Is it true that running makes you slower?

Question

I was told that running and biking and all forms of steady long distance training can make you slower in the long run. And that instead you should jog, run, jog, run etc. in your exercise... is this true?

Answer 1

no not at all. Running for a long distance makes you faster at doing long runs. If you only sprint for a short time you will get slower on long runs.  

Answer 2

no i dont see how that would make sense. i was a runner in cross country about two years ago i stopped running. all my training was run run run, if you ever got tired just run slower but our coach would NEVER let us walk, he would get extremely pissed if we did no matter how tired we were we were to never walk during practice and even less during a race.. sorry i got a little off track there.. any ways, the only thing is that once you stop you lose it all. i cant say it made me any slower than i was before i started x country, but it does suck knowing i used to be so fast and im now back to the same as i started.  

Answer 3

When you say "jog,  run, jog, run" do you mean fartleks?  Fartleks are when you run/jog at a reasonable distance pace then sprint for a bit and go back to an easy paced run, sprint and so on.  It increases endurance and speed greatly.

I suppose if you run long distances just for the sake of running long distances it will make you slower or at least you wouldn't improve in speed.  There's no drive of getting faster, it's more running longer (endurance) therefore the person would probably only go on long runs.  You can't get fast with just running long runs.   You'll have good endurance though.  That's why competitive runners do a lot of speedwork along with long runs.

Answer 4

I think there is some truth in what you are saying but it is a little more refined than that. Generally speaking, there is a bit of a trade-off between endurance and quickness, and it has to do with the way your muscles are conditioned. If you train to run long distances, you might not perform very well in short sprints; if you train to run short sprints, you might not do well in long races where endurance is important.

As an example, I used to play soccer, and could play for 90 minutes of starting and stopping and quick sprints and turns, but I couldn't run a 90 minute race. Now I don't play soccer anymore, and I can run a half-marathon, but I can't play a full 90 minute soccer match with all the quick sprinting and turning.

If you train for endurance sports, then you are specifically training for "slow and steady"; if you train for other sports, you train for "quick and fast". You should do whatever is appropriate for the type of activity you're training for.

Answer 5

that...makes no sense. long distance running can affect how fast you can SPRINT. i used to be a sprinter then i joined cross country. i used to be able to run a high 13 sec 100 low 14 when i was in 7th -8th grade. but after 4 years of XC i can only run 14 sec-15 sec 100s.

depending on the trainning you can get slower at sprinting. i have no idea why it would make you slower when long distance trainning of anything is what makes your endurance and stamina stronger.

Answer 6

no. if that was true there wouldnt be so many runners.