Most runners are told that VO2 Max is the ultimate predictor of performance. But a recent meta-analysis led by Dominique Hansen challenges that idea and the results potentially flip traditional run training advice on its head.

Today I wanted to take a deeper look at what this research actually means for your training, and why focusing on threshold and not VO2 max, is what actually drives real performance on race day. The study looked at how athletes respond to different training prescriptions and found that threshold-based training consistently outperformed percentage-based models built around heart rate and VO2 max.

If you’re training for a marathon, chasing a Boston Qualifier, or trying to improve your running performance, this is a shift in thinking that can change how you train for the next 5–10 years, not just your next race.

Study referenced in this video: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40613962/

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