How far to run
There is probably no greater topic of controversy among runners than the ideal mileage.
As far as we know, aerobic capacity does not improve if you run more than 50 miles a week. So if you are interested only in increasing your fitness, this is probably the maximum mileage you need to run. You can, of course, maintain a good level of fitness on much less.
Dave on the home straight
Running performance can continue to improve beyond 50 miles a week, however, even though aerobic conditioning does not. The benefits of big mileage include improvements in the runner’s ability to burn fat, increased muscular endurance and maintenance of body weight. The upper limit for physiologically useful increases in mileage appears to be around 80-100 miles a week; though many elite athletes run 100-120 miles a week.
Most amateurs runners don’t run anything like this sort of distance each week. Clearly, a number of factors affect the optimum mileage:
- lifestyle constraints, such as family and work commitments, and other leisure activities;
- the distances, if any, at which we want to race (marathon runners need a higher weekly mileage than 5km runners)
- our capacity to train before we get injured or ill; this is greatly affected by how we train, but there are also some inherited differences.
Here is a table setting out a rough guide of recommended mileages for runners of different experience at different race distances.[i] The judgement you make about weekly mileages will depend on your own circumstances.
Table 10.3 Recommended maximum weekly distances (miles)
| Race distance | Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced |
| 5km | 10 – 20 | 15 – 25 | 30 – 40 |
| 10km | 15 – 25 | 20 – 30 | 30 – 50 |
| Half marathon | 20 – 30 | 25 – 35 | 35 – 50 |
| Marathon | 30 – 40 | 40 – 50 | 40 – 60 |
You don’t need to run these distances all year round: these are weekly averages in the peak weeks before your race. You should take regular breaks during the year – reducing your mileage, and then build up again.
If your goal is simply to keep fit, then you should be aiming for about 30 miles a week.
How rapidly to increase your mileage
You should not increase your weekly mileage too rapidly if you want to avoid injury or illness. A good rule of thumb is that below 20 miles a week you should not increase your weekly mileage by more than 2 miles a week; above 20 miles a week, you should not increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% a week. So if you are currently running 10 miles a week, you should not increase to more than 12 miles next week; and if you are running 35 miles a week, you should not increase to more than 38½ miles the next week.
This is a very important guideline. All experience shows that excessively rapid build-up in training mileage is one of the most common causes of injuries. Many new runners think that they can be the exception to the rule, because they feel they can go further than this. Sadly, this enthusiasm often ends in tears.
How many times a week to run
If running is your main exercise, you should aim to run 3-4 times a week, in order to reap the full health benefits (see Chapter 1). But runners who set themselves more demanding performance goals will need to run 5-6 days a week, giving themselves one or two rest days a week.
Elite runners will often run twice a day on at least some days of the week. For example, they may do a track session in the morning, and a recovery run in the evening. These runners may therefore run 10-12 times a week. Even elite runners generally take one day a week off completely, but some only rest on one day a fortnight.
Running twice a day can have advantages if you are trying to do a big weekly mileage, since it seems to be less draining to run two six mile runs than one twelve mile run in a day. But remember that there are time overheads, such as the time it takes to change, shower and recover, which you will have to accommodate twice. It is physically demanding to run twice a day, and you should not contemplate it until you have been running for a few years.
The length of the long run
A cornerstone of the running week for many runners is the long run, especially for runners focusing on distances more than 1500m. The length will vary according to the distance you want to race. Endurance runners will typically do one long run a week; shorter distance runners may do one long run a fortnight.
The long run should be between one quarter and one third (certainly less than half) of your weekly mileage. So if you are running 10 miles a week, your long run should be around 3-4 miles.
The table below sets out recommended distances for long runs. These are the peak distances for your long run during your training schedule, which you will build up to.
Table 10.4 Long run distances (miles)
| Race distance | Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced |
| 5km | 3 – 6 | 5 – 8 | 8 – 12 |
| 10km | 5 – 8 | 6 – 10 | 10 – 15 |
| Half marathon | 10 – 13 | 11 – 15 | 13 – 20 |
| Marathon | 18 – 20 | 18 – 20 | 18 – 22 |
[i] Adapted from Bob Glover and Shelly-lynn Florence Glover, The Competitive Runners Handbook, 2nd Edition, 1999.
[ii] Adapted from Bob Glover and Shelly-lynn Florence Glover, The Competitive Runners Handbook, 2nd Edition, 1999.
Very good info. Thanks.
I’m finally up to just shy of 4.25 miles twice a week without injury. I’ll take your 10 percent increase into account – sounds so reasnable!
“If your goal is simply to keep fit, then you should be aiming for about 30 miles a week.” Insane – 5 miles twice a week is fine
I totally agree 30 miles a week for general fitness is crazy, and for many people could be dangerous, you can get a good level of fitness running 3 x 3 miles per week.
Good Article. For those who have only just started running I would recommend you start as low as a solitary mile two to three times a week for the first two weeks then up it to a two mile run. After a month add in one longer run a week but again start low at 3 miles. Once you feel conditioned to this then follow the good advise above of no more than an additional max increase of two miles a week. If you feel pain in your knees or shins you’re pushing too hard or fast !
I’ve been through the cycle of upping mileage too fast then off injured for several months so many times. In the past it has got me as I try to push past 15 miles per week. Then it can be anything that goes, but often it’s my feet (plantar fasciitis) or my calves knotting up.
This time I’m taking it ultra slow. I started in october with two 1.75 mile jogs a week, this week I’ll be doing three lots of 3.75 miles. This time my aim is to stop short of 15 miles a week, or at least hold it around 14 miles for several months until I am utterly confident I can take it further. Also I’ll be taking a few months to get to the 14 miles as well.
Bitter experience has hopefully now taught me that it’s better to take one step back now and again in order to take two steps forward later on. I become obsessed with improving a little bit every week and it seems more important to record a slightly longer distance or a slightly quicker time than to listen to what your body is saying. This time I’ve had a couple of weeks where I’ve dropped a run completely or deliberately reduced my pace/distance drastically because it doesn’t feel quite right. Stuff the running log. Sod the plan for inexorable progress to Olympic glory in 2024.
Rest days aren’t lazy days, they’re part of the plan. You’re not a machine.
I don’t agree that aerobic fitness is tied to mileage and certainly not to some arbitray number of 50 miles a week. Aerobic fitness is a combination of mileage WITH interval training. I am mystified by runners who talk about running as if it was only just “jogging”. To run a race faster one must increase aerobic fitness through intense interval training combined with easy recovery runs. The purpose of interval training is to stress your system so that your anerobic/aerobic threshold is moved forward. Just jogging 50 miles a week is not that…
Agree with Ron,although one should make sure that a good level of Aerobic fitness is achieved before doing Intervals to improve Anaerobic fitness.
Hat off to anyone that runs. I can road bike good distance reasonable times and on a single speed 39.16 with hills, but running is a different story. Just started back running 2 or 4 times a week depending on road biking and it kills me great for the lungs as your on it almost all the time, doing around 3 miles in 23 mins. Anyone who does big miles big respect!
As your overall fitness increases, if you are a runner or consider yourself one, you weekly mileage must also increase just to maintain where you are. I am not speed demon or elite, but I do agree that the 30 mile per week mark for overall fitness is true. Two years ago I was 28 years old and 240 lbs. I was diagnosed with extremely high blood pressure and I decided I wanted to live to see my young kids grow. I started running. It was a long and slow process going from thinking I was going to die after a quarter mile to where I am now. I do run 30 miles per week now. Some weeks it kills me still to run, but I do it. Here I am now 30 years old, 175lbs. I can run a 5k in 18-19mins, I can run 5 miles in 32-33mins, and I got a 10k in under 40mins. I now have normal blood pressure with no meds. I have a healthy BMI and body fat percentage. I can do better. I am “fit” in all areas with my 30 miles per week, but I know if I dig deep I can do better. I can get past just being fit and get into the next category! The moral of the story is go hard. Never quit, and do not balk at those high weekly mileages. It can be achieved. Medical conditions sometimes can be conquered. Focus, just focus. I do not interval train. I watch what I eat and when I run, I run hard from start to finish. I can’t speak when I run, I am probably at 80-90% of my maximum heart rate the entire run, every run. When I finish my run I do 4 sets of 50 pushups, crunches, and leg raises. Needless to say running is a way of life for me!
Agree with Andy I used to take medication for Asthma then started running and take nothing now.
Saving a fortune at the chemist as well as keeping fit
30 miles a week for “general fitness”. That is utter bollocks I’m afraid, which is a shame because the rest of the article is really good. I aim for 30 miles plus a week but sometimes fall short because of studying, weather or because I am doing gym work. My 10k time is 40:50 and I’ve got a sub 1:45 half marathon. This is higher than “general fitness”. I do have age on my side only being 17 but still, my dad has decent “general fitness” and does 1-2 gym sessions a week. ‘Tis a ridiculous notion
Thanks James. Do you have some references to support your view, or is this just your opinion?
I started running five months ago. I also quite smoking five months ago. I also have mild asthma. At the outset I could run five minutes and I’d shut down completely out of breath. These days I can run an average 6 miles before I tell myself to stop running. I could keep going though. Honestly if I wanted to I could run ten miles a day, every day.
That is my problem!!! Moderation in all things. I came to this article/reply thread in order to find the best amount of miles to run on the weekly.
*All information that I have found is both arbitrary or contrary!
So my question remains the same; what is the most effective amount of miles to run per run. Moreover what is the most effective weekly average of miles?
My goal is to get down to 180lbs. I am 32 years old, I am 5’10″ with a very muscular frame. I have the shoulder width of Arnold! So for me it is essential to lean out as much as possible in order to not appear massive like a body builder or simply stocky. The thinner I get the taller I look!
I also just started my career in TV News Reporting so for me it is essential to get as lean as I can as the camera does add on about 15lbs.
Is there any benefit to working out 3 hours a day with a combo of running and weight training vrs working out 1 hour per day?
Hi, I was wondering if it would be overall better to do for example a 10km all at once or to split it in a 5km in the mornings and 5km in the evenings? Would the fitness level I would reach from one be better than the other? And witch one would keep your body in shape best, or won’t it matter?
Running 30 miles a week does keep you generally fit because most people could do because it depends on how you do it throughout the week so all you have to do really is basically run 3 miles in the morning and the 3 miles in the evening mon-fri which is not really that difficult if your reasonably fit. I run about 10-12 miles a week, play football twice a week, and go for a swim fornighty aswell as this. Now i have asthma and i am match fit to play football and i would run a half marathon in about 1 hour and half as long as i have my asthma pump and my music with me and i am wearing the right clothing for the weather and i keep myself hydrated and have enough energy for my run.
I am 52 and run 50 miles a week, year round, temps in winter sometimes 30 below. I think increased mileage does result in increased fitness, keeping in mind the level at which you work during those miles. There is nothing wrong with being a recreational runner a couple times a week, it’s great to have any kind of commitment to running. Just speaking from experience, the heart rate has to get in that “target zone” for a good part of your miles to gain better fitness. Quality miles are necessary for a faster runner. I personally don’t like to race, just enjoy running so much and reap all the rewards from it. That said, I’ve run one full marathon, and managed a Boston marathon qualifying time. I credit 800 metre repeats, hill work and long runs to that success. I love to cook, enjoy a glass of wine , am addicted to running…..what a beautiful combination:)
Great. I am 45 and running 30 miles per week. I an running 10 km per day for 5 days and plays shuttle for 2 days. I have started running 6 months back and I am addicted to it. Just checking if running 10 km per day for 5days continuously will be too much on my knees. Personally I feel fit and don’t even feel the presence of knees or another body part as such( I mean no pain for having run so long in a day) . Want an advice if I can continue my passion of 10 k daily run. Some advice pl.
Wow, you’ve been running only six months, and managing 10 k a day, good for you. It took me quite a bit longer to bring my mileage up!
My personal advice to you is, just listen to your body. If a subtle ache or tightness is there, just ease up a little. If that doesn’t work, take few days off.
I’m probably jinxing myself, but for the last several years, have managed 2500 miles each year (give or take a few) and without any major injury
You can build up your weekly mileage to +50 in about 6-months starting cold-turkey. This is what I did in exactly 6 months. It takes a lot of focus, a willingness to deal with pain in the beginning, and a bit of creativity. Once you build up to a certain level (several months of 20+ miles per week) then you should integrate some strength training. Doing a significant amount of running on a treadmill in the beginning will help as well since you know exactly what your speed is and how you are progressing.
One tip one may use in the very early stages is to choose a couple of songs to run too… typically this will be about 8 mins. Whenever you run, listen to the same two songs and run the same route (without stopping). You may feel like you can do more but I wouldn’t advise it. Make sure that you keep track of how far you’ve gone… perhaps the next week you can comfortably run a half a block further!! At this stage you are actually working to improve your running efficiency… the more efficient you run the less hard you will work… the further you can go… the faster you can go. After a couple of weeks of this perhaps throw in another song, so on and so on. There will be times that you will probably be in pain… choose the next day or take a few days off. But certainly keep track of your progression so you don’t get discouraged
I prefer to keep track of my runs with time rather than distance… your legs, heart, lungs, etc. respond to time over distance as well. A person that has been running 30 mins during a short easy run for a couple months will certainly be able to cover more distance in the same amount of time than when they first started running for 30 mins. You could also kind of compare on a treadmill your pace you think you are running on the road… quite useful. When I started running, it was at slightly less than 8 min pace on the treadmill (7:53) and struggled to get in 10 mins. I preferred to use the treadmill in the beginning because I was catching myself going too fast on the road which led to injuries. I kept this same treadmill pace the whole time up till about 1 month ago, building from 10 mins to 1 hour 20 mins nonstop/steady-state.
The past couple of months I have sparsely used the treadmill, except for when it is cold. Once I hit about 30 miles I decided that my runs should be focused on the road when weather permitted. My “easy” pace hovers around 6:50-7:30 min/mile now, depending on distance. I just completed my second 50+ mile week and integrated track sessions 3 weeks ago. As far as weight loss is concerned… the first couple months I lost no weight, then the 3rd and 4th month my weight dropped 7 lbs… the past two months my weight has remained the same, at 160. Once you jack up your mileage it is very important to also increase your consumption…
I run an average of 8.46 km / day including an average of three off days every 2 weeks. I check distance on google to see distance – ad to month – ad to total since buying new running shoes ext ext. Hope the stats don’t get the better of me. I never punched in any stats with my previous shoes or the shoes before them. Weight gets taken in morning and interesting it has remained practically the same all the way since buying new shoes 51 days ago. However good news is that several shirts and shorts that were far too large in the past fit comfortably now so either ive lost weight or the body structure has changed.. My current average time is about 54 min’s for 10 km – A little slow but i never ever intend to take part in and race. I had 7 double runs in April to make up for short runs or to keep up average and they range from 9km + 6 or 8 + 9.
I’m not sure if stats can get the better of me in the end – hope not unless this running distance is on, or close to par just for fitness. More often than not my “cooling down period” after the run is to take the dog and semi jog semi walk fast so he can also get some exercise and my clothing doesn’t get sopping whet from some open sweating glands after showering.
Hey Karl, I love that you walk your dog after a run, that is one of my favorite parts of an early morning run. Although I did qualify for Boston in the only marathon I’ve run in, truly my passion is just to go out every morning for an hour or so ( 7 miles) I like to do a long run on Saturday , and then life is good