I'm definitely NOT a studio photographer, but I respect and understand why for a urban running photoshoot like this one, it can make things a whole hell of a lot easier by doing it in the studio. Steve Brown shares some insight into his process in this behind the scenes video.
I've shot both video and stills of runners before, but the landscape and lighting usually become the stars of the show, rather than the runners. By using strobe to make them pop, you obviously can control things a lot more. What I realized though, is that with Steve's technique, a photographer could capture backplates in areas that are remote, inaccessible, or required an expensive permit. Obviously bringing a crew and gear out to a location costs money and take a lot of time, so stealing a few images in a particular place, and then shooting talent in the studio would make certain images possible, when perhaps they weren't before.
If mixing studio imagery with backplates from other locations is something you're into, I might recommend checking out the Erik Almas tutorial by PRO EDU. Aesthetics aside, the technical skill and considerations in production was extremely enlightening, even for someone who admittedly doesn't do this kind of work.
