Sports professor is dismayed by the gamification of the running world

“The louder they talk and the more bombastic they are, the faster you should run away.”

Stephen Seiler, a professor at the University of Agder, is talking about running training in 2026.

He is concerned with how the average everyday runner should navigate all the advice on social media.

"If you see an influencer saying, ‘You can go from 50 to 40 minutes in a 10K in six weeks with this programme’... Trust me, you can’t. If someone tells me that six weeks of anything can have such a dramatic effect, I know they’re not being serious,” he says.

Wants to reduce stress, not increase it

For decades, Seiler has worked closely with some of the world’s best endurance athletes.

As a sports scientist, he is known for popularising the concept of 80/20 training. This is a training philosophy for endurance sports based on the idea that around 80 per cent of sessions should be carried out at low intensity, whilst the remaining 20 per cent should be carried out at high intensity.

He has also worked with Olympic athletes and the Uno-X cycling team.

"We must protect ourselves cognitively as well"

Now that the running craze seems to be reaching new heights in Norway, we are curious to know what observations he has made.

His criticism of those selling shortcuts to success is only one part of the picture.

“Training should really be an outlet for releasing some of our stress. Instead, many people are adding to it. We often talk about protecting ourselves physically, but we must protect ourselves cognitively as well. How much information should I allow to penetrate my brain every day?” Seiler asks rhetorically.

Gamification is a stark contrast to the elite level

Although technological advances have done a great deal for running too, it is clear that the professor is sceptical of the downsides.

Especially how dependent many people have become on digital feedback and inaccurate measurements.

“Rewards such as badges, likes, sleep scores, and streaks have become a currency meant to represent physical exertion. It seems that more and more people need recognition for their own activity,” says Seiler.

This gamification of endurance training stands in stark contrast to what he has observed professional athletes are most concerned with.

The best trust their brains

“The best rely on their brains. Many of them are actually not heavy users of technology, even though they can get all the gadgets they want virtually for free. Instead, they are very well attuned to their own bodies. This also makes them better at interpreting which measurements and feedback are valuable,” says Seiler.

He also highlights an example showing that the path to the best results does not necessarily involve extensive use of technology.

“I’m working with a PhD candidate in Ethiopia, a country that produces some of the best runners in the world. What’s fascinating is that they don’t use technology at all. The coach’s main piece of technology is a stopwatch. The sessions are divided into easy, moderate, and hard. I’m not joking. So they laugh a bit at our fascination with all these things,” he explains.

“Run without technology one day a week”

Seiler has two exercises he would recommend to all running enthusiasts who want to rely more on their own judgement: tech-free training days and calibration sessions.

The first piece of advice is exactly as straightforward as it sounds.

“Run without technology one day a week. No heart-rate monitoring or anything else. Just go out and run. Let your brain experience why people love movement so much and how wonderful it is to be out in the countryside. And let that be the goal," he says.

Seiler adds that if you absolutely have to record the session digitally for it to have any value: Start the stopwatch, but cover it up for the entire session.

"No peeking allowed!” he says.

"Be your own data source"

Exercise number two requires a bit of technology, but is primarily designed to test the connection between your mind and body.

“You’ll be given an instruction before the session. Let’s say, ‘Run that distance in three minutes.’ You won’t receive any feedback whilst you’re doing it. Afterwards, we’ll see that you ran it in 2 minutes 45 seconds. OK, that was far too fast. Try again. The aim is for you to gradually close the gap between the instruction and your pace. Then your brain will gradually become better calibrated,” says the professor.

The two sessions are quite different, but the main goal is the same:

“It can help us to trust what’s in our heads more. That way, you can become your own best source of data,” says Seiler.

———

Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

This content is paid for and presented by the University of Agder

This content is created by the University of Agder's communication staff, who use this platform to communicate science and share results from research with the public. The University of Agder is one of more than 80 owners of ScienceNorway.no. Read more here.

More content from the University of Agder:

• 

  These plants are already preparing for next spring

• 

  This could determine Norway's World Cup success

• 

  Children who eat unhealthy snacks are more restless

• 

  People who fear rejection are more likely to pursue social status

• 

  "A father told his son that he hoped he would choose celibacy, so that they could be reunited in heaven"

• 

  Good physical fitness may be a remedy for forgetting words