Running 1 Mile Everyday For 30 Days - Result!

A 2016 study showed that one fifth of adults felt the furthest they could run without stopping was 100 meters and according to a 2020 survey, the average person could only run a fifth of a mile without stopping and most people hadn’t run a mile in over a decade.

I’m 36 and spend most of my day sitting at a desk looking at computer screens. Cardio hasn’t really been my thing. I mean why run when you can walk, am I right?

But after watching my wife run in several races, I had to admit, it actually looked kind of fun. So this is where my story starts.

As you can see I don’t have the body of a runner. I’m 5’11”, 202 pounds and 23.8% body fat. According to my scale, my metabolic age is 3 years older than I actually am. Ouch.

So on my first attempt I ran a 12 minute mile. That’s a 5 mile per hour pace. My max heart rate hit a crazy high of 194 beats per minute. The number 1 thing I learned though, is running is a mental game you play with yourself.

You will find yourself wanting to quit shortly after you start. Your mind will start to tell you your legs are too tired, you can’t do this, my feet shouldn’t hurt like this, my lungs can’t take it, but you just have to embrace the suck and keep on pushing.

So now that I know I have it in me, it was time to focus on getting better, running that mile each day and trying to improve upon my last day's effort and to see if I can transform myself into a runner in just 30 days.

On day 4 I was able to run a 10 minute mile and I slowly begin to increase the speed on my treadmill on the days I ran on it.

By day 14 I hit a 9 minute mile, but I also started to feel the effects of running everyday without rest. I developed shin splints. The continued to nag me throughout the challenge and was just something I had to try and ignore and push through the pain. Is the the best advice, I'm not sure, but I'd gotten this far and I didn't want to discontinue this challenge.

The injuries did slow me down so my speeds weren't improving as quickly as they had been. By day 23 I got had gotten my time down to 8 and a half minutes. Also my knees began to hurt a lot more.

I decided at this point to just keep running, work on my breathing and then try to give it all on day 30. For my day 30 run I started at and 8 mile per hour pace for the first half mile. Then I bumped it up to 8.5 for a quarter of a mile and on the final quarter I kicked it up to 9 miles per hour and for the last 200 meters finished at 10 miles per hour.

My lungs were burning, but the accomplishment I felt was amazing. I finished at just a little over a 7 minute mile.

at 17 years old I was running a 6 minute 45 second mile, so seeing how im nearly 20 years older and 50 pounds heavier this was a huge win, and I am very happy with how far I cam in 30 days.

I didn't lose any weight during this challenge, mostly because I was less active than normal because of the nagging injuries. I tried to rest as much as I could for the next day. That being said, I actually felt amazing. I noticed a big difference with my breathing. I feel like I am getting more oxygen with each breath now and really feel great!

When I started this challenge I really wanted to run a 5K race, so I decided to run one, virtually on my treadmill, with the goal of finishing it without stopping. I was able to finish it with a time of 32 minutes. I really feel that I could improve on this, especially once some of my aches and pains subside. Now I have a new goal I can work towards!

[SimpleManChannel]

Thanks for watching my video, I hope it motivates! Also, I'm so close to 100K subscribers, if you haven't subscribed yet I'd be thrilled if you would!

[beastmry]

12 mins to 7 mins is amazing progress! Very inspirational. I currently can do a mile in about 15 mins. My year end goal was a 10 min mile, but seeing you do it in a month, I'm both envious and inspired

[RealNumbersRreal]

Cool to see an average joe out there getting it done and trying new things. The editing is getting better and better as well!

[stilllmkp]

tried this challenge a year ago (age 16 )
day 1: could run a mile in 13 minutes which was poor for my age
finished the 30 days with a personal best of 6:54 minutes

[magdalenawalton]

Running is fun! Everyone can progress very quickly. The secret is to start slow and stay consistent. CONSISTENCY!

[goofball]

A few months ago my PR was 9:13 now it’s 6:49. I’m a 15 year old girl and I’ve trained extremely hard

[stephencorey]

This is so inspiring. I was really impressed how you went from a 12 minute mile to a 7 minute mile in just 30 days. I used to run everyday in highschool to train for the wrestling team, but I haven't gone running regularly in over 20 years. I just started 2 months ago and got my weight down from 230 to 207. I still can't pull off a 7 minute mile though. After seeing this, I feel inspired to push harder. Thanks for the inspiration.

[sosadude]

This is some inspiration right here. Keep it going. Enjoy your videos

[sec]

Like you I started a daily running routine. Started at 1 mile a day and a few months later bumped to two miles.

Started January 3rd, 2023 and haven’t missed a day. Hit 400 consecutive on February 7th 2024.

Still going strong

[Moo_is_cute]

this was great! i dont think i would be able to go straight into running like that so instead i'll just walk at a brisk pace for an hour everyday, thanks for the inspo!

[MovedbyTruth]

That's, honestly, a great improvement. Feeling really motivated right now. Just ordered myself some Nike Pegasus' and am going to get back into it after not running for years.

If you're still running I just wanted to share that taking one Krill Oil pill a day helps a lot to prevent injuries. It gives you better blood flow, lubricates your joints, is great for your heart and overall cardiovascular health, and is *vastly* superior to fish oil.

Also, as far as weight loss is concerned you typically start to see it after the 2 month mark. When I used to run I started because I weighed 270lbs. I didn't see any weight loss until 2 months in and was told that it's common because you add a lot of muscle in the beginning (from your legs all the way up to your lower back) and muscle weighs more than fat. Even though my pants were fitting looser my weight was the same. After 2 months I was weighing a couple lbs less every week and ended up losing 80lbs over the course of a year and a half without dieting.

So I don't really buy the adage of not being able to outrun a bad diet. Especially since long distance runners will eat 6, 000+ calories a day and remain very thin. If you're a serious runner your body will burn off pretty much anything you put in it. (Of course, having a good diet is always a good thing and will help a lot with weight-loss and overall health.)

[jaypan]

Running is an important skill for yourself, your lungs and heart! Good job!

[thomasdonahue]

As someone who work in healthcare for nearly their entire career and is a fitness Enthusiast you do an outstanding job, great realistic information, keep it simple stupid ( KISS ) and in your case the beauty of your presentations in their simplicity and realism, also great that you give a baseline starting point for each of your Fitness endeavors, everyone should be watching your Channel, hope you continue with your productions !

[tacoonblitz]

Thank you for uploading this on the first day of the month.

[maximilianjohandson]

The reason you get pain in your muscles is because you're landing on your heel. You should land on the ball of your feet. It takes a while, but it is definitely worth it to learn to run correctly.

[aaronb]

Your videos are awesome and very motivational. I started running a little last summer and worked my way up to a mile. Before the holidays, I purchased a treadmill and worked up to three miles. I’ll definitely need to try the 30 day mile a day challenge. Thank you for the videos, and keep up the great work!

[bklynman]

You have no idea how much this motivated me, thanks brother…truly thank you for this video

[aeronautisch]

Awesome! Since december/january I've been running for the first time ever, as part of recovering from a second recent knee surgery and in part of preparing for the army. I'm at the point where I can run 4-5km thru the woods and stopping only once or twice. I seriously want to have a better condition as well as run 2.4km in 12 min (1.5 miles). So seeing this vid come out is a great motivational booster and as always it's to the point and informative. Shin splints, knee pain, you just gotta run it off! lol. Just don't forget active stretching throughout the day, this helped me and I no longer have any running related ailments (thus far).

[marcelomartins]

Great video. You are truly an inspiration. Keep up!

[marigold]

Hi, I'm 13 years old and I've always wanted to just start running, honestly I would, but your neighborhood looks so quiet and peaceful and every where I turn I see SOMEONE from my school, also, I have a big family at home so I find it hard to get a private place to start working out, I'm sure many people my age can agree, but congrats on your hardwork! :)