Whining about boredom, trite references to the “dreadmill”—Jacob Puzey cringes when he hears this. To him, hate for the thousand-dollar-plus mile treadmill world record, a 4:57:45 he logged in 2016 represents the epitome of entitlement. “You have the means to choose between running inside and outside, and you’re going to complain about that?” says the Alberta, Canada–based elite ultrarunner and coach.
Of course, there’s no passing up a run out in the world when the conditions are ideal. (Just picture brisk fall temps and those first rays of sun in the spring.) But Puzey puts his Altras where his mouth is when it comes to training consistently on the ’mill.
Yes, he’s still at home on gnarly trails—Puzey has won races like the Grizzly Ultra 50K and Badger Mountain Challenge—but he also holds the 50-mile treadmill world record, a 4:57:45 he logged in 2016.
Like many runners, he didn’t always feel this way. Puzey first set foot on a treadmill at age 14, then not again until he was 22 and a student at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. Time-crunched and low on cash for winter gear, Puzey trained for his first marathon in the wee hours at the deserted campus gym.
There, he scrutinized his form in the mirror, correcting the crossover in his arm swing and the excessive forward lean that once left him stooped over by the end of races. It not only got him fit, the treadmill miles also reignited his love for the sport. Puzey’s now 36 and a father of six; the treadmill allows him and wife, Amy, also a runner and coach, to juggle training and life.
The vindication for logging miles indoors goes beyond the ease of extricating yourself from the frigid cold or the swampiness of the summer. Galen Rupp has said he runs some of his 25- and 26-mile long runs on a treadmill to ease the burden of 140-mile weeks on his body (perhaps delaying the surgery he wound up having last October to correct a congenital defect threatening his Achilles). Want to simulate your race better? Desiree Linden Shoes & Gear Credit: Matt Rainey.
Treadmills for All Runners
With a heavy-duty construction and smooth-flowing slats underfoot, you’ll love the realism here. The multiple training programs also help pass the time.
For a little more than a grand, you get a lovely ’mill, featuring a 7-inch touchscreen, tablet holder, and dozens of run-along onboard workouts.
You use your backside muscles to drive the belt and get in a great workout. With no electric motors to break down, its lifespan should be longer.
This thing focuses on what’s important: the feel of the run. In testing, it proved to be the quietest, and the thick four-ply belt made for ninja-like footfalls.
And if you feel like you can’t stay out on the roads for too long, 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials champion Jenny Spangler understands. When training for the 2004 Trials coincided with the birth of her daughter, she logged nearly all her runs on a belt beside a baby monitor. She ran a 2:36:30 and placed ninth—at age 40.
Tucson’s Emily Toia, 42, has done 100-mile treadmill runs for charity and logs nearly 3,000 to 4,000 yearly miles on her precious Woodway. She says running works like a drug for her anxiety, but pounding that much pavement hurt her knees. Her doctor suggested a treadmill. “I could get up and run when it’s dark. I didn’t have to worry about anything, whether it’s my safety or bathroom breaks, or where’s the water, or where do I stash my fuel,” she says.
The fueling issue is huge, especially for marathoners and ultrarunners, says Puzey. Toting nutrition and hydration in a pack for three hours weighs you down. On a treadmill, easy access allows you to practice ingesting gels and liquids as frequently as you will in the race.
Elite distance runner Annie Bersagel, 35, first turned to the treadmill out of necessity. The full-time attorney trained for the 2015 Düsseldorf Marathon (which she won in 2:28:29) and the 2016 Olympic Trials (which she didn’t finish, due to a knee injury) in Norway, where winter means little daylight and plenty of slippery ice. She logged long treadmill runs of up to two and a half hours, along with many hard workouts.
Even on the flat, runners might find the treadmill’s consistency useful in learning proper pacing, says John Henwood, an Olympian for New Zealand who also coaches at studios like Mile High Run Club in New York City. The treadmill can also help you practice long, sustained uphill runs that you might avoid on the roads, or let you practice your kick when you’re otherwise feeling gassed.
Of course, treadmills aren’t identical to outdoor running. The belt does some work for you, Henwood points out—hence the often-repeated advice to set the incline to .5 or 1 percent. Better yet, change the slope frequently to replicate variations in terrain you might encounter outdoors and to reduce the risk of overuse injuries, he says.
Sure, it’s often monotonous on there—but so is a half or full marathon.
“If I’m able to keep up with the training that I like to do and sometimes feel like I need to do, I will take the forgiving surface all day long,” says Toia, a 3:16 marathoner.
Maximize Your ’Mill Workout
John Henwood’s pacing primer: Warm up for 5 minutes, then alternate 2 minutes at 75 to 80 percent effort with 2 minutes of easy running. Do this eight times. If you have trouble sustaining the same pace, slow down so you can finish the set.
Emily Toia’s long-run mixup: For runs 2 hours and longer, Toia alternates 17 minutes at an easy pace with 3 minutes at a comfortably challenging pace (about 85 percent effort). For shorter runs, she’ll go 8 minutes easy, 2 minutes hard.
Jenny Spangler’s treadmill tempo: After a 1- to 2-mile warmup, run 2 to 3 miles at marathon pace, 1 to 2 miles at half-marathon pace, then a half-mile to a mile at 10K pace, followed by a mile-long cooldown.
Annie Bersagel’s mountain mimicker: Warm up for 15 minutes, then do 3 x 10- to 15-minute intervals on an 8 percent incline at a pace slightly slower than what you could race at for an hour. Recover between reps for 1 to 2 minutes.
Gear to Keep You Going
since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both.
Add some coaching and great music to your training.
surgery he wound up having last October.
Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart and Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, a book about the psychology of sports injury from Bloomsbury Sport. Cindy specializes in covering injury prevention and recovery, everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things, and the active community in her beloved Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.
