But... as much as I willed my new shoes to make me faster than my old ones, I'm not quite sure if it worked. It did however make me smile as I came across an article later that afternoon titled, "Want to run faster? Change where you look." And of course, I said "Yes I want to run faster!" Which is the very reason I intently read the rest of the write-up published by Canadian Running Magazine. The writer started off by saying, "You probably don’t need a new pair of carbon-plated shoes or a fancy lactate threshold test to run faster in a race or workout. According to a new study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, simply changing where you look while you run might help you push harder and finish faster."
So here we go! If this had your imagination piqued as it did mine, here's what else you need to know if you want to run faster...
Stop scanning the sceneryA team of psychologists, including researchers from NYU, Creighton and Rutgers University, found that narrowing your visual attention (a.k.a. locking your gaze on one fixed point ahead of you) can make a measurable difference in how fast and hard you run. The idea is simple: instead of admiring nature or checking out your wild spectators, aim to focus on one spot ahead, and then move that spot forward as you go. The closer you get to your goal, the more you narrow in.
The researchers call this strategy attentional narrowing, and in their tests, runners who used it consistently ran faster and spent more time working at a higher heart rate than those told to take in the wider view. In short: less sightseeing results in better performance. “By increasingly narrowing attention as a runner moves from earlier to later stages of a run or race—like locking in on a target, then finding another after you pass the first, and eventually the finish line—they run faster, raise their heart rate, and perform better,” explains Emily Balcetis, one of the study’s authors.
Across six studies, researchers found that faster runners and those with more racing experience were more likely to use this strategy naturally. The good news is that it’s a learned skill. Whether you’re gunning for a PB or just trying to survive your next tempo run, narrowing your focus is something you can start practising today. This isn’t tunnel vision; it’s more like a form of mental pacing—an intentional way to regulate your effort, without overthinking splits or form.
Use it when it counts
To see if the strategy held up in practice, researchers ran a few short-distance experiments using real runners. Some were told to keep their gaze wide, others to focus on a fixed point—either through the whole run or just toward the end. Across the board, those who narrowed their focus ran faster. They also spent more time with their heart rate above baseline, which suggests they were working harder, even if they didn’t feel like they were. A small shift in where you look turned out to have a real effect on how much you could give.
Focusing your eyes on one spot instead of scanning your surroundings might be more powerful than it sounds. It’s a low-effort, no-cost way to push a little harder when things get tough. Next time you’re grinding through a tough interval or closing in on the finish, try locking your gaze ahead, and you might be surprised what your legs still have left.
And there you have it friends. Marathon Weekend will be here before we know it. Which means if you want that fall PR, the time to thrive is now. So, whether or not you have a new pair of shoes, try these tips and see if you can shave a few seconds off your mile time. Over the course of 3.1, 13.1, or 26.2 miles, those seconds will add up and you'll be rewarded with a Personal Record. Happy Running!
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