Popular fitness YouTuber Nick Butter recently tackled Edinburgh’s famous Seven Hills challenge alongside Johnny Davis, who just completed an extraordinary 572km run covering the entire London Underground network over 11 days.
Their 30km loop through Scotland’s capital wasn’t just another scenic run.
It became a masterclass in practical advice for heavier runners looking to improve their performance without risking injury.
What they shared might completely change how you approach running if you’re carrying extra weight.
Jump to:
- Start Steady: The Foundation That Changes Everything
- The Cadence Revolution: Shorter Steps, Bigger Results
- Kit Considerations That Actually Matter
- Stop Comparing, Start Leveraging
- Set Incremental Goals That Actually Make Sense
- The Elevation Reality Check
- Building Your Aerobic Foundation
- The Nostalgia Factor
Start Steady: The Foundation That Changes Everything
Butter’s first piece of advice contradicts what many beginners think they should do. Don’t lace up your shoes and push yourself to exhaustion every single day.
The hard truth? Using sweat as currency and grinding through 5km runs daily will likely backfire.
“You should in fact be doing the opposite,” Butter explains, emphasizing the importance of cautiously building volume within specific heart rate parameters.
Zone 2 aerobic work represents the sweet spot for heavier runners. This approach focuses on building aerobic base before adding intervals, threshold work, or high-intensity training.
Why does this matter so much for heavier athletes? Higher body weight creates greater transient impact on joints and connective tissue.
Rushing into intense training exposes you to injury risk, prevents proper recovery, and ultimately kills enjoyment of the process. Establishing clear heart rate training zones allows you to work at sustainable paces while systematically building volume.
The Cadence Revolution: Shorter Steps, Bigger Results
Davis identified technique as his biggest breakthrough as a heavier runner, specifically focusing on cadence—steps per minute.
When I first started running I was running about 150 steps per minute which most people know isn’t very good means that I was stepping out in front of myself Landing in front of myself and a lot of force is going through each step which led to shin splints ankle problems.
He now maintains 170-175 steps per minute, a change that fundamentally transformed his running experience.
Higher cadence means feet land beneath your body rather than out in front. This seemingly small adjustment dramatically reduces impact per step, distributing forces more efficiently across your stride.
Davis’s shin splints and ankle problems disappeared once he adopted this faster, shorter stride pattern. His feet and ankles thanked him for it.
The physics makes perfect sense—more frequent, lighter contacts beat fewer, heavier impacts every time, especially when carrying additional body mass.
Kit Considerations That Actually Matter
Practical gear choices separate comfortable runs from miserable experiences for heavier athletes. Butter and Davis shared equipment insights learned through painful trial and error.
Two-in-One Shorts: Non-Negotiable Protection
Butter’s first recommendation? Invest in quality two-in-one shorts with built-in compression.
These prevent chafing in delicate areas that can absolutely ruin your day. Higher body mass index increases chafing risk across multiple body zones.
For additional problem areas, Butter suggests chamois cream—originally designed for cycling but kinder to clothing than Vaseline. Apply it anywhere friction occurs: under arms, beneath trail pack straps, between thighs.
The Shoe Sizing Secret
Davis dropped knowledge that surprises many runners.
I’m a size 12 and a half most shoes I’ve run are 14, 14 and a half simply because your feet expand when you run has a bigger bloke you going have wider feet as it is to make sure there’s enough room in there so your toes can spread and expand as you run.
Heavier runners generate more force through feet with each stride. Cramped toes lead to black toenails, blisters, and compensatory movement patterns that cascade into bigger problems.
Foot problems inevitably create issues everywhere else in your kinetic chain. Sizing up ensures adequate toe box space for natural foot expansion during longer efforts.
Stop Comparing, Start Leveraging
Butter addressed the psychological trap that derails many heavier runners—constant comparison with lighter, differently-built athletes.
Comparing yourself to friends, family, or random runners you see online serves absolutely no productive purpose. Your body mass and leverage create unique considerations that demand individualized approaches.
Rather than fighting against your build, work with what you’ve got. Butter admits making this mistake when younger, pushing against his natural leverages instead of optimizing them.
Managing volume selectively while refining cadence and technique allows you to move with yourself rather than against yourself. This mindset shift transforms running from constant struggle into sustainable practice.
Set Incremental Goals That Actually Make Sense
Davis emphasized goal-setting appropriate to current ability rather than headline-grabbing ultra distances.
Just cuz you see people out there running 100 miles 100ks whatever it could be crazy challenges doesn’t mean that’s your goal your goal could be to run a 5k then to a 10K then to a half marathon then to Marathon.
He credits starting during COVID-19 lockdowns, when no events existed, with allowing him to focus purely on incremental improvement week by week and month by month.
Butter highlighted British YouTuber Mark Lewis as inspiration—someone who went from nearly 400 pounds to completing 100km+ events. Lewis’s initial goal? Running to the lamppost at the end of his street and back.
He started by running there and walking back, building systematically over time. No dramatic transformations overnight, just consistent forward progress.
The Elevation Reality Check
Throughout their 25km journey with nearly 1,000 meters of elevation gain, both runners acknowledged the unique challenge hills present for heavier athletes.
Davis, fresh off flat London Underground routes at 102 kilograms, felt the difference immediately. Climbing requires significantly more energy when carrying additional mass—basic physics in action.
Butter noted he’s usually the heavier runner getting dropped by “racing snakes” on climbs, making this rare reversal refreshing. Hills expose weaknesses but also build remarkable strength when approached progressively.
Their relaxed filming pace, stopping for content creation throughout, demonstrated another crucial principle—not every run needs to be a time trial. Training should incorporate various intensities and purposes.
Building Your Aerobic Foundation
Butter returned repeatedly to Zone 2 training as foundational for heavier runners. This moderate-intensity work builds mitochondrial density, capillary networks, and metabolic efficiency without excessive joint stress.
Establishing proper heart rate zones requires either laboratory testing or field testing protocols. Once identified, Zone 2 should comprise the majority of weekly training volume.
- Patience pays dividends: Aerobic development takes months, not weeks
- Consistency trumps intensity: Regular moderate efforts beat sporadic hard sessions
- Recovery enables adaptation: Training stress requires adequate rest to produce fitness gains
- Volume before intensity: Build base mileage before adding speed work
Heavier runners face higher absolute workloads even at easier paces. Respecting this reality prevents overtraining while maximizing sustainable progress.
The Nostalgia Factor
During their Edinburgh loop, Butter experienced unexpected nostalgia passing Meadowbank Stadium, site of his first 100-mile finish in November 2019. That event, organized for men’s mental health during November, marked a milestone in his running journey.
Five years later, covering similar terrain felt completely different—easier, more controlled, fundamentally transformed.
This evolution didn’t happen overnight. Systematic application of principles like gradual volume progression, cadence optimization, appropriate gear selection, and individualized goal-setting created compounding returns over time.
What once represented maximum effort eventually becomes comfortable aerobic work. Progress sometimes appears slowly until you look back and realize how far you’ve actually come.
