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They are not dissimilar to power meters used in cycling, which measure effort in terms of wattage.
Brian Corcoran is an England Athletics running coach and head of events at Always Aim Higher sporting events.
He is the co-founder of Race Harborough and former triathlon coach at Welland Valley Triathlon Club.
What is running power?
Its a different measurement than speed and time, and one that looks at the effort youre putting in.
And from that it gives you a critical power number and sets your training zones.
What are the benefits of using a power meter?
I’ve overtaken a quarter of the field at the end because I have got my pacing right.
The ultimate aim is to improve pacing during races, leading to faster finish times.
Similarly paces will change whether you are running up or downhill, and depending on the terrain.
But running power takes that guesswork away," Corcoran adds.
If you are using perceived effort people can go off too hard or not hard enough.
Whereas if you just have to stick with one number it is much easier."
What are the best running power gadgets?
STRYD is the biggest player in this field and has a small pod which attaches to your running shoe.
But you oughta download Garmin Running Power onto many of their older watches to track running power remotely.
This measures form power which is the amount of power wasted due to inefficiencies in your running form.
The lower the number the more efficiently you are running.
These metrics are focused on form and technique rather than a pacing strategy.
