Running for Health vs. Running for Performance: Can You Have Both?
Tread Lightly Running Science PodcastShow Notes
Is running always health-promoting - or is there a point where running can be unhealthy? In this episode, we discuss the health benefits of running, examine claims that running increases risk of certain diseases, and explore how training for performance may be different than training for health. Thank you to our sponsors: ✨ Previnex: Previnex creates clinically effective, third-party tested supplements made with high-quality ingredients, including Muscle Health Plus (creatine). Use the code treadlightly for 15% off your first order at previnex.com ✨ Amazfit: User-friendly simple running watches with advanced features, at an affordable price point. Use link http://bit.ly/4nai73H for 10% off your purchase. ✨ FlipBelt: Sleek storage options, including no-bounce running belts and shorts. Use code TLF20 at flipbelt.com for 20% off your purchase.
In this episode, you will learn: ✅ Is there such thing as too much running? ✅ On the colon cancer and running study ✅ Is too much running bad for your heart? ✅ Does running help with mood disorders and mental health? ✅ Age-related declines ✅ Creating a training plan for running for health
Field Tests for our Listener Question: Cooper test: After a 10-20 min warm-up, run as far as you can in 12 minutes. Record distance and enter into this calculator. 1.5-mile run test: After a 10-20 min warm-up, run as fast as you can for 1.5 miles. Record distance and enter into this calculator. Lactate threshold test. After a 10-20 min warm-up, run 30 minutes as fast as you can (self-paced, even effort). Your average pace over the final 20 minutes is your velocity at second LT (60-min race pace) and your average HR over the final 20 min is your LTHR.
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 🎧 How Much Does VO2max Actually Matter (3 Oct 2025) 🎧 Heart Rate Variability and Resting Heart Rate: Do These Metrics Matter for Runners (25 July 2025) 🎧 Hybrid Training as Health Training with Dr. Alyssa Olenick (6 Sept 2024)
References: 🔬 https://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/244806 🔬 https://www.onlinejacc.org/content/75/1/60 🔬PMID: 28450347 🔬 PMID: 26301178 🔬 PMID: 25128074 🔬PMID: 31691927
Let’s stay connected: ➡️ Tread Lightly Running Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treadlightlyrunning/ ➡️ Laura Norris Running on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauranorrisrunning/ ➡️ Hundreds of evidence-based training tips on Laura’s website: https://lauranorrisrunning.com/ ➡️ Run to the Finish on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runtothefinish/?hl=en ➡️ Thousands of running gear reviews and training guides: https://runtothefinish.com/
More from Tread Lightly Running Science Podcast
“You’ve got to have high challenge and high support.” In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Duncan Simpson of Dartmouth’s Teeven Center for Peak Performance to discuss the psychology of pushing yourself to your limits as a runner.
If you google “Half Marathon Training Plan,” the search engine presents you with an overwhelming variety of options: Galloway, Hansons, Hal Higdon, Daniels, and more. In this episode, we discuss the fundamental principles of volume, intensity, and progression in the most popular half marathon methodologies.
Running is not bad for your knees - if anything, consistent running is remarkably beneficial for your cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health. In this episode, we delve into the research around running, disease risk, and mortality/longevity. You will learn how running improves heart health, lowers cancer risk, helps you sleep, and more.
Recovery tools have proliferated in the running world over the past few years: red light therapy, ice plunge buckets, peptides, and more. However, the expensive price tag does not guarantee efficacy. In this episode, we look at the data behind various recovery tools and if they actually work - or if they just come with a powerful placebo effect.
Are broccoli sprout shots the secret to your next PR? Will U-Can gels help you manage weight? And are greens powders a scam or magic bullet? We sit down with registered dietitian Alex Larson, the founder of Alex Larson Nutrition. She answers all our questions on GLP-1s, cortisol-reducing supplements, lactate gels, if Laura can make her own Nomio at home, and more.