How to Run MORE Mileage (safely!)

Run more, increase your mileage, and become a faster runner!

Weekly running mileage is one of the best indicators of how well someone will do in a race. Increasing weekly mileage is then very important for endurance runners so let's learn how to do it safely!

Jason Fitzgerald is a USATF running coach, 2:39 marathoner, and the host of the award-winning Strength Running Podcast. He's the 2017 Men's Running Magazine's Influencer of the Year and his work has appeared in Runner's World, Health Magazine, The Washington Post, Lifehacker, and other major media.

[jingyuzhang]

Took me a season from 30 miles per week + no speed workout to 40 miles per week + 2 workouts. Next season I will increase to 45 and then I will start my fall marathon training and hopefully can run 65 miles in my peak week.

[drtracyebarnes]

New to your channel. Thanks for the helpful info. I am a 68-year-old runner who continues to learn how to manage the weekly miles so as not to beat up an aging body.

[quengmingmeow]

An off-season build of 3 months or more is a great time to experiment with this.

I’m a firm believer in 3 weeks on/1 week de-load every single week of the year, in and out of season. It’s 3 weeks of miles, with the last 2 weeks both increasing mileage and/or intensity, then 1 week of de-load with 1/2 the mileage but same intensity (and replacing workout time with extra sleep). Then it’s back into the new block with week 1 being a carbon copy of the previous block’s week 3…..and then 2 more weeks of increase before de-load.

I used this last year to do my first 100 mile training week ever….and I am in my 40s. That last training block was all easy running….speed work seemed like it would be setting myself up for an injury, so I dialed that back while up in the mileage stratosphere. This week I began a new build with a 100 mile week targeted for the last week in May. Rinse and repeat!

[paxundpeace]

I would suggest to be even more steady with increasing mileage it is not a question of weeks but more like months or years.
You really only can tell if the mileage is good and sustainable if you to keep it as is for a longer time like 4 to 6 weeks maybe even longer.
Slightly to high mileage does have compound effect too.

Let it settle at a sustainable level and then do another increase a few months later or for sure next season.
It is like being overweight or driving to fast.

[john]

This is great and I wish I would’ve watched it a couple of weeks ago! Would’ve helped me avoid an injury.

[christopherbrand]

Definitely agree with doing increases as a percentage of “normal” or “comfortable “ training volume. The Jack Daniels rule about adding one mile per weekly running session every four weeks is a good thing to check against too. Both of these avoid the silly prescriptions for runners coming off a short break or laying down PR weekly mileage.

[riaancoetzer]

I certainly agree and personally disregard the 10% rule completely. I increase with 10km increments up to 50km/w and 5km every 2nd week from there. I could never get past 80km per week without injury so very hesitant to push beyond that.

[ahmedkhedr]

nice dynamic warmup and stretches in intro

[kitingholger]

As restarting running at +50: What helps me is to add a week of decreased mileage (~30%reduction) every 3-4weeks.
And increase total mileage very slowly overall- about 5% per months, depending on the planned races maybe even less.
Listening to the body and adapting (doing less!) is key.

[MK-tktb]

Love the wilderness trail in the opening clip. Would love to build some condos and a freeway in the area.

[sohfihamid]

Hi I just did my half marathon (The Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore) . This is my second participation since 2014. I have been apprehensive about going for the full marathon. But this mileage video is useful.

[xelionizer]

What people don't seem to get is that it doesn't HAVE to be 10% increase every week! It can be 3% or 7% as well! Also, a thing that has really helped me increase my weekly milage, was to keep an eye out for when my nickles started to worsen or new ones would pop up. Then I would dial it down a notch. Often I would take the periodization approach increasing by 3-5% for 3 weeks and the deloading the 4th week by about 20% relative to the week before. Sadly it's not a copy/paste thing, and we all have to listen to our bodies. If we don't we run the risk of injury.

[ultimatecleansolutions]

Im going to build in doubles. 3 in am 3 in pm x 6 days is the initial build phase.

[paxundpeace]

What helps is to run an additional only every second or even only every 4 weeks and to shorten then another run to get miles balanced.

[greenranger]

I run 4-6 miles a day which is what my body is comfortable with. I tried doing 7 miles a day but my knees didn't cooperate. I would love to be able to be able to run 10 miles a day.

[albibushi]

I usually run 5km on Sunday but this Sunday I felt great in terms of cardio. So i went for a 10 km only to feel my right leg knee numb out at 6.5-7km while on an incline segment. I managed to run 8 km (running slower, 7':30"/km) with a bit of pain on the right side of the right knee. I can walk pain-free and after resting the rest of the day i can climb stairs pain-free again but I wish I had watched this video (and others) before. I do regular weight training every third day with deadlifts and squats and lunges as well as core and upper body workouts split in two. days. The only thing that i changed other than the mileage were the sneakers. i managed to set a personal best on that run for 5 k but maybe i had to add 1-2 km at best since the track has some illusively challenging and long inclines.

[roustaboutfun]

Snowed in but raring to go...I plan to do the same mileage but at a comfortable pace for a week or two...if needed. older trail runner/hiker

[stuartholmes]

With step back weeks? (every 3rd or 4th week?)

[Candyapplebone]

Dude nice video editing skills, the intro on this was great. I hit 90 Miles last week and it was too much, so I’m gonna scale it back this week
Edit - prior week was 76, and I’ve been shooting for 60 mpw for 2 months

[digital-e]

Your vids are awesome, keep up the good work シ 🌿