You’ve got your training plan and you know the basics when it comes to running. But wondering what might give you the extra edge for your next training cycle or race? Check out these eleven running hacks that can help improve your performance!
Disclaimer: This post was written and reviewed by Chrissy Carroll, MPH, RD, RRCA Running Coach. It is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as training or nutrition advice.

1. Run slower on your easy runs.
Most athletes go out and run their easy runs too fast (and, consequentially, run their fast runs too slow). You want to keep most of your miles easy, and they should truly feel easy (as measured by your pace, perceived exertion, or heart rate zones).
These easy miles help you build a solid aerobic base for distance running. You develop physiological adaptations necessary for efficient oxygen delivery and utilization, such as improved capillary density and mitochondrial function. Slower easy runs may also reduce injury risk.
By keeping those easy runs slow and low stress, you can show up for your speedwork (like track workouts or tempo runs) ready to embrace the faster pace inside you.
2. Try caffeine before a run.
This seems like a pretty well-known hack, but worth mentioning of course! Caffeine before a run can improve performance, likely due to one or more mechanisms as described in the International society of sports nutrition position stand on caffeine and performance:
- Caffeine can bind to adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine can make you feel tired, sleepy, or drowsy, so if those receptors are blocked by caffeine, it helps you become more alert and energized.
- It may reduce pain perception or perceived exertion during exercise, through impacts on endorphin production or the production of other chemicals.
- It’s possible there’s also a mechanism related to skeletal muscle performance.
If you’re not currently taking in some caffeine before a run, try a tall coffee about an hour beforehand. Keep in mind that caffeine can possibly cause gastrointestinal upset, jitters, and/or fast heart rate, so discontinue use if you have any uncomfortable side effects.
Also, I do not recommend athletes ever use caffeine powders. Anhydrous caffeine is very potent and very easy to mismeasure; there have been a few deaths linked to this. Stick with coffee or engineered sports nutrition products that have acceptable amounts of caffeine.
3. Stop stretching before running.
Yep, you heard right. You do not want to do static stretching before a run. Static stretches – when you hold a stretch in a position for 30-60 seconds – can actually reduce performance when done before a run.
Instead, aim for dynamic movement to warm up. This can be light jogging/walking, along with exercises like lunges, Frankenstein walks, high knees, and butt kicks. These properly activate the muscles you’re going to be using during the run.
4. Use visualization leading up to a race.
It may sound a little woo, but visualization (also known as mental imagery or mental rehearsal) might improve your next race time.
For example, research has shown motor imagery training (visualizing lifting weights, for example) improved performance during periods of less training (which I might extrapolate to being important to the taper period leading up to a race).
Similarly, motor imagery during the warm up period helped improve repeated sprint ability in one study, and led to improved sprint performance in another study.
In the week leading up to your race, visualize yourself successfully participating in the event. Try this a couple times that week, then do the same during your warmup at the event. In addition to a possible performance benefit, it may also calm your nerves and help you feel prepared for race day.
Here are some tips for trying this:
- Sit in a quiet and comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed.
- Close your eyes to immerse yourself in the visualization.
- Try to use all your senses, imagining the sights, sounds, smells, and physical sensations of running.
- Visualize the key points in your run, like taking off strong from the starting line, climbing up a tough hill, and sprinting to the finish.
- Feel the positive emotions that you’d have with successful completion of your run.
Fun personal anecdote: In 2023, I participated in the USATF Masters Nationals Championships in Discus. I was super nervous, as I had never done a track and field event before.
I spent the few days leading up to it visualizing the event – walking into the circle, throwing a fair throw, waiting for the disc to land, then walking out the back of the circle (I was most nervous about fouling myself by walking out the front, haha). All that mental imagery translated to muscle memory during the event, and it went super smoothly.
5. Use music to help you with cadence.
All runners have different naturally occurring cadences (steps per minute), so know that there’s no one “right” number. Most runners have a cadence between 150 steps per minute and 180 steps per minute.
However, some runners who overstride may have a lower cadence, possibly under 150-155 spm. If you’re overstriding, focusing on increasing the cadence a bit may help solve the issue. And music is a great hack to help you practice a quicker cadence, as you can match your steps to the beat of a song.
If you feel like you may be overstriding, start by looking at your current cadence (most watches measure this, or you can manually calculate it by counting your steps on one foot for a minute, then doubling it). Add about 3-5% to that number, and look for a song that fits that rhythm.
For example, if your current cadence is 148 spm, you might aim for about 152 to 155 spm and see if that helps with overstriding. Think “quick feet” while running.
Look for a song that is close to that new cadence with beats per minute, and sync your stride with it. For example, something like “We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s clocks in at 152 bpm. You can do some Google searches to find options you like.
Don’t try focusing on cadence for every run though, or even for large portions of any one run. Use this strategy for some runs and see if your form naturally improves. If it doesn’t, or it feels uncomfortable, go back to whatever feels good to you.
Also, remember that some slow runners may have a low cadence without overstriding, so don’t feel pressured to increase it if that applies to you.
6. Try beet juice shots before a run.
One of my favorite running hacks! Beets are a natural source of dietary nitrates, compounds that increase nitric oxide in the body. This helps open up your blood vessels and allow more oxygen to flow through them.
And if you think about that, it would make sense that beets could help runners – more blood and oxygen flowing to the muscles should be good during a run.
Research supports that. In fact, a 2017 systematic review concluded that beet juice can improve performance at various distances, increase time to exhaustion at submaximal intensities, and may improve performance at anaerobic threshold pace.
You’d have to drink quite a bit of a standard grocery store bottle of beet juice, so I recommend looking into beet juice shots. These are concentrated versions that have high levels of dietary nitrates.
Also, fun fact: don’t use mouthwash before drinking beet juice. There are bacteria in the mouth that start the initial process of converting dietary nitrates to nitric oxide. Mouthwash kills some of that bacteria, reducing the impact of the beet juice.
7. Shop for shoes at the end of the day.
You might be thinking – what does shoe shopping have to do with performance? But you’re probably aware that a shoe causing a blister on your pinkie toe or rubbing uncomfortably against your ankle can feel frustrating at best, and may decrease performance at worst.
To combat this issue, go shoe shopping at the end of the day when you’re in the market for a new pair. Your feet will naturally be a bit larger from walking around throughout the day, replicating what happens during a long run. This allows you to get a better feel for how the sneaker will fare on that run.
In addition, try jogging around the store a little with the sneakers on. If you notice any uncomfortable rubbing or tightness, look for a different pair – you shouldn’t need to “break them in”, they should fit pretty well from the start.
8. Use mental tricks for long runs.
If you’re training for a long-distance race, once those long runs start getting into double digits, it can be tough to mentally handle the time on your feet. This is where mental tricks can help you out. Your brain often starts to give up before your body does, so distracting the brain with these strategies may help your performance:
- Break up a longer run into segments. For example, a 12 mile run becomes a 3 mile run to a trailhead, a 3 mile loop on the trail, a 3 mile out-and-back in another direction on the road from the trailhead, then the final 3 miles back to your house.
- Switch up what you’re listening to. Music is amazing, but you might personally find the time flies listening to a podcast, audiobook, or stand up comedy. Try mixing it up during the run to keep yourself entertained.
- Plan out something fun. You could think about the planning for an upcoming party, about what holiday gifts you’re going to purchase for family, or about what you want to do on an upcoming vacation. This can keep your brain busy.
- Just get to the next (insert thing here). If you find yourself struggling towards the end, barter with yourself: “I’ll just run to the next mailbox and then I can take a walking break” or “I’ll just run to the bottom of that hill and then I’ll walk up.”
- Have a friend join you for part of your run. You may enjoy the solidarity of a long run, but if you get bored out there – consider having a friend join for a few miles in the middle. This can break up the run and chatting can help the time go by quicker.
- Embrace curiosity and look for neat things in your surroundings. For example, sometimes on a long trail run, I try to locate plants I’ve found in foraging books. This makes it an adventure and distracts me from the length of the run.
9. Run on a slight incline or slightly faster for some treadmill runs.
If you do a significant portion of your training on a treadmill, older research has suggested that a 1% incline may better simulate the demands of outdoor running. This is to account for issues like the belt propelling your forward, and the lack of wind resistance.
However, this has only been found true for fast runners – the incline is helpful if you’re running faster than a 7- to 8-minute per mile pace.
For moderate paced and slower runners, a 0.5% incline may be closer to outdoor running, or perhaps no incline at all for some folks. Instead, increasing the speed slightly may better replicate outdoor running as far as intensity goes for these folks.
You don’t have to adjust your incline or speed on every treadmill run. But if you’re training for a road race and you find yourself doing a lot of training miles on the treadmill – try using a 0.5% incline (slower runner) to 1% incline (faster runner), or try slightly increasing your pace (think 0.1 to 0.2 mph faster).
Another option is to occasionally try rolling hills. Alternate between 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, then repeat again. This is helpful if your race has hills.
10. Get enough sleep each night.
Sleep is probably the most underrated recovery strategy for runners, yet many folks brush it off.
Not getting enough sleep affects running performance. For example, a recent meta-analysis concluded that sleep deprivation has a “moderate negative effect on endurance performance”. This effect is more prominent in exercise lasting over 30 minutes.
Researchers believe 7 to 9 hours is optimal for most adults. But keep in mind that the sleep recommendations are like bell curve – there will be some outliers. If you feel most energized and well-rested on 10 hours of sleep, that’s probably the optimal amount for your body.
11. Try a pre-run slushie on a hot day.
The cold temperature of a slushie may be helpful on hot days. Several studies have investigated the impact of ice slurries – aka slushies – before a run:
- Pre-workout ice slurry ingestion improved running time to exhaustion in the heat among male runners in one study.
- In another study, drinking an ice slurry before a 10K time trial improved performance in the heat.
- Runners completing a treadmill run to exhaustion were able to run longer after an ice slurry in another study.
- Drinking an ice slurry during the cycling portion of a simulated triathlon in a study improved the run performance in the last leg of the race.
Like most sports nutrition research, not every study has reached the same conclusions – but several do suggest this potential benefit.
The boost in performance may come from a slushie making you “feel” cooler, reducing your perception of heat and perceived exertion. The benefit is mainly in hot and humid environments rather than warm dry environments.
My favorite way to make a healthy pre-run slushie is blending together the following:
- 2 cups frozen diced watermelon
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)
- Pinch of salt
You can also mix together a sports drink with ice cubes and blend until it’s a slushie texture!
The Bottom Line
If you’re hoping to boost your performance or hit a new running PR, it’s best to first start with the essentials – a well structured training plan that you consistently follow, and a balanced diet to support energy needs. Aside from those, you can also play around with these unique running hacks to help improve your next training session or race time!
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