Why You Shouldn’t Always Emulate the Pros

Trying to mimic how elites train is not the move.

One of the things I love about running as a sport is how amateurs like me can compete at the same time on the course as the pros. That’s not something basketball or football fans will ever experience! When Shalane Flanagan let out a “fuck yea!” on the final stretch of the NYC Marathon in 2017, I knew exactly how she felt; I was just, like, 10 miles and 90 minutes behind her. 

Social media has made professional runners ever more relatable. I can see Keira D’Amato’s daily training runs in the build-up to a fall marathon on Strava, see what Team Boss watches while treadmill running on Instagram, and read about how Aliphine Tuliamuk juggles training and parenting on Twitter. 

Fans have unprecedented access into the lives of the running elites. But should “normal” runners—and by that I mean all of us who don’t make a living off of race performances—be copying what they do? I don’t think so. 

The pros agree: “I think there's a lot of misconceptions about what the "elite pros" do  and how that applies to the "average runner,” Sage Canaday, a professional ultramarathon runner, recently wrote on Twitter. “We often can't apply and learn ‘from the elites’ without some significant analysis and scaling back. … It's all relative.”

Take “two-a-days”, for example. It’s true (to an extent) that to get better at running, you have to run more, and this is common practice among elites to build mileage. But “double workout days really should only apply to people running well over 62 miles per week, as they have a much larger aerobic base (as well as a lot of proven durability and skeletal muscular strength from higher mileage),” Canaday wrote. 

Not to mention, pros don’t have to fit their workouts around a 9-5 job and the stressors that come with it. Remember: Stress is stress, physical or otherwise. A professional athlete’s entire life revolves around their sport. “All I do is train, eat, and sleep, and I can say no to everything else and justify that because this is my profession and I’m training to go to the Olympics,” triathlete Flora Duffy told me at the ASICS GEL-Kayano 30 Launch Summit last week. 

While regular runners have to juggle all the minutiae of everyday life, the pros can offload and outsource anything that distracts from their training. “People love to ask me, ‘How do you balance it all?’” ASICS pro runner Makenna Myler told me. “I don’t do it all! When I’m leaving for a run, I can tell my husband, ‘hey, please make me dinner’ so it’s ready as soon as I’m back. He does so much of the household stuff, he helps me with socia media, we co-parent…I think it’s so frustrating when people think I’m doing it all.”

But even when you know you’re only seeing a snapshot or highlight reel of a professional athlete’s life—whether it’s workout details or a healthy recipe they’re sharing—it’s tempting to take that at face value and think, well, if it worked for them, maybe it will work for me. In certain cases, there’s no harm in following a pro’s lead; I swear by Flanagan’s Recovery Quinoa Salad recipe, for example. (Do I think eating it daily will make me as fast as her? No. Is it delicious? Yes.)

There are times, though, when copying what the pros do might actually put you at risk. Take Maegan Krifchin, a 34-year-old occupational therapist who also competes professionally for the Atlanta Track Club, for example: Last year, she ran three marathons in one month. I don’t know what superpower she has, but that would be a terrible idea for most people. And Emma Bates admitted after running a PR and coming in as first American at the Boston Marathon that she doesn’t drink water during races. She’s trained her body to perform without it, but that doesn’t make it a safe choice for another runner.

Those are extreme examples, but—in general—profressional runners operate at the extreme end of the spectrum. When they’re in peak training, they’re going to bed at 9 p.m. and waking up at 6 a.m., they’re eating incredibly healthy, they’re logging 120-mile weeks—“everything’s super focused and serious, like all the fat is trimmed,” Des Linden said on a recent episode of the podcast Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara. “It’s neurotic. There’s consequences to that. So I think this idea that elite athletes are super healthy is maybe not totally accurate.” Kara Goucher agreed, adding, “No. It’s an unsustainable lifestyle.”

I’m not saying normal runners can’t learn from the pros—of course we can. But training is highly individualized, and what works for one runner might now work for another. If you’re trying to level up, rather than blindly following an elite runner, you’d be better served by hiring a run coach (hi!) who can help you figure out the best path to your goals based on your current fitness levels. 

While all runners benefit from what those at the top end of the sport learn while pushing the limits of human performance, it is—as Canaday said—all relative. Unless we’re talking about easy runs. Then you can do what Kipchoge does.

the rundown

ASICS GEL-Kayano 30
I used to avoid all of ASICS GEL shoes, but the brand is three for three with its latest revamp. The GEL-Kayano 30 is a stability shoe that will appeal to neutral runners, too: It’s got a wider base, higher stack, more cushioning and the same softer new PureGel as the recent Nimbus and Cumulus updates. The stability features are backed right into the geometry of the shoe via a 4D Guidance System that includes an increased heel bevel, large sidewalls, and wider base. There’s not a lot of pop underfoot, but it’s a solid option for easy days.

What If Everyone Could See Your Wearable Data?
Ignoring the fact that Strava does this to some extent, a 2020 study (that I somehow missed!) published in The International Journal of Human-Computer Studies explored people’s perceptions and motivations for sharing their thoughts via a wearable display—i.e., a hat. The main reasons for sharing wearable data visibly were self-motivation and to start a discussion with others, while the reasons not to share data visible were that no one would be interested and that the data is too private. As much as I love wearable technology, I would not be cool with sharing all my stats visibly in real-time. It has a kind of dystopian vibe that reminded me of Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story. No, thank you.

On Running Race Tights
I may have a new favorite running short? I’m currently testing 15-plus pairs of running shorts for a future story, and On’s Race Tights are so far my top personal pick. For starters, they have a super flattering crossover design that I think more brands should get on board with, and the fabric is buttery smooth. The brand says these “adapt to your body,” and while I’m not sure what that means, I can say these fit like a second skin without any digging at the waist or legs. There is an inside pocket, but I doubt I’ll ever use it; I really like the streamlined fit and would likely pair this with a pocket bra for race day.

The Power of Hype Music
Nothing gets me more pumped up for a run than discovering a new song, and there’s plenty of research to show that good music → good workouts. Turns out, listening to three minutes of fast-tempo (read: 140 beats per minute) before a 30-second rowing sprint led to a significantly higher mean power output than slow-tempo (110 BPM) music in a 2023 study published in Music & Science. I’m not 100 percent sure how that would translate to a pre-run playlist, but I’m now taking recs for hype songs!