What Is 80/20 Running?

As an approach used by almost all professional runners, and one of the most common ways to think about how we structure our running, the 80/20 running method is the basis of most training plans. 

But what is 80/20 running and how can 80/20 running make you a better runner?

• What does 80/20 running mean?
• 80/20 running and Zone 2
• Why does 80/20 running work?
• Does 80/20 running work for everyone?
• What does 80/20 running look like?

WHAT DOES 80/20 RUNNING MEAN?

80/20 is an approach to training that means you run at an easy or low-intensity pace 80% of the week, and you run faster or with high-intensity around 20% of the week. It’s a training balance used by professional athletes in all endurance sports. 

It’s a very popular way to structure your weekly running and is typically based on the distance you run – so if you run 40km a week, then that’s around 32km easy and 8km hard. 

While you don’t need to calculate it to the nearest 100 metres, or strictly stick to this split, it’s important to consider the overall balance of your training, and ensure that you are working at a low intensity most of the time. This is the best way to improve your fitness while lowering your injury risk.  

The key thing to remember about 80/20 is that most of your training should be at an easy intensity, and that means it’s in Zone 2. 

80/20 RUNNING & ZONE 2

Zone 2, like 80/20, is an important way to think about managing your training. Zone 2 means you are exercising with a heart rate in what’s known as Zone 2. There are five heart rate zones: 

• Zone 1: The easiest jog, and a warm up pace
• Zone 2: Your easy ‘conversational’ running pace
• Zone 3: A tempo pace or the effort of the first part of a half marathon or marathon
• Zone 4: Threshold, or the effort of a 5km or 10km, or the end of a half marathon
• Zone 5: A short, hard interval or sprint

Zone 2 is around 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. So if your maximum heart rate is 180, then your Zone 2 is approximately 110-130 beats per minute. If that seems too low, then it might mean you’re running too fast and are not really in Zone 2. 

A common mistake that a lot of newer runners make is running too fast, and they drift into Zone 3. A good way of knowing if you’re in Zone 2 is if the pace is ‘conversational’, meaning you can easily talk with a friend while you run. If you can’t comfortably talk, then it’s a sign you should slow down. The run might take a minute or two longer overall, but you’ll feel less stress and strain just by taking it a little easier.

The good news is that as you get fitter, the pace you run at in each zone gets quicker. 

WHY DOES 80/20 RUNNING WORK?

Running slow is the best way to run faster over longer distances, and that’s because running at a low intensity is a great way of increasing cardiovascular fitness with a lower injury risk. 

When we run fast, we put more stress on muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, bones and our nervous system. We can’t run fast all the time or we increase our injury and illness risk, so we run slow in between the faster runs to help build a big base of fitness and to adapt to our harder training sessions. 

Those easy runs are the base of all your fitness, and the more easy running you do, the fitter you become – and as you get fitter you can include more higher-intensity running into your training. 

You can also add in additional Zone 2 work by cross-training, so exercise like cycling, swimming and the elliptical can all help to build up more of your 80%.

DOES 80/20 RUNNING WORK FOR EVERYONE? 

Theoretically, yes. But that doesn’t mean you have to run 20% of the time at a higher intensity if you don’t want to.

It’s perfectly fine to run in Zone 2 for 100% of the time if that feels best for you, but if you want to begin training for a new challenge, then adding in faster runs can really help improve your performance because these higher-intensity runs build more strength and power. 

Some higher volume runners may work closer to a 70/30 split, but that would typically involve an increase in Zone 3 running. A good example would be doing a section of marathon pace during a long run.

Other runners may see good improvements from a 90/10 split, especially if they are just introducing higher-intensity running. This might involve doing hill sprints or strides after two runs each week. 

WHAT DOES 80/20 RUNNING LOOK LIKE?

You should only do one or two harder days per week, and never back-to-back sessions, so always have an easy day or rest day in between fast runs.  

When you have a harder run, you’ll always do easy running in the same session. For example, if you’re doing 5 x 1km intervals, then you’ll do a 10-15 minute warm up in Zone 2, plus a cool down, and between the reps you might jog in Zone 2 for two minutes. The fast reps are part of your ‘20’ and the warm up and recovery jogs count towards your ‘80’.

If you run 20km (12.4 miles) per week over three runs, then you could do two easy runs (6-8km each) and a workout that’s 10 x 400m (plus warm up and cool down). 

If you run 30 miles (50km) per week over five runs, that’s around 6 miles fast (10km). You could do two faster runs in the week: 20 minute tempo for one workout, and 6 x 800m for the other. Plus two easy runs (5 miles/8km) and a long run (10 miles/16km). 

If you run 100km (62 miles) per week, that could be a threshold session that’s 6 x 1 mile, then 10 x 1km intervals, and then lots of easy running for the rest of the week. 

Regardless of how far you run in a week, the principles remain the same: keep it easy most of the time.

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If you want to know more about 80/20 running, then here’s Mo telling you everything you need to know.