Better breathing while running means two things: using your diaphragm fully (belly breathing rather than shallow chest breathing), and matching your breathing rate to your effort level. At an easy pace, nasal breathing can improve efficiency and oxygen delivery. At moderate-to-high intensity, most runners naturally shift to combined nose-mouth or full mouth breathing. This is normal and appropriate, not a failure of technique. If you’re getting breathless during runs, the most common causes are going out too fast and running with insufficient aerobic base both solved the same way: slow down and build consistently.

Use our Pace Calculator to find paces that match your current fitness, and our training plan hub if you’re building an aerobic base from scratch.

The Two Breathing Techniques Worth Understanding

These are independent techniques that work together but are often confused:

Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing)

Diaphragmatic breathing means using the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle below the lungs, as the primary driver of each breath, rather than the intercostal muscles and chest. When the diaphragm contracts fully, the abdomen expands outward. This is visible as the belly moving out on inhalation rather than the chest rising.

Why it matters: Chest-dominant (shallow) breathing uses only the upper portion of the lung’s capacity. Diaphragmatic breathing expands the lower lobes, which are more densely packed with alveoli (the air sacs where gas exchange happens), producing more oxygen delivery per breath at lower respiratory effort. Over the long run, this efficiency compounds significantly.

How to practise it: Place one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen. Take a slow, deep breath. The abdomen should rise before the chest if only the chest moves, you’re breathing shallowly. Practise this pattern deliberately in the pre-run warm-up and during easy runs until it becomes the default.

Pre-run breathing exercise:

1. Place one hand on your chest, one just below your ribcage
2. Inhale slowly through your nose. Your lower hand should move outward while your upper hand stays relatively still
3. Exhale slowly through pursed lips (like blowing through a straw), pull your abdomen gently in as you do
4. Repeat 5–10 times before beginning the run

This stretches the diaphragm and lower lung tissue, warming up the respiratory system before the aerobic demand of running begins.

Nasal Breathing

Nasal breathing means routing inhalation through the nose rather than the mouth. It is a separate variable from diaphragmatic breathing you can breathe diaphragmatically through either the nose or the mouth. Elite runners often do both simultaneously.

Benefits of nasal breathing at easy effort:

• The nose filters, warms, and humidifies air before it reaches sensitive lung tissue reducing irritation from cold, dry, or polluted air
• Nasal passages produce nitric oxide, which has vasodilatory effects that improve oxygen delivery
• Research in the International Journal of Kinesiology and Sports Science found that nasal breathing reduced total ventilation by approximately 23% at submaximal workloads, with a corresponding 2–3% reduction in energy consumption — suggesting greater respiratory efficiency

The critical intensity limitation: These benefits apply at submaximal, below-threshold effort. At moderate-to-high intensity tempo runs, intervals, and race pace, the respiratory demand exceeds what nasal breathing can comfortably supply. Most runners naturally transition to combined nose-and-mouth or full mouth breathing as intensity rises. This is the correct physiological response, not a technique failure.

Practical guidance: Practise nasal breathing on easy runs and recovery sessions. With harder efforts, breathe through whatever pathway gives you adequate airflow. Forcing nasal-only breathing at high intensity restricts oxygen delivery and is counterproductive.

For beginners, the priority is diaphragmatic breathing, getting the belly to move, and getting the diaphragm involved. Nasal vs mouth is secondary. Once the belly breathing is established, we work on rhythm. The goal is breathing that is relaxed and efficient, not breathing that requires constant conscious effort.

Rhythmic Breathing: Matching Pattern to Footstrike

Rhythmic breathing synchronising breath to footstrike pattern is a legitimate and widely-used technique, not an experiment to avoid. The most studied pattern is the 3:2 alternating exhale pattern, developed by running coach Budd Coates.

How the 3:2 pattern works:

• Inhale over 3 footstrikes (left-right-left)
• Exhale over 2 footstrikes (right-left)
• The pattern alternates which foot you land on when you exhale unlike a fixed 2:2 pattern, where you always exhale on the same foot

Why the alternating exhale matters: When you exhale, your diaphragm relaxes, and your core is momentarily less stable. If you always exhale on the same foot strike (as in a 2:2 pattern), you consistently apply impact stress on the same side of your body during this instability moment. The 3:2 alternating pattern distributes this loading more evenly.

Simpler patterns for beginners:

• 2:2 pattern (inhale 2 steps, exhale 2 steps): The most natural starting point. Easy to maintain at easy pace.
• 2:1 pattern: For harder efforts where a longer exhale isn’t sustainable.

Rhythmic breathing is not a replacement for simply breathing naturally at easy effort; it’s a tool for managing breathing during harder or longer runs when conscious technique helps. Start practising it in training, not for the first time on race day.

Breathing as an Effort Monitor: The Talk Test

Breathing rate is one of the most accessible measures of training intensity no GPS watch required.

The talk test: At Zone 2 (easy, aerobic pace), you should be able to speak in complete sentences without pausing for breath. If you’re gasping between words, you’ve exceeded Zone 2. If you can deliver a paragraph without any breathing discomfort, you’re in Zone 1.

• Full sentences comfortably: Zone 1–2 (easy aerobic, recovery pace)
• Short phrases, brief pauses: Zone 3 (moderate/steady state)
• Single words only: Zone 4–5 (threshold / maximum effort)

This makes the talk test a reliable, zero-cost effort gauge for runners who train without heart rate monitors. For runners who do use heart rate monitors, the talk test provides immediate qualitative confirmation that heart rate data is accurate. Our heart rate while running guide covers the full five-zone framework alongside the talk test.

Posture and Its Effect on Breathing

Form directly affects breathing capacity. Two specific posture patterns restrict airflow during running:

Forward head posture: Head dropping forward of the shoulders compresses the anterior neck musculature and limits the throat and airway diameter. The fix: gently lift the gaze to the horizon, tuck the chin slightly, and let the head float directly above the shoulders.

Rounded shoulders: Tight pectoral muscles and rounded shoulders reduce the space available for full chest expansion. Running with shoulders elevated and internally rotated limits the ability to breathe diaphragmatically even if the technique is correct. Fix: draw the shoulders down and back, broaden the chest, and let the arms swing freely from front to back without crossing the body’s midline.

Two posture-strengthening exercises worth incorporating into your strength routine: thoracic extension over a foam roller (to open the mid-back) and face pulls or band pull-aparts (to strengthen the mid and lower trapezius and retract the shoulder blades).

Why You’re Getting Out of Breath: A Diagnostic Framework

1. You’re Running Too Fast for Current Fitness

The most common cause of breathlessness in beginner and intermediate runners. At paces beyond your aerobic threshold, your body transitions from primarily aerobic to anaerobic glycolysis. This process produces hydrogen ions alongside lactate. The resulting acidity of muscle tissue is what causes the burning sensation in your legs and the sensation of needing more air. Your respiratory rate rises dramatically to expel the additional CO2 generated.

The fix: slow down until you can speak comfortably. Repeat this every session for several weeks, and your aerobic threshold pace will rise; the same pace becomes easier to sustain aerobically.

2. Insufficient Aerobic Base

Even with appropriate effort, runners in early fitness development breathe harder than well-trained runners at an equivalent pace because their cardiovascular and respiratory systems haven’t adapted yet. Stroke volume (blood pumped per heartbeat) is lower; capillary density in muscles is lower; mitochondrial efficiency is lower. All of these require consistent aerobic training over months to develop.

Progress comes from consistent, patient base building not from forcing harder sessions through breathlessness.

3. Poor Breathing Mechanics

If you’re chest-breathing throughout easy runs shoulders rising with each breath, and minimal abdominal movement, you’re using partial lung capacity. The diaphragmatic breathing technique above addresses this directly. Most runners who learn to belly-breathe consistently report immediate improvement in perceived breathing comfort at equivalent paces.

4. Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB) / Asthma

If breathlessness is significantly disproportionate to your effort, occurs even on easy runs, comes with wheezing, or persists after stopping, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (the exercise-specific form of asthma) should be considered. EIB affects approximately 10–15% of the general population and a higher proportion of competitive athletes.

Signs that suggest EIB rather than fitness-limited breathlessness:

• Chest tightness or wheeze during or after running
• Symptoms persist 5–10 minutes after stopping
• Symptoms worsen in cold, dry, or high-pollen conditions
• Breathing difficulty at paces that should be well within your aerobic capacity

Speak to your GP. EIB is typically treatable with a short-acting bronchodilator inhaler used 10–15 minutes before running, and should not prevent you from training. If you run in cold or dry air and find breathing difficult, a buff or face covering warms and humidifies the air before inhalation and can reduce symptoms.

See our annual medical tests guide for context on when to discuss respiratory testing with your doctor.

5. Anaemia or Low Ferritin

Haemoglobin carries oxygen in red blood cells. If haemoglobin is low (anaemia) or iron stores are depleted (low ferritin which can impair oxygen delivery even without clinical anaemia), oxygen delivery to working muscles is reduced and respiratory rate rises to compensate. A blood test distinguishes this from fitness-limited breathlessness and ferritin below 30 µg/L is treatable. See our annual medical tests guide for runner-specific blood testing guidance.

Breathing and Side Stitches

Side stitches — the sharp pain under the ribs during running is typically caused by diaphragm spasm or irritation of the parietal peritoneum (the lining around the organs). Breathing pattern is directly involved: shallow, rapid breathing doesn’t allow the diaphragm to fully relax between contractions, increasing spasm risk.

When a stitch arrives: exhale fully, then breathe slowly and deeply into the abdomen, pressing two fingers into the stitch location and maintaining pressure through the breath. Slowing the pace simultaneously usually resolves it within 1–3 minutes.

For a complete guide to side stitch prevention, causes, and instant relief techniques, see our How to Stop Side Stitches While Running guide.

Breathing in Cold Weather

Cold, dry air irritates the airways and, for runners with any degree of respiratory sensitivity, can trigger bronchoconstriction. Practical cold-weather breathing adjustments:

• Breathe in through the nose whenever possible at easy effort — the nasal passage warms and humidifies air more effectively than the mouth
• Wear a buff, neck gaiter, or facemask in temperatures below −5°C or in strong winds — these recirculate warmth and moisture to the air before inhalation
• Warm up more gradually — cold-air EIB symptoms are most acute in the first 5–10 minutes of a run before the airways have adapted

Frequently Asked Questions