Learn everything you need to know about running, training, racing, and more from our ever-growing running dictionary. Notice something we missed? Contact us directly, and we will add it!
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| TERM | CATEGORY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Acidosis | General | The result of excess lactate in muscles inhibiting muscle contraction reducing overall function (achieved by sustained anaerobic effort) |
| Aerobic | General | The level of effort during which the oxygen supply is sufficient to meet the demands of physical activity and the body consumes primarily ATP and fat for fuel (considered to be 60%-85% of maximum effort) |
| Aerobic Threshold | Training | The maximum level of effort still considered aerobic, usually sustainable for up to one hour in a well-conditioned athlete |
| Aid Station | Racing | The area on a race course where water, fuel, food, and sometimes medical services are provided |
| Alactic | General | Technically, "anaerobic alactic," referring to the energy system that, in addition to ATP, consumes the limited supply of CP (creatine phosphate), lasting for only up to 10 seconds without producing lactic acid |
| Anaerobic | General | The level of effort during which physical demand exceeds the supply of oxygen and the body consumes primarily glucose for fuel and produces significant quantities of lactic acid (considered to be 85%-100% of maximum effort) |
| Anaerobic Threshold | Training | The maximum level of effort still considered anaerobic, usually sustainable for up to 10-15 minutes |
| Anchor Leg | Racing | The final performance in a relay (the last "leg" or section) |
| AR | Racing | Area Record (abbreviation), usually used interchangeably with "national record" but as a more general reference to include areas not specifically designated as nations |
| Bandit | Racing | Jargon for any individual who participates in all or some of a race without officially entering (often can result in future disqualification) |
| Bib | Racing | The paper with an entrant's number which the race staff use to track a runner's performance |
| Bonk | Racing | The term for severely underperforming in a given race (or workout), especially late in effort. "He was going for 3 hours but completely bonked in the last few miles." |
| BQ | Racing | Boston Qualifier. The Boston Marathon has exclusive entry based on time standards (by age group). |
| Butt Kicks | Movement | A running drill in which you bring your foot to your rear (mobilizing quads, activating hamstrings). |
| Cadence | Movement | The rate at which your feet continuously hit the ground (measured in steps/minute). |
| Chip Time | Racing | The race result calculated from the starting line to the finish line (regardless of corral or wave position at the start) |
| Club Team | General | A team of community up to elite or professional athletes who represent the same affiliation (often a running store or brand) as part of a training/racing group |
| Cool down | Training | Easy running that follows a harder effort (training or racing), generally considered to be beneficial to help in restoring blood PH and/or joint mobility (should be low aerobic or sub-aerobic effort) |
| CR | Racing | Course record (abbreviation) |
| Cruise | Training | A moderate aerobic effort intended to be around 70-75% of max effort (conversational, for most) |
| Declaring | Racing | The formal expression of intent to compete in an event (sometimes required in addition to entry, especially for elevated status or events like elite status or championship races) |
| Deferring a race | Racing | The act of reserving a race entry for the future because of the inability to compete (usually only allowed in extreme circumstances, if at all) |
| Diamond League | Racing | A lucrative international track and field event series for professional athletes where the athlete (1 male, 1 female) with the most amount of points after the series of 14 events receives the Diamond League crown (and a cash prize) |
| DNF | Racing | Did not finish (abbreviation) - used in results when an entrant begins an event but drops out before crossing the finish |
| DNS | Racing | Did not start (abbreviation) - used in results when a participant is entered for an event but never crosses the start line |
| Drills | Movement | Any series of GSM (general strength and/or mobility) exercises, usually referring to the series athletes perform prior to running |
| Elite Runner | General | A general reference to any runner considered to be of the uppermost tier, usually determined by excellent performances in a given event |
| Entry | Racing | A confirmed registration for an event |
| Fartlek | Training | Swedish for "speed play," a form of elevated aerobic (and sometimes anaerobic) effort that constitutes regular changes in pace and effort throughout a run |
| Fascia | Movement | A thin, strong, fibrous connective tissue extending throughout your body to provide support and protection to your muscles and bones |
| Finish Shoot | Racing | The area immediately following the finish line, usually containing post-race amenities, nourishment, support persons, and medical aid |
| Flats | Equipment | Jargon for a range of footwear generally considered to be intended for road racing, usually constituting lighter weight and more aggressive features than typical shoes |
| Foam Roller | Equipment | A foam cylinder (other rollers may be plastic, rubber, or silicon) upon which one rolls a muscle or muscle group to support myofascial release and increased blood flow to sore or tight muscles |
| Form | General | The position and structure of the body while in the running motion |
| GSM | Movement | General Strength and Mobility (abbreviation) - the broad term for exercises devoted to coordination, stability, and functional movement |
| Heart Rate Reserve | General | The difference between maximum and resting heart rate, used to generate heart rate zones and calculate percent of maximum effort (calculated by (p*HRR)-resting HR |
| High Knees | Movement | An activation drill where the knees are lifted until parallel with the hips while in the running motion |
| Intervals | Training | The term for any kind of structured repetitions workout, most often referring to VO2max or harder efforts (although sometimes used for any kind of repetition) |
| Juniors Division | General | The division of athletes under the age of 20, a designation rarely used outside championship level competition |
| Kick | Racing | The final acceleration at the end of a race |
| Knee Drive | Movement | The motion of the knee during its forward trajectory |
| Lactate Threshold | General | The level of effort during which maximum tolerable lactic acid is produced (also VO2max or anaerobic threshold) |
| Lactic Acid | General | ("lactate") a byproduct of the anaerobic energy system capable of providing some energy without the presence of oxygen while slowly collecting in muscles |
| Lane Assignment | Racing | The given starting position for participants in a track competition |
| Masters Division | Racing | The division of athletes over the age of 40, a designation seen at nearly all levels of competition and events |
| Mileage | Training | Jargon for the total volume of running performed in a given period of time "My mileage was a little low last week because I was sick." |
| Mobility | Movement | The capacity for movement of any given joint of the body |
| Myofascial Release | Movement | The disengaging of fascia that has been partially or wholly immobilized |
| Negative Split | Racing | When over the course of a run, pace increases and splits decrease in time |
| Net Time | Racing | (Sometimes referred to as "gun time") the race result calculated from the moment the race officially begins to the finish line (generally only used for official prize money and awards as well as records) |
| NR | Racing | National Record (abbreviation) |
| OR | Racing | Olympic Record (abbreviation) |
| OTQ | Racing | Olympic Trials Qualifier (abbreviation) - referring to any event or activity |
| Pacer | Racing | A participant committed to running a specified pace for a given period of a race |
| PB | Racing | Personal Best (abbreviation) |
| Peak | Training | The highest point of fitness during a training cycle or season "I hope to hit my peak during the last couple weeks of my season." |
| Pickups | Training | Any period of acceleration during a run, often for an undefined period |
| Plyometrics | Movement | Movement exercises to increase power, stability, and/or efficiency, usually through explosive motion such as jumping |
| Podium Finish | Racing | The top finishers in a race or competition, usually represented by receiving an award on a stage or other elevated prominence (most commonly top 3 finishers) |
| PR | Racing | Personal record (abbreviation) |
| Professional Runner | General | An athlete who is paid to run, generally in the form of a contractual agreement |
| Pronation | Movement | the inward or downward rotation of the foot and ankle (in extremes, can cause significant pain and sometimes injury) |
| Rabbit | Racing | Jargon for "pacer," specifically referring to a lead pacer and sometimes simply indicating a runner who leads a race (not necessarily in an official pacing capacity) |
| Race Walk | General | An endurance event group during which athletes' movements are regulated to simulate walking at high speeds (back knee must be straight when front knee crosses, and one foot must remain on the ground at all times) |
| Red Shirt | Racing | The term given to a runner who intentionally takes an "off" season from representing a given team (may still be training and racing so long as the team or affiliation is not represented in competition). |
| Relay | Racing | A race done in portions by team members where the performance culminates in a single finish or result |
| Repeats | Training | Any length of run chosen to do more than once within a workout (usually used interchangeably with "intervals") |
| Runner's High | General | The feeling commonly associated with the production of endorphins resulting from physical activity (usually only once a runner is well-conditioned). |
| Runner's Knee | Movement | The general term given to knee injuries runners often experience around the patella |
| Running Economy | Training | The term for the combination of factors contributing to a runner's efficiency |
| Scratch | Racing | The term for an athlete or coach removing that entered athlete from an event prior to competition |
| Seed time | Racing | The entry time provided prior to competition that is used to establish starting corrals, lanes, and positions as well as to determine elite or invitational status |
| Seniors Division | General | The division of athletes between ages 20-40, a designation rarely used outside championship level competition |
| Singlet | Equipment | A designated start line staging area intended to organize runners by expected performance to help establish an orderly start |
| Slogging | Training | Jargon for running especially slowly or unnecessarily effortlessly "I was feeling tired, so I slogged the last few repeats." |
| Snot Rocket | General | A forceful projection of mucus from the nose, often while running |
| Speed training | Training | Training intended to grow maximum speed potential (often more generally used to describe any kind of interval or repeat workout) |
| Spikes | Equipment | Generally used to refer to track or cross country shoes with fixed spike plates on the bottom (usually with removable spikes and a molded plastic or carbon form) |
| Split shorts | Equipment | Shorts with a split outer seam for increased ease of motion |
| Splits | General | Any given segment of a workout, usually referring to time "What were your mile splits for that long run?" |
| Sprint | Training | Generally referring to running a maximum speed or effort |
| Stability | Movement | Pertaining to the body's structural strength and ability to hold a position (in running, usually referring running posture and movement) |
| Starting Corral | Racing | A designated start line staging area intended to organize runners by expected performance to help establish an orderly start |
| Steady State | Training | A high aerobic effort intended to be around 75-85% of max effort (just beyond conversational, for most) |
| Steeplechase | Racing | In running, this track event includes fixed barriers that athletes must hurdle with a water hazard following one of the 5 barriers per 400m (commonly run as 3000m) |
| Strava | Equipment | Social media platform designed for tracking and sharing workouts (used primarily for cycling, running, and swimming) |
| Stride | Movement | The movement of the leg and foot from push-off to ground contact to push-off |
| Strides | Training | The common term for short bursts of sprinting, a training maneuver intended to achieve neuromuscular activation without taxing the system (often no more than 100m in length or shorter with significant rest between) |
| Supination | Movement | the outward or upward rotation of the foot and ankle (in extremes, can cause significant pain and sometimes injury) |
| Taper | Training | The period near the end of a training cycle or season when an athlete gradually decreases volume in preparation for the target race (generally recommended to be no more than 3, sometimes 4 weeks) |
| Tempo | Training | Also "aerobic threshold", or the degree of effort that begins to exceed aerobic and enter anaerobic (generally 80-85% of max effort, or around half marathon race effort) |
| Threshold | Training | Usually referring to aerobic threshold, or the degree of effort that begins to exceed aerobic and enter anaerobic (though sometimes also used for anaerobic threshold, which is VO2max) |
| Trainers | Equipment | Everyday running shoes used for training |
| Training Log | Equipment | The place, whether digital or material, a runner documents their training (most often considered to house such details as mileage, effort, notes, and more) |
| Ultra Marathon | Racing | Generally considered to be any race longer than a marathon (most often 50 kilometers and above) |
| Unattached | Racing | Any athlete competing without an affiliation |
| USATF | General | United States of America Track and Field (abbreviation) the USA's governing body over most of the sport associated with running (including track and field, road running, and cross country) |
| VO2 Max | General | The measurement for the maximum volume of oxygen a body can absorb and convert into energy, often closely associated with endurance athletics) |
| Warm up | Training | Easy running that precedes a harder effort (training or racing), generally considered to be beneficial to help in system and muscular activation (should be low- to mid-aerobic effort in most cases) |
| World Athletics | General | (formerly the IAAF) the governing body for international running competition (and track and field, cross country) |
| World Marathon Majors | General | (Abbott World Marathon Majors) 6 of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world (Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York) |
| World Ranking | Racing | Global point system rankings based on high level competition and relative placement with other competitors, maintained by the IAAF |
| WR | General | World Record (abbreviation) - generally ratified and kept by the IAAF |