Built to Last: 5 Best Strength Training Exercises for Runners

Dan Cooke
Nov 19, 2024
9 min read

Updated: Dec 22, 2025

With the arrival of the "offseason" for Detroit's running community, now is the perfect time to implement a strength training into your endurance regimen! Here are Team Expedition Detroit's 5 best strength training exercises for runners - complete with verified results.

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It started at Mile 8. A slight discomfort just outside of my right knee that quietly made its presence known as my run neared Proud Lake's Organizational Campground. Each stride along that long straightaway provided plenty of time for self-assessment.

"Is my pace too fast?" Definitely - I was moving roughly 45 seconds per mile faster than my target long-run pace. Time to slow down.

"Am I striking incorrectly?" Nope, strike placement seemed fine. Just needed to keep landing intentionally.

"Okay, maybe I just need a quick stretching break. No big deal." I utilized the boulders at the edge of the campground to implement a thorough mid-run stretch.

None of these assessments mattered. By Mile 9, this noticeable discomfort had progressed to objective pain. By Mile 10 the pain felt like a knife digging into my knee. The limping started shortly thereafter.

Long run: over.

The extent of my injury - acute medial meniscal discomfort due to overtraining and under recovery - became evident over the coming days. After nearly a full season of high-performing races and long runs, including a mid-season Kilimanjaro summit for some extra flair, I was now humbled to a mere 1 mile run before severe pain flared up again. I opted for two full weeks of rest in a last-ditch effort to preserve my Detroit Free Press Marathon aspirations.

The net benefit of that rest? I could now run a whopping 1.25 miles without pain. Great.

My 2024 marathon dreams were objectively crushed, and as the jubilant headlines and social media posts flooded the Expedition Detroit feed, I was left licking my wounds and wondering which micro-decisions led to this ultimate failure.