscle can buffer them, pH falls, and contractile capacity drops. Lactate is a by-product of this process, not its cause. That said, blood lactate concentration is still an excellent indicator of which metabolic zone you are working in — see Lactate testing and the anaerobic threshold.

Myth 4: “Fasted running burns more fat”

The kernel is true: if you run without eating first, the fat share of energy used during that session is higher, because glycogen stores are lower. The error lies in the second step — assuming this turns into more fat loss over weeks.

Controlled studies find no differences in body fat or body composition between fasted and fed training groups when total energy expenditure and calorie balance are matched. The body balances the ledger over the day. Fasted running has its legitimate place as a stimulus for fat metabolism and as a time-saver before breakfast — as a weight-loss shortcut it is not. On the method: Fat metabolism training and fasted running.

Myth 5: “You need 100 kilometres a week for a marathon”

Elite runners do train in that range, but the number is a consequence of their capacity, not a prerequisite for it. Marathon studies show a clear dose-response relationship between weekly volume and race time — with diminishing returns and a sharply rising injury risk above the volume an individual tolerates.

For a sub-4-hour marathon, 50 to 70 kilometres per week are often enough with good structure: one long run, one or two intensity sessions, the rest easy. What matters is whether the volume is tolerable, not how high it is. Anyone increasing weekly volume by more than 10 percent pays for every additional kilometre with disproportionate risk. In Peakora that control comes from the load balance of TSS and ACWR; the build itself is described in increasing training volume, and the framework on the marathon training guide (German).

Myth 6: “Running ruins your knees”

The largest long-term study on this question — following runners from a big US running club over decades — actually found a lower rate of knee and hip osteoarthritis among regular runners than in the non-running comparison group. Reviews of recreational runners do not support the claim either.

The misunderstanding comes from reverse causality: many people with knee pain do not run because it hurts, so they show up in the non-runner statistics as arthritis cases. Mechanically, the impact of running at roughly two to three times body weight is clearly higher than walking, but cartilage adapts to cyclic loading as long as progression stays moderate and recovery follows. The real risk lies in increasing mileage too fast, not in running itself.

Myth 7: “The fat-burning zone — only low intensity burns fat”

At low intensity the percentage of energy coming from fat is highest, that is true. At higher intensity that percentage falls, but total energy expenditure per minute rises so strongly that the absolute amount of fat calories burned is similar, sometimes higher.

The “fat burn” display on a sports watch is therefore not a weight-loss instruction but a description of the fuel mix at that moment. For performance, a different goal matters anyway: developing a powerful fat metabolism so that at high pace you ration glycogen for as long as possible. You build that with long, easy sessions plus targeted stimuli — not with constant plodding. Background in zone 2 training and heart rate zones.

Myth 8: “Barefoot running is more natural and better”

The foot is anatomically built for barefoot running, and runners who consistently run barefoot or in very minimal shoes do show fewer forefoot complaints and a lower peak load on the heel bone in observational studies. The flip side: switching without an adaptation period brings more metatarsal and heel stress fractures, because the small bones of the foot are unfamiliar with that stimulus.

Barefoot running is therefore not a superior mode but a different stimulus — with clear costs and benefits. If you want to switch, do it over months: short barefoot sections on grass at the end of a session, then step by step. For racing and long distances the protection of a good shoe remains sensible. In detail: barefoot running and foot strike.

Myth 9: “One rest day a week is mandatory”

The recommendation is a good convention, but not a physiological rule. What matters is not the number of rest days but whether load and recovery match each other. An elite athlete runs 13 days straight at a training camp and then takes a rest day — because the volume is managed accordingly.

What actually counts: the body needs stimuli in sufficient dose and time to adapt. A rest day is the simplest way to guarantee that time, but a very easy 20-minute recovery run often does the same job. Anyone who runs every day because the streak keeps growing risks exactly what the convention is meant to prevent — just with worse planning. Peakora schedules the distribution from TSS, CTL and TSB and relies on deload weeks rather than arbitrary rest days — see deload week.

Myth 10: “You're too old for a marathon — not at your age”

Endurance capacity declines with age, but far more slowly and far later than maximal strength or sprint performance. The reason: aerobic capacity is largely preserved in regularly training people well into their sixties — the decline mainly affects maximum heart rate and muscle mass. Marathon times in your seventh decade are not an exception but the result of consistent training over years.

What does change with age is recovery speed: peaks take longer, and injury susceptibility rises if the training load continues unchanged. That is why the two levers in older age are more recovery and at least two strength sessions per week to maintain muscle, tendons and bone density. Fundamentals in training over 40 and strength training for runners.

How Peakora deals with these myths

Peakora does not build your plan from rules of thumb and forum wisdom, but from your own data: load balance (TSS/CTL/ATL), intensity distribution and adaptation over weeks. Every runner therefore gets an individual pattern — cadence, volume and strength work that matches their capacity, their body and their everyday reality. You can put any training stimulus in context via the training glossary (German) and read the wider framework on the marathon training guide.

Frequently asked questions about running myths

Do I really have to run at 180 steps per minute?

No — the 180 spm figure comes from one coach counting elite runners in an Olympic race, not from a study of recreational runners. Your ideal cadence depends on height, leg length and speed; most amateurs sit between 160 and 175 steps per minute.

Should you stretch before running?

Static stretching right before a run does not protect against injury and can briefly reduce running economy. What works is a dynamic warm-up with running drills, strides and active mobility; long static stretches belong after the session.

Does lactate make your muscles tired?

No — lactate is not a waste product but a fuel that muscles, the heart and the brain use for energy. Fatigue comes from the accompanying acidosis, the falling pH inside the muscle, not from lactate itself.

Does fasted running burn more fat?

Fasted running raises the fat share of energy used during that session, but it does not improve body composition or performance compared with running after a meal. The overall picture — calorie balance and training stimulus over weeks — is what counts.