Perfect Running Pace Discovered

This is interesting.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison just published a study showing that there are ‘most efficient’ paces for men and women.

For men, it is a 7:13 pace.
For women, it is a 9:08 pace.

Photo by flickr: joshhikes

The other interesting piece of the study is that the longstanding supposition that you exert the same amount of energy for a given distance, regardless of speed, is not correct.  I never thought that having a ‘set’ metabolism, regardless of speed, made any sense – at least from my own physical experience.

They show that the ‘slow plod’ (about a 13 minute pace) uses the most energy.

I guess this all means that I have no excuse to be going so slowly. Like I couldn’t have guessed that already.

Now, I bet the next study will show that running at this ‘optimum’ pace also reduces injury. Then I’ll REALLY have no excuses.