Long Slow Distance - Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson

Long slow distance running was promoted as a training method by Joe Henderson in 1969. Henderson saw his approach as providing an alternative to the dominant school of training for distance running which he called “PTA school of running – the pain, torture, and agony” approach. He documented the success of six competitive runners who followed in one form or another an LSD training regime, sometimes combining a few more strenuous workouts with the regular long slow distance running with weekly mileages ranging from 50-60 to 120–150 miles per week, with marathon personal bests between 2:14 and 2:50 hours. In addition, there are ultra-marathoners who use a similar method for training. A typical 5k runner might consider 8 to 10 miles of LSD, while a marathoner might run 20 or more miles. LSD runs are typically done at an easy pace, 1–3 minutes per mile slower than a runner's 10k pace. The objectives of these runs are to build blood volume and to increase muscle strength, endurance, and aerobic fitness. According to sportswriter John Brant in his 2006 book Duel in the Sun, almost every serious distance runner in the early 1980s used Arthur Lydiard's system of building an endurance base with many miles at an aerobic pace before running shorter distances at an anaerobic pace.

Henderson’s book was not only directed at competitive runners, but also at runners who wanted to have fun running. He writes, “LSD isn't just a training method. It's a whole way of looking at the sport. Those who employ it are saying running is fun – all running, not just the competitive part which yields rewards.”