Running News Daily

Your physiology is beautifully unique. I sound like John Mayer if he was a physical therapist. Our bodies are wonderlands, even if our glutes are unmaintained landfills.

The individual uniqueness of athletes creates a problem, though. How can we understand our physiology in the broader context of training theory when every variable is a bell curve across the population? General equations work if you're smack-dab in the middle of the bell curve thiccness, but can be actively wrong and counterproductive as you venture into the standard deviation hinterlands.

Consider the equation that many of you might have heard about heart rate: 180 beats per minute minus age = approximately aerobic threshold, or the intensity level that serves as a top-end barrier for easy/steady running that should encompass around 80% of your training volume. While that equation is generally useful, it can be actively useless for individuals, especially aging athletes who are highly trained and have a much higher aerobic threshold than the equation would predict.

For me, the equation caps my easy runs at 145 heart rate. My actual aerobic threshold is 152 beats per minute in running (and 150 beats per minute in biking). In practice, that's almost a one-minute-per-mile difference in output. Training from a general equation would prevent me from accruing benefits from steadier paces, and I'd probably be slower at everything.

Training zones from your watch can also be atrocious. In the last few months, I have helped a few hundred listeners of our podcast calculate their heart rate zones (our episode on heart rate zones is here). And a lesson I learned is that some of the watch brands use algorithms that are less accurate than U2 in Spanish class. Zone Uno, Zone Dos, Zone Tres, Zone Catorce, Zone Biblioteca, etc. Some of the watch zones are set so low that I have no idea what they could possibly be measuring. 

So today, let's look at one simple way to calculate your heart rate zones to help you calibrate your training intensity. Knowing your intensity ranges is helpful because it optimizes your metabolic fitness, allowing the body to burn more fat at higher outputs, while supporting mitochondrial proliferation and efficiency, allowing both higher and lower intensities to take less energy. Disclaimer: exercise physiology terminology is always subject to evolving debate, particularly on Twitter (the world's town square, if the square was also where the town put the raw sewage). Here is my favorite infographic ever on the overlap of these principles, from Fluid Athletics (follow them on Instagram here). 

What Are Heart Rate Zones?

We'll be using the traditional Five-Zone model, contrasted with the Three-Zone model used in most training research, but it helps to understand both and how they interact. Heart rate is best thought of as a proxy for lactate concentrations. To simplify it a ton, lactate is produced as our bodies use glucose to fuel ATP production during glycolysis. Lactate is a fuel source for cells, and it's accompanied by a hydrogen ion that changes muscle pH and contributes to fatigue. A 2018 review in Cell Metabolism described the lactate shuttle where the cells use lactate for energy. If this shuttling mechanism is overstressed, lactate levels and fatigue rise and exercise becomes less sustainable. A great overview by Dr. Howard Luks is here.

When lactate concentrations begin to rise, intensity switches from easy to moderate, an inflection point known as LT1, broadly overlapping with aerobic threshold where athletes go from primarily burning fat to primarily burning glycogen. And when lactate levels rise more steeply at higher intensities, intensity transitions from moderate to hard, an inflection point known as LT2, broadly overlapping with traditional lactate threshold (or critical velocity, depending on the method of calculation). That encompasses the 3-Zone model used in research:

Those zones are used in research to determine intensity distribution. While these breakdowns are gross approximations, it can help to put some numbers on paper to get your bearings (all of these numbers have big error bars). 

So if we're using heart rate to approximate lactate and the associated physiological impacts of fatigue, why don't we just use lactate? Good question, you article-ruining jerk. In a perfect world, athletes may decide to prick themselves for blood lactate readings with every interval like they're Norwegian vampires. Practically, though, there's a lactate learning curve in the best of times that can lead to inaccurate data, and in the worst of times it can take some of the spontaneous artistry out of daily training. You can probably tell I'm scared of blood, needles, and vampires (whether traditional or sexy). 

For an easy way to scrub complex data files with HR variation, you can use the Strava Sauce browser plug-in, highlight the area you want to examine, and it will give averages without ever lapping the watch. When I calculate zones for athletes, I have found that you can also approximate LTHR from almost any hard workout with intervals 3 minutes or over by looking for spots in the file where heart rate stabilizes for 15-30 seconds before rising to less sustainable levels (and sometimes falling back toward that baseline in longer efforts). Be careful about using data from very hot days or long races over 90 minutes, when heart rate can sometimes be sustained above Friel's LTHR in ways that are not mirrored by the underlying physiology. 

A big key here: the data needs to be accurate. Chest-straps are ideal for these purposes, and if you are doing a workout to set heart rate zones, it's worth using the chest strap even if it feels like you're getting the heimlich maneuver from a weak octopus. While wrist-straps are rapidly improving in accuracy, there is extreme variation among athletes/watch brands. For example, my Garmin 745 seems to work really well in most circumstances (see this beautiful graph of a threshold workout). But other athletes don't have that success, and sometimes they send me heart rate files that look like Bitcoin price graphs (we are not sure why it's going up and down, but we can be pretty sure it's nefarious). 

How to Set Your Heart Rate Zones

Once you have the LTHR number, it's time to set those elusive zones. We're at another controversial point where the exact percentages are subject to extreme debate. The problem: when you validate heart rate data with lab tests, individual physiology varies substantially. LTHR narrows down that physiological variation to get an idea of zones, but the exact delineation depends on training history, muscle fiber typology, metabolic context, astrological sign, etc. Don't even get me started on Scorpios.

Here are the percentages that Megan and I like to use:

Let's dig into an example from my data. In February, I did a virtual bike race up a mountain. Using the Strava Sauce plug-in and highlighting the final 20 minutes of that hard effort, my LTHR was 172. While there is variance across sports and my heart rate is higher with running, that means my current zones for biking are approximately:

Your LTHR may increase with training and it will drop with age. Athletes are often between 165 and 175, though in professional athletes, I have seen numbers as high as 189 and as low as 152. You can see why dialing in your unique physiology is so important. An athlete with an LTHR of 160 needs to cap most of their easy runs at 140 heart rate (top end of Zone 2). Meanwhile, an athlete with an LTHR of 180 can go all the way up to 157! Often, everything about those athletes can look the same from the outside-same age, same PRs, same training, same potential. But they have very different hearts.

How To Use Your Heart Rate Zones

There are two places where having a general feel for your personal heart rate zones can be most helpful: understanding your Zone 2 (with LT1 as a cap) and determining the sustainability of longer efforts. First, let's break down how to think about each of the zones:

Knowing that Zone two cutoff can help calibrate an athlete's effort so they understand what terms like "easy," "steady," and "moderate" actually mean. Spot-checking heart rate periodically on harder efforts can ensure that athletes aren't going too hard, pushing everything into Zone five and reducing aerobic adaptations. I love athletes to get a feel for how high their heart rate gets on uphills especially, since excessive effort on ups can lead to reduced endurance and race performance. Zone 3 is your friend, in moderation. Zone four is your acquaintance. And spending too much time with Zone five will end with you folded up in a car trunk somewhere outside Las Vegas.

Takeaway

The big takeaway is that heart rate is just a proxy for fatigue processes, especially when calculated outside of a lab. The numbers can vary by the day, and they change across training blocks. Temperature, stress, caffeine, and political news all impact the numbers enough that caring too much about a few beats per minute is unhelpful. The day I first heard the nickname "Meatball Ron," I was in Zone three while sitting on the couch.

Instead, view heart rate as a way to calibrate your physiology in a general way, spot-checking your perceived exertion so that you know what you think your body is doing generally aligns with what your body is actually doing. Once an athlete dials in heart rate, I like them to look at it once every couple weeks during a run, and solely after-the-fact on other runs (if at all), never investing too much in small changes. Heart rate sometimes takes a while to respond, so I find it's rarely useful on shorter intervals.

If you train within the correct general range of intensities, whether guided by heart rate, lactate, and/or perceived exertion, you can improve output at Zone two and Zone three heart rates in particular, and because those efforts are more sustainable metabolically, you'll excel in races. You definitely don't need to have a heart rate monitor to achieve those goals. But you do need to have a good feel for your unique physiology. 

All of our bodies can be well-calibrated wonderlands. We sometimes just need a little bit of the sexiest thing of all: data.

But have blood-free hope! Using the method in the article, I have approximated zones for professional athletes that have later been validated in lab tests with small enough margins of error to be useful. However, it's key to get a full lab test for truly accurate data. Heart rate without lactate, metabolic, and/or ventilatory lab tests is like determining the time from where the sun is in the sky. With context clues, you can be close, but you wouldn't want to use it to cook a turkey.

Five-Zone Training Model

Now, let's finally get to the Five-Zone heart rate model that is used in most training approaches. The Three-Zone model is overlaid with green, yellow, and red (again, there is debate around the exact breakdown, particularly with the Zone three/Zone four delineation).

There are a few ways to set the zones, but I see the most repeatability and accuracy with the Lactate Threshold Heart Rate method pioneered by legendary coach Joe Friel. As outlined in Training Peaks, he suggests that athletes "do a 30-minute time trial all by yourself (no training partners and not in a race). Again, it should be done as if it was a race for the entire 30 minutes. But at 10 minutes into the test, click the lap button on your heart rate monitor. When done, look to see what your average heart rate was for the last 20 minutes." 

I like athletes to do the test on uphills, where they won't be limited by neuromuscular and biomechanical factors if they don't have a ton of speed training. If it wasn't a truly hard effort or your heart rate takes a lot of time to increase across an effort, you can take the average heart rate from a section as short as 10 minutes. Because this isn't an exact measurement like in a lab test, think of it as an art that is useful in understanding your body, rather than attempting to find a correct answer like high school algebra.

The future of American distance running may have just announced itself.

Luke Surface, an 8th-grade student-athlete from North Raleigh Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, delivered a performance that stunned the track and field community after taking on some of the nation’s best high school runners at Nike Outdoor Nationals.

Competing at the legendary Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon — one of the most iconic venues in American distance running — Surface lined up in the boys championship 5,000 meters against a field dominated by high school seniors, including several athletes preparing to compete at the NCAA Division I level.

Despite being one of the youngest runners in the race, the 14-year-old held his own against the elite competition, finishing eighth in an incredible 14:25.88. The performance set a new national middle school record, averaging approximately 4:39 per mile for more than three miles.

That kind of time is fast enough to win many high school state championships across the United States and meets qualifying standards for several major NCAA Division I conference competitions — a remarkable achievement for a runner who has not yet entered high school.

But Surface’s historic 5,000m performance was only the latest chapter in a season filled with record-breaking moments.

Earlier in May, he clocked 8:52.03 for 3,200 meters at the NCISAA Division I State Championships in North Carolina, breaking another national middle school record. His converted two-mile time of 8:55.12 surpassed the previous world-best mark for a 14-year-old age group, previously held by Vincent Recupero.

During the previous cross-country season, Surface also made headlines when he ran 15:12 at the adidas XC Challenge, finishing second while competing against runners who were several years older.

Across cross country, two miles, and the 5,000 meters, Surface has continued to prove that his talent is far beyond his age group. While he still has four years of high school competition ahead before reaching the college level, his performances have already placed him among the most exciting young distance runners to watch.

The American high school 5,000-meter record currently stands at 13:32, set by Lex Young in 2023 — a mark Surface is not yet close to challenging. However, his remarkable progression at such a young age has caught the attention of the running world, with many eager to follow how far his extraordinary journey can go.

For now, Luke Surface remains an eighth grader rewriting the record books — and his story is only beginning.

DOHA, Qatar – Ethiopian distance running is once again making a powerful statement on the global stage. Following the Doha Diamond League meeting, Ethiopia has achieved a remarkable clean sweep of the women's 3000m/5000m standings, occupying all eight leading positions in one of the most competitive disciplines in world athletics.

Leading the charge is Likina Amebaw, who sits comfortably at the top of the rankings with 22 points. Close behind is fellow Ethiopian star Freweyni Hailu on 14 points, while Medina Eisa occupies third place with 12 points. The dominance continues through the rest of the leaderboard, with Senayet Getachew, Hawi Abera, Aleshign Baweke, Marta Alemayo, and Bernesh Dessie completing an extraordinary Ethiopian monopoly of the standings.

The achievement highlights Ethiopia's exceptional depth in women's distance running, where a new generation of athletes continues to emerge and challenge for global honours. Rather than relying on a single standout performer, Ethiopia has assembled a formidable squad capable of controlling races and collecting points across multiple Diamond League meetings.

While the current standings paint a picture of complete Ethiopian supremacy, the battle for the Diamond League title is far from over. Several meetings remain on the road to the season finale, leaving plenty of opportunities for rivals to close the gap and for positions within the Ethiopian contingent to shift dramatically.

For now, however, the spotlight belongs firmly to Ethiopia. The East African powerhouse has transformed the women's 3000m/5000m standings into an all-Ethiopian affair, sending a clear message to the rest of the world that the race for Diamond League glory will likely run through Addis Ababa.

The question now is whether Likina Amebaw can maintain her advantage and finish the season as the overall leader, whether Freweyni Hailu or Medina Eisa can mount a successful challenge, or whether another athlete will produce a late-season surge to rewrite the script.

One thing is certain: the road to the Diamond League Final promises a fascinating battle among some of the finest distance runners on the planet.

Kenyan athletics superstar and world champion Beatrice Chebet has officially entered a beautiful new chapter in her life after welcoming a baby boy.

The 26-year-old track sensation, born on 5 March 2000, has built a remarkable legacy as one of the greatest distance runners of her generation. Chebet is a world record holder in the 5000m, 10,000m and road 5km, with a career decorated by historic victories on the biggest stages.

She made history at the 2024 Summer Olympics by winning gold medals in both the 5000m and 10,000m, before achieving the same remarkable double at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. Her medal collection also includes a 5000m silver medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and bronze at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Beyond the track, Chebet has also dominated cross country, becoming a three-time world champion after winning the junior title in 2019 and senior titles in 2023 and 2024. She has also claimed major 5000m victories at the 2018 World U20 Championships, 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 African Championships in Athletics.

Now, the Kenyan star is celebrating a different kind of milestone — becoming a mother.

Sharing the joyful news, Chebet introduced her newborn son with a heartfelt message filled with love and excitement:

“Tiny hands, tiny feet, and a love so big! A beautiful new chapter begins. Welcome to our world our sweet little baby boy!”

The arrival of her son marks a special moment away from competition, as the world champion embraces motherhood while carrying the pride of a nation that has watched her achieve greatness.

Messages of congratulations have poured in from fans and the athletics community, celebrating the new chapter for one of Kenya’s most successful athletes.

As Beatrice Chebet adds motherhood to her list of remarkable achievements, the champion now begins a new journey filled with love, joy, and unforgettable moments with her baby boy. 

Jake Wightman delivered a masterclass in championship racing as he surged to the men's 800m title at the UK Athletics Championships, holding off a determined challenge from Ben Pattison in a thrilling finish.

In a race defined by patience, positioning, and precise execution, Wightman waited for the perfect moment to strike before unleashing his finishing kick down the home straight. The former world champion crossed the line in 1:45.40, just doing enough to edge Pattison and secure the national crown.

The contest lived up to expectations, bringing together two of Britain's finest middle-distance talents in a tactical battle where every move carried significance. With the pace controlled through the early stages, the field remained tightly packed, setting the stage for a dramatic final lap.

As the bell rang, the intensity immediately rose. Pattison looked poised to seize control and pushed hard in the closing metres, but Wightman's experience and race awareness proved decisive. Drawing on years of competing at the highest level, he maintained his composure under pressure and found the extra gear required to stay ahead when it mattered most.

The victory marks another significant chapter in Wightman's decorated career and serves as a timely statement of intent as the international season gathers momentum. More importantly, it showcased the qualities that have made him one of Britain's most respected middle-distance athletes — tactical intelligence, resilience, and an ability to deliver in the biggest moments.

For Pattison, the narrow defeat will provide encouragement rather than disappointment. His performance confirmed his growing status among Britain's elite 800m runners and highlighted the depth of talent currently thriving in the event.

But on this occasion, the spotlight belonged to Wightman. In a race where the margins were razor-thin, he executed his plan to perfection and walked away with the UK Athletics Championship title.

Remember the name Gout Gout.

At just 18 years old, the Australian sprint prodigy is already commanding global attention and fueling conversations about the future of track and field. In a sport constantly searching for its next superstar, Gout is rapidly emerging as one of the brightest talents the world has seen in years.

His latest statement came at the prestigious Ostrava Golden Spike meeting, where he stepped onto the track alongside some of sprinting's biggest names, including reigning world champion Noah Lyles. Far from being overwhelmed by the occasion, the teenager delivered a composed and confident performance, finishing third in the 150m in 14.96 seconds against two of the fastest athletes on the planet.

Yet impressive as that performance was, it is not the result that has the athletics community buzzing most.

Earlier this year, Gout stunned the sprinting world by clocking an astonishing 19.67 seconds for 200m, setting a new world Under-20 record. The performance instantly elevated him from promising prospect to genuine phenomenon.

What makes the achievement even more remarkable is the historical context. At the same age, Gout was faster than sprint legend Usain Bolt. Comparisons to the Jamaican icon are inevitable, not because records demand them, but because the raw numbers are impossible to ignore.

Of course, Gout's journey is only beginning. Like any young athlete, he still has room to grow, refine his craft, and gain valuable experience at the highest level. The road from teenage sensation to global champion is rarely straightforward.

But there is no denying the extraordinary potential that lies within him.

His speed, composure, and ability to perform under pressure have already marked him out as one of athletics' most exciting young stars. More importantly, he possesses the kind of talent that inspires belief that a new era of sprinting may be on the horizon.

The sport has always thrived on rivalries that capture the imagination of fans across the globe. With established champions such as Noah Lyles currently leading the way, the emergence of Gout Gout adds an intriguing new chapter to sprinting's future.

The next great rivalry may already be taking shape.

And one of its leading figures is still only a teenager.

For now, the message is simple: remember the name Gout Gout. The future is arriving faster than anyone expected.