Will running add strength and speed to your cycling or just undermine your performance on the bike? Cyclist finds out
Words MICHAEL DONLEVY Illustration TILL LUKAT
It turns out that pedalling a bike isn’t the only thing you can do with your legs. There’s also this thing called running. But should we be doing it?
There are two answers to this, says Hunter Allen, former pro cyclist, owner of The Peaks Coaching Group and co-founder of TrainingPeaks: if you like running, yes; if you don’t like running, no. Let’s get the negatives out of the way first.
‘If you force yourself to go running it will just make you hate it more,’ says Allen. ‘If you want to train off the bike, chose another aerobic sport that you like better. Swimming? Roller blading?’
Let’s say you’re a cyclist who enjoys running, but perhaps not to the degree where you want to enter a duathlon (or triathlon if you’re crazy and also like swimming). Should you run as well?
This is a matter of timing. ‘If you enjoy running and you’re in the “off-season”, do some running as part of your cross-training,’ says Allen. ‘It will create different stresses on the bones and muscles and will keep stimulating your body to improve. During the riding season, if you’re focussed on improving your cycling, then don’t. Running will make you a slower cyclist.’
Triathlon coach Simon Ward agrees. ‘Will running enhance your preparation for a race, sportive or personal goal? If it won’t, don’t beat yourself up about not doing it. Training should be specific, and there are better ways to spend your time than running, for example with some strength training or mobility work.’
We’re heading towards autumn and winter, when people tend to focus on ‘base fitness’. What are the pros of running during these months?
‘There are a number of good reasons to run,’ says cycling coach Ric Stern (cyclecoach.com). ‘One is time – it’s much easier to fit in a 30-minute run than it is a bike ride because there’s less kit to change into and no bike to check first or clean afterwards. Plus it’s good to get outdoors in the winter when you may be put off riding in the cold and wet.’
There’s no question that running is one of the most effective ways of building cardiovascular fitness, and in this sense it’s also time-effective. ‘A 30-minute run feels like more work than a 30-minute bike ride,’ says Stern. ‘It’s really good for your heart and, as a bonus, running helps prevent osteoporosis – unlike cycling,
