How proper breathing can transform your running performance

You may have noticed how when fatigue sets in during a run, your breathing is often the first thing to deteriorate. It becomes shallow, rapid, and inefficient precisely when you need oxygen most. However breathing is something we can immediately control and improve, yet most runners never give it much thought.

Most of us default to shallow chest breathing during our daily lives, using only a fraction of our lungs' capacity. Then we carry this same inefficient pattern into our running, missing an opportunity for a significant performance boost.

The conductor of your running

Think of your breath as the conductor of an orchestra - it sets the tempo, coordinates the different sections, and ultimately determines the quality of the performance. When the conductor loses control, the music falls apart. Similarly, your breath establishes the rhythm that everything else in your running follows.

When we breathe deeply, engaging our diaphragm rather than just our chest, we access the lower portions of our lungs which have greater capacity for gas exchange. The diaphragm acts as a powerful pump for drawing more air into our lungs with each breath.

This matters because better oxygenation helps delay the shift to anaerobic metabolism - that uncomfortable state where your muscles start burning and fatigue accelerates. With your breath as the conductor, you gain control over your running tempo, rather than letting fatigue dictate your pace.

Finding your rhythm

The key to better breathing while running isn't just breathing deeper - it's finding rhythm and pattern. Most runners benefit from syncing their breathing with their footstrike in consistent patterns:

• For easy efforts: 3-3 pattern (inhale for three steps, exhale for three steps)

• For moderate efforts: 2-2 pattern (inhale for two steps, exhale for two steps)

• For hard efforts: 2-1 or 1-1 pattern (quicker cycles as intensity increases)

Let's visualise what a 2-2 pattern looks like in practice:

• RIGHT foot strike: Begin INHALE

• LEFT foot strike: Continue inhaling

• RIGHT foot strike: Begin EXHALE

• LEFT foot strike: Continue exhaling

Then the cycle repeats. Notice that you always begin inhaling and exhaling when the same foot hits the ground (in this example, the right foot). This creates a rhythmic pattern that's easy to maintain.

It's also a good idea to periodically switch which foot you begin your breathing cycle on. Try alternating every mile or so – for example, start with your right foot as the trigger foot, then after a mile, switch to beginning your inhale and exhale on your left foot. This periodic switching helps prevent creating muscular imbalances that can develop from always breathing the same way.

Try this next

I’d recommend simply running very gently on the spot with exaggerated foot striking to practice the in/out breathing pattern. Once you have this down, start practicing breathing patterns during your easier runs when you have mental space to focus on it. It probably sounds like a lot to remember but I guarantee within a few runs you’ll have it as second nature.

You might find it helpful to silently count or use verbal cues in your head:

• "In-in, out-out" for a 2-2 pattern

• "In-in-in, out-out-out" for a 3-3 pattern

For easy runs, a 3-3 pattern tends to be sufficient - you don’t need more oxygen that that allows. For workouts and races, you will want to deploy a 2-2 pattern from the get-go.

Making it work

When your form breaks down, when your pace falters, when your mind wanders to doubt - returning to your breathing pattern can be the reset button that pulls everything back together. Like a skilled conductor, your breath can bring harmony back to your running even when things start to feel chaotic.

What are you waiting for? Unlike most training adaptations that take weeks to manifest, or come as a result of hard training, breathing is something you can improve today, in your very next run. It costs nothing, requires no special equipment, and is entirely within your control.