A Stellar Example--Steve Spence's Story
In 1990, I had the pleasure of working with Steve Spence who was on his way to becoming a legitimate world class marathon contender. Steve is an excellent athlete who was familiar with resistance training and believed that strength could play some role in his running program.
He was using Nautilus-type equipment, performing single sets of high repetitions. He did not lift to muscular fatigue, stopping at about 20 repetitions because that "seemed right." His work focused on upper body strength. Steve reasoned that as an endurance athlete, he must need loads of muscular endurance to be successful. He also believed that his leg strength would come from running and that legwork wasn't necessary.
Recent research supports what we thought would happen with Steve Spence when in 1990 his weight-training program was changed applying the strength-training concepts in this article. Treadmill tests done at Dave Martin, Ph.D.,'s laboratory at Georgia State University in Atlanta, a year after changing his program, showed that Steve's stride at a five-minute-mile pace had lengthened from 70 to 73 inches.
This computes to a saving of close to a mile's worth of strides in a 2:11 marathon. During Steve's career as a world class marathoner he was known as a strong finisher reflecting gains in running economy due to strength training.
In the 1991 World Champions Marathon in Tokyo, Steve was in 15th place, 50 seconds behind the leaders at the half way point. Spence ran the last half of the race faster than anyone else and ended up with a bronze medal.
American Running Association Clinic Advisor and Editorial Board Member Doug Lentz, CSCS, is the Director of Fitness and Wellness for the Chambersburg Health Services in Chambersburg, PA.
His last article in "Running & FitNews" on strength training without equipment was disseminated when our troops were in Bosnia to keep them in shape.