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ASICS running coach and serial marathon runner Ania Gabb has shared seven ‘boring’ habits she says genuinely improve running: easy runs, sleep, strength training, proper fuelling, recovery, rest days and consistency. The advice is based on her more than two decades of training and coaching experience.
ASICS running coach and serial marathon runner Ania Gabb has detailed seven deliberately unglamorous habits she says are what actually make runners improve — easy-paced runs, sleep, simple strength work, proper fuelling, recovery, rest days and consistency. Speaking to Fit&Well, Gabb said the advice applies equally to beginners building toward a first 5K and to veteran marathoners, and that she made these habits non-negotiable in her 40s after embracing them in her 30s.
The first habit, easy runs, forms the foundation of Gabb’s approach. These are done at a conversational pace — a rate of perceived exertion of no more than five out of 10, keeping heart rate in zone 1 or 2. “For beginners especially, easy runs are the best,” Gabb told Fit&Well. “People often think you need to run hard and fast all the time, but actually the easy runs are the most effective.” She recommends protecting at least one easy run per week.
The second and third habits address recovery and strength. Gabb admits she once underprioritized sleep, staying up late and compromising her immune system, and now goes to bed by 9:30pm before long runs. For strength training, she favors basic movements — calf raises, lunges, deadlifts and heel-elevated squats — done for eight to 12 reps across three sets, twice a week, without training to failure.
The remaining habits cover fuelling, recovery, rest and consistency. Gabb says underfuelling was her biggest marathon mistake and now advises clients to test gels and breakfasts during practice runs and keep a training diary. She personally uses compression boots, foam rollers and sports massage for recovery, programs rest days after long runs or hard interval sessions, and describes consistency as the fundamental principle: “Becoming a better runner is about being consistent.”
Why Unglamorous Training Advice Resonates
The guidance matters because it pushes back against a fitness culture often dominated by novelty. Gabb explicitly warns against being sidetracked by “the latest fad” and notes that social media is “flooded with newfangled exercises that promise the world.” For runners overwhelmed by complicated programs and gear, her message is that improvement comes from repeatable basics.
The advice also highlights injury and burnout prevention. Gabb says easy runs improve endurance without elevating injury risk, and that rest days give the body time to absorb training load — a point she frames as especially important for anyone new to the sport or increasing their volume. Her own experience of making herself ill through lack of sleep serves as a cautionary example within her account.
Who Is Ania Gabb
According to Fit&Well, Gabb is an experienced running coach and certified personal trainer who has taught Les Mills group classes along with pre- and post-natal strength, Pilates and yoga. She has been an elite runner since 2014 and has completed UK Athletics’ Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) and Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) qualifications. She heads the ASICS FrontRunner Community, a network Gabb says includes more than 500 runners across 31 countries.
Gabb originally shared the seven habits in an Instagram post, writing: “In my 30s I embraced them; in my 40s they became non-negotiable.” The Fit&Well report expands on how to apply each habit within a weekly training routine.
“People often think you need to run hard and fast all the time, but actually the easy runs are the most effective.”
— Ania Gabb, ASICS running coach, to Fit&Well
What the Advice Does and Doesn’t Claim
The seven habits are Gabb’s personal and professional opinion, drawn from her own training history and coaching practice, rather than findings from a peer-reviewed study cited in the report. Individual results will vary, and her specific practices — such as gluten-free pasta with beetroot before long runs, or daily hour-long compression boot sessions — are described as what works for her, not universal recommendations.
The report does not quantify how much improvement runners can expect from adopting the habits, and it does not address how they should be adapted for people with injuries, medical conditions or other constraints. Anyone with pre-existing health conditions should seek professional guidance before changing their training, and nutritional changes should be tested gradually, as Gabb herself advises.
Key Questions
What are the seven ‘boring’ things Ania Gabb says improve running?
Easy runs, sleep, strength training, proper fuelling, recovery practices, rest days and consistency.
How slow should easy runs be?
According to Gabb, easy runs should be at a conversational pace — no more than five out of 10 on the rate of perceived exertion scale, keeping heart rate in zone 1 or 2.
What strength exercises does Gabb recommend for runners?
Calf raises, lunges, deadlifts and heel-elevated squats, performed for eight to 12 reps across three sets, twice a week, without going to failure.
Is this advice backed by scientific research?
The report presents Gabb’s coaching perspective and personal experience rather than citing formal studies, though the habits align with widely accepted endurance-training principles.
How should runners practice race-day fuelling?
Gabb advises testing gels and breakfast options during training runs, keeping a diary of how you feel, and hydrating with fluids and electrolytes the day before long efforts.
Source: rss
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