“Endurance runners tend to be lean yet powerful, with efficient muscles” KATE MILSON
Kate is 220 ‘s former staff writer. She's a keen endurance triathlete, marathon runner, and bikepacker and her interests include cycling, nutrition and sports injury.
A The short answer is yes, you can absolutely build muscle from running. What kind of running, the duration, and the distance, plays a big part in muscle gain though.
A 2017 study found that high-intensity, short-duration running (like sprints or hill repeats) can stimulate muscle growth, particularly in the lower body. Long-distance running, on the other hand, can sometimes lead to muscle breakdown.
This is because prolonged endurance efforts can cause muscle protein breakdown (MPB) at a faster rate than muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This could counteract any potential muscle growth,…