Running in the Wind: How to Deal Smartly with Headwinds and Crosswinds

What does wind do to your running performance?

Wind influences your running performance in two ways: through air resistance in a headwind and through an energetic advantage in a tailwind.

Headwind increases air resistance exponentially with wind speed. A wind of 20 km/h will cost you roughly ten à fifteen seconds per kilometer compared to windless conditions, depending on your running speed and posture. At 40 km/h that quickly becomes thirty à fifty seconds per kilometer.

Tailwind partially, but not completely, compensates for air resistance. The gain with a tailwind is smaller than the loss with an equal headwind. A round course with an equal amount of tailwind and headwind always results in a negative balance compared to windless conditions.

Sidewind is less noticeable at pace but requires extra stabilization. In strong crosswinds, your core and stabilizers work harder to keep your running line straight. That costs energy that you would otherwise have invested in your pace.

How much slower are you in a headwind?

A rough indication table for an average recreational runner:

These numbers explain why a windy day always feels harder: you are objectively slower for the same effort. Anyone who compares their wind training with their windless training and is concerned about the decreasing times is comparing apples and oranges.

The golden rule: going against the wind

This is the most practical tactical tip for walking in the wind, and also the most ignored: plan your route so that you walk against the wind on the way out and with it on the way back.

The reason is physiological. On the way there you walk against the wind and you are still fresh. On the way back, when you are more tired and floating more, you have the wind at your back. The psychological effect should not be underestimated: the return journey always feels lighter if you have a tailwind, even if the distance is exactly the same.

Those who do it the other way around start with a tailwind, think they are in top form, and then complete the return journey exhausted and injured in the headwind.

How do you adapt your technique to wind?

Headwind: make smaller

In strong headwinds, the best strategy is to make yourself aerodynamically smaller. That means:

• Lean slightly forward from the ankles, not from the hips
• Keep arms closer to the body, elbows slightly further back
• Head slightly lower, chin towards chest (but not so far that you are looking at the ground)
• Shorter steps instead of increasing the stride to maintain pace

That last tip is counterintuitive but physiologically correct. Longer strides in a headwind greatly increase energy consumption. Shorter, faster strides keep you more efficient at the same intensity.

Tailwind: enjoy but be careful

With a strong tailwind it is tempting to increase the pace. That is possible, but be aware of the transition. When you turn into a headwind, the mental and physical shock is significant. Anyone who has run too fast with a tailwind will pay for it at the turnaround point.

Sidewind: stabilize

In strong crosswinds you consciously activate your core and stabilizers. Widen your base slightly and keep your arms a little more balanced. On slippery surfaces or in strong gusts of wind, this is extra relevant to check your running line. You can read more about core stability on the strength training page.

Wind and heart rate: why your watch beats

A common complaint during wind training: "My heart rate was normal but my pace was far below my usual level." That's exactly how it should be.

Wind increases mechanical resistance but does not directly influence your heart rate proportionately. Your heart works harder in a headwind to keep the same muscle groups at the same activity level, but the relationship between heart rate and pace shifts. In windy conditions, train based on effort (heart rate or feeling), not on pace.

If you have a heart rate controlled training (zone 2 endurance run, tempo run at threshold intensity), use your heart rate as a benchmark and leave the pace alone. You train correctly, even if the numbers look different than normal.

→ Alles over lopen op hartslag en trainingszones.

Wind training as a training tool

Wind is not just an obstacle: it is also a free training tool.

Headwind intervals: a structured interval training where you run the hardest blocks with a headwind and the recovery phase with a tailwind. This simulates the varying load of a hilly course without any height difference.

Wind resistance training: Running at a leisurely pace in moderate to strong headwinds trains your driving muscles in a way that windless training does not. Comparable to an extra light resistance training.

Mental toughness: Consistent training, even in windy conditions, makes you mentally stronger for competitions. Runners who never train in windy conditions are mentally unprepared for a windy race day.

Wind and race strategy

On race day with wind, the same principles apply as in training, but with extra importance.

Use the field of participants as a windbreak. Running in a group against a headwind saves significant energy. Runners who follow cycling know this principle well. With a large crowd, it is best to place yourself in the sheltered zone behind a group at your pace. This is possible for a 10 km ten à save fifteen seconds per kilometer.

Adjust your target pace in strong winds. A windy race day justifies a more realistic time expectation. Anyone who maintains the same target pace in wind force 6 as in windless weather will run too fast in the first half and will pay for it in the second half.

Postpone your PR hunt. Strong winds make a personal best statistically unlikely. Use such a competition as a training impulse, not as a benchmark moment.

Frequently asked questions

In summary

Wind is a weather condition that you cannot ignore but you can manage. Strategically planning the way there and back (headwind on the way there), adjusting the pace instead of pushing harder, using heart rate as a benchmark and using the field of participants as a windbreak in case of strong headwind: these are the principles that make the difference.

→ You can read everything about running in cold weather at running in cold weather.
→ Running in the rain: tips and clothing for wet training at running in the rain.