Does Running Get Easier? What Science Says

You may have heard the phrase “it doesn’t get easier, you just get better.” There is truth to this adage – training requires hard work whether you are new or experienced. However, from a physiological perspective, there is a point where your body adapts and runs feel easier. This article will cover how long does it take for running to get easier, plus approaches you can implement to adapt to running. 

The phases of adaptation

How long does it take for running to get easier? Typically, six to twelve months. You may notice improvements before that time frame, but from a physiological standpoint, significant adaptations take six to twelve months to occur. 

The beginner phase is the first six months of starting. This is why it is generally recommended to spend six or so months training before tackling a long distance race. The adaptation phase is months six to twelve, where you start to experience some chronic physiological changes due to consistent training. After six to twelve months, you likely will feel less fatigued and more efficient. 

Beginner phase 

In the first six to twelve months, your body undergoes a series of adaptations. These adaptations eventually make running feel easier. However, as a beginner, you may not feel like running is getting easier until a few months of consistent training. 

When you run, your heart works to send more oxygen-rich blood to the working muscles – a higher cardiac output compared to when you are at rest. In a trained athlete, cardiac output increases by both higher heart rate and increased stroke volume (how much blood each contraction pumps out). However, novice runners do not have the cardiovascular adaptations in place to trigger a drastic increase in stroke volume. 

Novice runners will instead of a larger increase in heart rate to raise cardiac output. Since heart rate rises significantly during aerobic exercise, running will initially feel harder. You may need to take walk breaks to keep your heart rate from maxing out during your first couple of weeks or months. 

Beyond the cardiovascular system, a novice runner does not yet have certain cellular-level adaptations. An untrained runner will have lower levels of myoglobin, which is an iron-based protein in the blood that transports oxygen. Additionally, a novice will have a lower density of mitochondria, which is the part of the cell where aerobic production of energy (ATP) occurs. 

Beginner runners are not adapted to the biomechanical demands. Running places a large amount of stress on the bones and muscles. Initially, workouts may feel muscularly fatiguing and you may experienced delayed onset muscle soreness afterward. The risk of injuries such as muscle strains or bone stress injuries are higher at this time, especially if training increases too rapidly.  

Adaptation phase

After about six to twelve months of running, your cardiovascular system adapts so that you have a higher stroke volume. As a result, your heart rate stays more controlled during exercise. This adaptation will make running feel easier. 

A majority of the adaptations to VO2max (maximium aerobic capacity) occur within the first six to twelve months. You also experience metabolic adaptations such as improved lactate shuttling, increased mitochondrial and capillary densities, increased fat oxidation rates, glycogen sparing, and enhanced aerobic enzymatic activity. All of these metabolic changes will make running feel less fatiguing. 

Your musculoskeletal system also adapts to running over the first few months. Your muscles, connective tissue, and bone get stronger; as a result, you are likely less sore from running. Improvements in neuromuscular efficiency will also lead to runs feel better. 

Experienced runner phase

After those first six to twelve months, the question of does running get easier will become a less frequent thought. Training will still include challenging runs. However, most training runs will feel easier and less fatiguing. 

For example, you may notice that three miles felt challenging when you started running. After a year or so, three miles will feel short and easy. You will be able to cover longer distances, do hard workouts, and maybe even increase to more days per week. 

When does running feel easier if you have to take time off? Fitness returns more quickly than the first time building it – especially if you return back to training carefully.

How to make running easier? 

As your body adapts to running, the most important things you can do are be patient and stay consistent with running. Your mindset, training approach, and run pacing all also impact how hard or easy running feels.

Your mental game

For a beginner, patience is the most important mindset. Running will feel hard at first. You have to be patient throughout the first six months and know that, if you stay consistent, you will adapt. However, if you get frustrated and enter a start-stop cycle, it will take longer for running to feel easier. 

Part of the problem occurs if you automatically expect running to be easy. Even for experienced runners, it can feel hard at times. As you adapt, you often progress your training to include more challenging workouts. If you want to get faster or run longer, you have to include runs that challenge you. While a majority of your training will be easy runs, that does not mean that every run will feel mentally or physically undemanding. 

If you are wondering how to get used to running, examine your mindset and expectations. Like any sport, it will come with challenging training days. Know that some days will feel smooth and effortless, while others will require more physical effort and mental focus. Bad workouts happen to everyone and do not mean that you are “bad” at the sport. 

Slow down your runs

If running feels hard all the time, you may be running too fast for your fitness. Even as a beginner, most of your runs should be done at a relatively sustainable effort. One of the simplest ways for how to make running easier is to pace appropriately. If you pace all your training too hard, then logically running will feel too hard.  

You want to be able to speak with relative ease. If you are breathing so hard you can barely speak, you are going too hard. If that’s too challenging initially, you can incorporate walk breaks throughout. 

Not sure if you are pacing appropriately? Read this article on how to know if you are pacing easy enough.

Priortize building endurance first 

Many new runners worry about their pace and want to get faster. However, attempting to train for speed without a base endurance will make workouts feel harder. If you want to make runs easier, you will first need to focus on building your endurance. 

What does it mean to build endurance? Generally, building endurance (or a “base building phase”) involves consistent training at a sustainable pace, with gradual and deliberate increases in mileage. For example, a beginner can build endurance by gradually increasing from 12 to 20 miles (19 to 32 km) per week. 

Read this article for more in-depth guidance on how to run longer.

Include adaptation weeks in training

Some training plans involve increasing mileage with each week. However, trying to do more and more each week won’t make it feel easier. Instead, you want to spend a few weeks adapting to a certain mileage. Adaptation-based approaches to increasing mileage are an under-utilized approach for how to make running easier. 

The first week of more mileage will feel challenging. But if you do that mileage again for another couple weeks, you will notice that you feel better and stronger. Let yourself get comfortable at a new mileage before increasing it – and you’ll be surprised at how running does feel easier as a result. 

Running can get easier

Running can get easier – as long as you give yourself time to adapt and are patient when starting. If you are a novice, expect it to take a few months of consistent training before running feels easier. It may be hard work initially, but the time and effort are worth it once it does start to feel easy.