Strength
training improves fat loss not only by improving your resting metabolic rate (because slight increases in muscle mass will burn more calories than if that muscle were fat) and through a mechanism called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which basically means that your
body will continue to burn calories after your workout Though many distance runners may not be terribly concerned about fat loss
specifically, they will nevertheless be heartened to know that any slight muscle mass gains from
weight training will be balanced by a loss of fat, and fat certainly does not make ANYBODY faster.