Run 8% Faster With Less Effort! Here's How
Most runners try to “get fitter” with more miles, more intensity, better shoes, more gadgets. Jay Deshari (board-certified sports clinical specialist, PT, biomechanist, researcher, and author of Running Rewired) makes the case that the biggest gains often come from something way less sexy: Better mechanics + better elasticity + better durability.
In this episode, we go deep on why distance running is largely elastic (tendons storing + releasing energy) and how small posture and movement changes can shift running economy by up to 8%, which can beat the benefit of most “super shoe” upgrades.
What we cover:
• Why running economy is largely elastic energy transfer (joint to joint)
• The slingshot idea: you must absorb/storing energy first to release it
• Why “land under your body” can be misleading (you often contact slightly in front to load tendons)
• Jay’s lab observation: running economy changed up to 8% just from posture orientation (slight lean forward/back)
• What “form breakdown under fatigue” really costs you (seconds → minutes)
• Why plyometrics are the fastest way to train elastic return (and how most people do them wrong)
• Short ground contact is the point (don’t “hang out” on the ground)
• Avoid ego box jumps (knee-height max)
• Do them fresh, not cooked after a hard session
• A simple strength template for runners (especially 40+)
• 3 quality sets × 4 exercises (done fast, done right)
• 6–8 rep range, rest long enough to actually lift heavy
• Over 40: 2×/week strength often beats another run day for durability + longevity
• The truth about “stability shoes,” pronation/supination, and what actually matters
• Heel striking: not the villain. Where your foot lands relative to your body matters more than what part hits first.
If you’re a masters runner (or just injury-prone), this one is a goldmine.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
8:47 Run 8% faster with less effort
22:40 Muscles vs tendons for running
29:18 Plyometrics
36:38 Strength training
47:47 MOBO Board
1:01:48 Supination, pronation & stability shoes
1:0:31 Heel vs mid vs forefoot strike
