I recently received the following letter from Dave Pike,

Dave, who is attending the Air Force Academy (he is a pilot), decided to an independent research study on deadlifting and distance running for his statistics class:

Barry,
 
The data-gathering phase of the research project I told you about has concluded.  After the 4-week study I am now ready to organize and process the data and begin some statistical tests.  Some very interesting results to report.  I hypothesized I would see dramatic strength gains in my experimental group and was not disappointed. 

I wasn't sure of the effect on 3 mile run times however. 

One individual increased his dead lift 1 RM from 245 to 335 in the 4 week trial period.  Lifting was conducted only 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday following your protocol.  (Now the study is complete we plan on lifting 4-5 times a week to see the difference) The same individual also improved his 3 mile run time by 3 minutes and 40 seconds with only doing biking for cardio training on the off lifting days--Tuesday and Thursday. 

Another individual decreased his run time by 2 minutes and 53 seconds with no cardio training at all during the 4 week period.  He only did the weight workouts.  He increased his 1RM in the deadlift from 275 to 335 during the same time frame. 

I included myself in the project and likewise saw similar results. Of note for me was an increase from 350 lbs 1RM in the dead lift to 405lbs over the 4 week period (I had already been following your program since May with my initial 1 RM of 275lbs.)  I likewise did not do any distance training but biked 2-3 times a week for cardio.  My biking improvements are another story...I'm also convinced the DL has dramatically improved my biking performance!  The last distance running I did for time was a 1.5 mile Air force fit test in which I ran 9:47 back in early May.  Since then I have only biked for cardio.  I decided to really push the limit and see how my improved strength would help me in distance running.  2 days ago I completed a half marathon with a time of 1 hour 46 minutes 52 seconds.  Not bad for no running training whatsoever.  I am very sore in the quads and hips but still was able to do 2 reps at 365 lbs today...probably could have gotten 3 but decided not to risk it. 

None of us in the experimental group have gained any muscle mass.  In fact we have all lost weight ranging from a couple pounds to 7 pounds in my case.  
 
What I found interesting is that the control group's data for improving 3 mile times showed a similar improvement in 3 mile run times as expected from just conducting running training, however, it appears that the experimental group was able to achieve the same result without any distance training!   
 
One of the runners in the control group is currently training for a marathon in September and now the study is over he is convinced by the results of our experimental group and now is changing his whole training program to work with those of us wanting to continue with your program.  It will be interesting to see how the increased strength will help him.  Regardless of how my data comes out statistically and all the limitations I have due to small sample size, researcher bias etc.  I think I have replicated the results you have seen for several years now with your elite athletes with a group of Air Force officers in their mid-thirties. 

The excitement for those who took part in my little experiment group is fun to see.  All want to continue to push the strength gains and are looking forward to running faster with less impact stress on the body!  Our focus is now going to center on improving our fit test scores for the 1.5 mile distance so we will be looking at shorter-distance speed improvement using your methods.  This whole study has been a lot of fun.  I am most happy to report no injuries sustained whatsoever!  I have to admit that was a major concern for me considering the age of the group, the fact several had never dead lifted before and the amount of weight we would be lifting. 
 
Respectfully,
 
Dave Pike