3 Easy Ways to Run Higher Mileage

Season Planner: bit.ly/31kmGz5
Baseline Mileage: bit.ly/3706RBf
Plan Weekly Mileage: bit.ly/3bfLSNv
Running higher mileage is one of the surest ways to become a faster runner. More mileage - or a higher weekly volume - builds aerobic fitness and your capacity for speed.
In this video, coach Jason Fitzgerald discusses strategies for gradually building your ability to run higher weekly running mileage.
To help you plan your season, use our free worksheet: bit.ly/31kmGz5
Jason Fitzgerald is a USATF running coach, 2:39 marathoner, and the founder of Strength Running (one of the web's most popular running blogs and coaching businesses). A member of the Greatist Expert Network, he's also the 2017 Men's Running Magazine's Influencer of the Year and a contributor to Competitor Magazine, Active, Runner's World, Lifehacker, and other major media.
Visit strengthrunning.com/ to learn more about barefoot running, getting faster, injury preventing, and lifting for speed.
Twitter: / jasonfitz1
Instagram: / jasonfitz1
Facebook: / strengthrunning

[@loner007]

Recap @ 9:25 1. Know your baseline mileage 2. Gradually increase your mileage every two weeks 3. Every 4 to 6 weeks, include a recovery week by reducing mileage by 10 to 25%

[@blackbird5634]

You're a godsend Carlo, I hate watching ten-fifteen minutes of video if I can just get the ''straight dope'' from someone who ''jumped on the grenade'' and watched it already. Thanks.

[@jimoconnor8597]

Making sure you keep the easy miles easy is also very important when you start moving up in miles. (57yr old 40-60mpw)

[@aribbonatatime]

Why am I watching this. I'm doing good to run 6 miles a week lol

[@gm2407]

6 miles a week is laping everyone who doesn't run.

[@wekky420ranarr]

I found that as I increased from 35 to just under 50 miles a week, I required more strength training, mobility work, and even more creative cross-training.

[@markphilpottultra]

As an Ultra runner I prefer to measure time on feet than to worry about mileage. Easier to increase mileage mentally by adding "mins" to the run and one doesnt get hung up on trying to obtain a certain mileage every week. Just my two cents worth that works for me.

[@Kelly_Ben]

I'm on my first ever recovery week. I've been running for almost 30 years, but only started pushing myself in training this summer- instead of slacking, then being disappointed in myself with race results. Your channel has helped me so much this summer in becoming a 'real' runner!

[@felcynchannel840]

I’m 16 and on my highschool cross country team. I’m running around 30-40 miles a week. Thank you

[@aidanmcmullan9351]

Cross country training is starting to get harder. Had a dip week at 25, then jumped up to 35 for the first time, and felt fine. The next week (right now), I’m getting shin splints and can barely run. I’m hoping I can recover soon

[@MrEsPlace]

I’m up to 50 miles a week and before too long, 60 miles. I’m not too conservative about how I increase my mileage. I do like you said and will maintain a specific distance for a while and when I’m not really feeling like I’m getting any benefits from it, I'll pick an arbitrary number and go for that. So my daily run was around 6 miles for about 2.5 months, with a 10 mile long run on Saturday. Eventually the 10 mile run didn't really get my goat anymore either. So, instead of pace, I I bumped the miles. Now I’m at 9.6 miles a day and around a half marathon on Saturday. That leaves me comfortably tired. Pace stays steady and easy, just going further. Not in a rush, but there's no slack either. I pick a pace and hold it there from beginning to end. Diet matters so much more with this mileage. 9.6 miles a day is taxing.

[@SamWynne]

36 this week as I ramp up to 40 for the FIRST time next week! I’m still feeling really comfortable, but I’ll keep this strategy in mind when things start to get tough. Thanks coach!

[@SeeChadRun]

Really great feedback and suggestions! Thank you! Over the last 2.5 years, I've worked my way up from less than 10 miles a week to 60-70 miles a week (sustained +/- depending on life, recovery needs, etc.) while remaining injury free. It's worth mentioning that as I increased the weekly mileage (more of a natural increase vs strategic for me), I've also had to ensure that more of my miles are 'easy running' and that I take time to stretch and message. In addition, for further improvement, I also had to 'change it up', meaning not all my runs are created equal. Some are slow easy, some have hills, some are tempo paced, a few are intervals, others trail runs, etc.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

Why not use hours instead of mileage? Not everyone runs at the same speed! 20 miles could be 3.5 hours for one person and 2 hours for another!

[@HS-fm9kv]

Been enjoying your clips, and finding them very useful. Gone from couch to 26km runs in 12 months (lost 20kg too). Cross country and trail runs around Sydney Harbour and the National Parks around the city!

[@jordangregory4634]

this is such good advice, and something I really needed to hear as I'm getting back into running after a few months off and am building up my weekly kms again.

[@gabesalvador]

Love the tips Coach! Great content and straightforward as usual!

[@DobBylan_]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!

[@40hills1]

Amazing stuff... This is exactly the way I have started to approach it. Excellent advice. Just subscribed 👍

[@AlecMerlino]

*Who else thinks Jason is great at explaining this!? Really awesome video Jason!* *I need to focus more on recovery for sure and or tapering down.*

[@JasonFitzgerald]

I appreciate you :)

[@juanseaforth5111]

Thanks for this great video super helpful.

[@evan-kylelardinois2729]

My baseline is 20-25 miles and I'm a triathlete. I recently started a run build and did 35.5 miles last week. It's now Wed and I feel I am still recovering. I have ran 9 miles this week and tried to recover a bit thru now. Next 4 days I will run. Fingers crossed I keep adapting!

[@franciscacleidesoaresbarbo3046]

Thanks for your service Sir.

[@ayandutta1136]

Thanks Jason.... Lovely tips....

[@SamJones046]

Such great advice, running easy over high mileage is just so good for you. Consistency!

[@reieli87]

Keep up the great content, im a new runner and your videos have been very helpful 😊

[@StoneRunning23]

Great insight and motivation coach! Easing the miles up after 2 months of inactivity.. looking forward to fall amd getting some races in! Thanks! 👍👍

[@ultra_lux]

Great advice, Jason! Thanks for sharing this. Definitely helpful for my training.

[@yijuntey]

I love the way u approach this topic and it sounds a lot more realistic than what a lot of other ppl suggest. Def will give those strategies a try. Thanks!

[@deltasierra9399]

Very well explained!

[@hectorcornejo2956]

extremely helpful, thank you so much

[@UnityInReps]

Loved this video!

[@kylekermgard]

Adding in more frequent short super easy runs helped me safely builld up my mileage.

[@cameronmueller2128]

Thanks for these excellent tips even for someone who is experienced its nice to hear this again!

[@stevenneal9699]

Thanks for making these videos! I love watching your KZbin videos and listening to your podcast

[@JasonFitzgerald]

Thanks Steven, really appreciate that!

[@anilpanta1505]

Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@cikgumohdrazif8520]

I really like your explanation. It really seems achievable for beginner like me. Keep it up Jason.

[@johnhicks7122]

Always looking for tips on running for 80+ guys. Thanks for the base line mileage info, now I should have a more organize plan, thanks

[@jayantnagarkar1018]

Nice information great

[@jamesongaertner9416]

Thanks Coach Jason! My strategy over this summer was similar to these tip and I made massive gains in fitness.

[@JasonFitzgerald]

Awesome to hear

[@nivaldolemos5280]

best running channel out there!

[@cheryllanphier1023]

Thank you

[@neilmcloughlin9982]

Thanks Coach! Due to Covid I was forced to stop travelling the world and go into quarantine. Getting back into the workforce has been slow going so I took the chance to take my running to a different level and used many of your videos for guidance. I'm really happy to see times coming down and mileage increasing without injury, following many of your principles. Jan 10-15 miles p/w. 5km ParkRun in 20 mins. l Apr 40 miles p/w. 5km in 18.16 l Jun 50 miles p/w. 5km in 17.40 & Half Marathon in 1.27. l Aug 75 miles p/w. 10km in 35.25. I'm 31 years old and I'm aiming now to hold 75 miles per week and record some good times for 5k (sub 17), Half Marathon (sub 1.20) and pick a Marathon date. I'd love to get into the sub-elite level and compete in half marathons and marathons at some point. Thanks for your help!

[@TirnanHealy]

That’s crazy that you could increase that fast. Have you have people running experience?

[@Mrdaci1985]

I love those plants in the backgroud ❤

[@VitorCaldeira1980]

funny thing is that while i was running 60miles average for many years i was never able to run a fast 5k. In the last 4 weeks i start to run 30miles average and in my first 5k test i was able to run 5k in 19m35s. not a big deal but for me it was a great achievement. Now my next goal is to run a sub 19min 5k. Only when i improve my shorter distances will i start training for a marathon

[@theorushinjr9023]

Great Video and Suggestions!! Thanks :) So what can I do if I would like to increase my weekly mileage but find that I cannot (or is very difficult) due to ... 1) Most of the time I run with my wife who has a slower pace and much lower mileage. She has no desire to increase her mileage like I do. 2) Time: Between my job, running with my wife, strength-based workouts, other responsibilities, and sleep I simply can't find the time My current schedule: 5k on Tues and Thurs, resistance training on Mon, Wed, and Fri, 10K and cycling (cross training) on Sat. Rest Day on Sun. I would love to double my mileage - at least.

[@trofee8]

@5min happend to me got injured for 3 months.. took me 1.5 to come back to my old level.

[@ben_365]

Some really good tips there, thank you. I particularly like the idea of concentrating on monthly mileage as opposed to weekly mileage... I may need to sacrifice some Strava ego for that one 😃

[@yankaitan8648]

great video :D

[@Ben-yw8be]

I have a par mileage of 30 miles a week and it stays the same. The thing I do is move the mileage around based on certain weeks. For example: one week would be 3 miles easy, 3 miles tempo pace, and 24 miles long run = 30 miles. The next week: 3 miles speed work, 3 miles easy, 4 miles tempo, and 20 miles long run. Another week would be 5 miles easy, 5 miles easy, 5 miles tempo, and 15 miles long run. My recuperation is much faster with this. It’s about the quality of the runs for me. Better recovery = better quality running. Injury is also lessened quite a bit. I have not increased the mileage either.

[@eelviss777]

Hey man! Nice vid!

[@JasonFitzgerald]

Hey man! Nice comment! 😆Appreciate it

[@NeillyVille]

I'm comfortable doing 30-35 miles (easy, tempo, long runs) a week. Anything more than that, my body and legs feel tired and heavy.

[@JasonFitzgerald]

Through fatigue, comes fitness.

[@jorbo7116]

@@JasonFitzgerald true most of my runs are with heavy legs, but yea if i still gain fitness, and then taper for fresh legs for a race or something

[@zacharyfaulkner8503]

Would love a video on how to run a 1.30 half marathon!

[@giovanbattistafichera8439]

you don't need a video to say "mileage!"

[@sillymesilly]

Barefoot mechanic and run easy while having fun.

[@jasonbotting3666]

I'll 2nd that request. In my 40s and stuck at 1.40s halfs would love to get that last 10min off my pb

[@alexismisselyn3916]

@@jasonbotting3666 well how many miles are you running per week? For me long easy runs have made it alot easier to keep a steady and fast pace on half marathon races

[@jasonbotting3666]

@@alexismisselyn3916 about 70km. 30 km trail run a half marathon on ether the beach or road and 2x 10km runs.

[@nicolepetersohn3948]

I love that monstera!!

[@StrengthRunning]

Thank you for noticing :)

[@loganfishbeard]

I've found myself in an couch to 100k situation this year and being in my 30's I am blow away at how fast my body is adapting to higher mileage. After the second week of ramping up I noticed I was no longer sore after an easy run and now at about week 5ish I find myself increasing the intensity of the rough workout plan I download. As I start looking at 60 mile weeks I am now wondering if I should be focusing a bit more on strength training over increasing mileage. There's not a ton of elevation change around my house(@2k ft) but race will have 12k vert @8-10k ft. Any advise from ultra veterans would be kindly accepted.

[@Miketheswerunner]

My base miles last year was 28 miles. I tried to bump it up to 40 now last weeks but got heel spare and shin splint right now. I have 16 weeks to my goal marathon so i have some time to rest/recover. What tips would you give me to comeback from the injuries. I Will try to do more and longer elliptical woekouts to try keep the training going. How would you do for the first 6 weeks coming back? Thank you for the amazing videos and podcast ❤

[@proximacentaur1654]

rock solid advice. thanks coach!

[@foiledagainjim9129]

I doubt if you'll see this. I'm 70 years old and live in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. I won the Soar and Vert in the Mile High Stair Climb a couple of months ago in my age group. Then two weeks ago I won Cooper River Bridge Run that had 168 runners in my age group. I run every other day and do an active rest day between those days. My mileage is not very high. I do a long run once every eight days, usually up South Tabletop Mt. 10-12 miles. My active rest days are aqua-jogging in the pool, four mile walk, some weight room stuff. I'm flexible. If the trails are mud, snow, and ice I go to the gym. If I'm feeling froggy and the weather is nice I might throw in a tougher run. A lot of times I have no idea where I'm going or how much mileage I will run, I wing it. My opinion is mileage is not very relevant to performance. I love trail running. I hate pounding pavement. Tell me exactly which is better: a long flat boring pavement run, say 12 miles, or a fun, challenging trail run with elevation gain of six miles. I'll chose the six mile run every time. Thus, I don't get the mileage but I sure get strong and fast. I don't have a lot of respect for mileage.

[@StrengthRunning]

Why say, "I'll doubt if you'll see this?"

[@foiledagainjim9129]

Foiled Again Jim I've made comments on other KZbin channels and 100% of the time they have been ignored. Thank you for at least reading my comment. Have a great and wonderous day.

[@elistewart1780]

Hey I am coming off am injury, took almost 2 months off to really rest and rehab it. What should my weekly routine look like, how much should I reduce my mileage and speed? How should I ramp back up to where I was?

[@rileyjoseph2941]

So after taking a down week, can you jump back up to the weekly mileage level that you were at before the down week, or should it be more gradual?

[@JasonFitzgerald]

After just one down week, you can go right back to where you were (or even a slight increase).

[@travelnostalgia23]

Please help me in this topic.... As i am a beginer i try to run mkre and more kilometers and dont do any speed session and get injured. Iwant to ask you.... Should i follow some plans or just run 4km, 5km everyday and later go on plan.?

[@LadyoAbigail]

Wow. Thank you!

[@lisarunsfast7368]

Ive increased this summer to 40 miles a week. Mostly moderate paced running. Should I be running slower? What do you think of low heart rate training. I was often tired at 40 miles, but it did get better after several weeks. Although I feel overall I’m running slower in my mind. Thank you for so many great tips!

[@JasonFitzgerald]

I'd just make sure you have a few "easy" or "very easy" runs in there per week. You can't run moderate all the time, just like you shouldn't run hard or easy all the time either!

[@SMKHEMI]

Sorry that was not clear for me on how to apply this advice. I have struggled with increasing weekly mileage for the last few years. When I try to increase greater than 35 miles then I start having shin splints. @strengthrunning do you have examples of how to apply this to someone with base mileage of 30 to 35 miles?

[@gorytv9847]

Last year I peaked at 45 miles per week. This year I’m moving up to the 60 mile mark. Anything above 50 and my legs are heavy every day. I’ve been over 50 for 4 weeks already and I’m still feeling fatigue ☠️

[@1brunner699]

Sounds like it would be a good time for a drop back week (or two).

[@ichimarugin3352]

I'm new to running, very slow runner, averaging 7.30/km pace. Currently on a base building only routine, total 7 hours of running per week, averaging around 50km per week. That includes a 2.06 hour long run, 84 minutes medium run, & 42 minutes short run, 6 days a week. Is is advisable for me to increase my running duration, ie increase from 7 hours to 8-10 hours of running per week (thus increasing my daily run duration, 3 hours long run etc) in order to increase my mileage & improve performance?

[@bigflat1238]

This is not far off what I have started doing ,trying to avoid injuries ,but x training must surely be an option

[@Ben-yw8be]

I only increased 5% every 1-2 weeks. Zero injuries. Less niggles. Less mental fatigue. I can run 6 days a week.

[@tylernero6671]

Few things that have help me. 1. Listen to your body, especially when you're feeling beat up. 2. Mileage is only part of the load equation. Pace, vert, terrain... also affect it. 3. Run every day. 4. To encourage your down week plan something after it is over e.g. FKT or time trial

[@mrdavester]

My body says dont run every day

[@jasonbotting3666]

I found it better on my body by incorporating trail running and beach runs instead of just pavement. Makes in more interesting and fun as well

[@MoonLight-qw8sz]

Don’t run everyday unless you are running atleast 70 miles per week easily and know what your doing

[@beebsman4331]

How does weekly mileage increase factor in to say a marathon training plan that peaks and then tapers off? Is this type of increase separate from that? More for just your baseline mileage? And then if you increase your baseline mileage how high should your marathon training plan mileage be from that? For example should a marathon training peak at say 20% more mileage than your baseline?

[@kishorkunal21]

Please also mention KMs in your videos

[@eriksteenkamp3621]

Especially easy milage

[@mortensigurdwestgaardbrua405]

Doesn't the 10% rule says to increase by 10% of your average weekly mileage for the past four weeks? That is way less aggressive than a 10% increase from last week.

[@alexanders4911]

Measure time instead of miles...

[@stolts34]

I'm comfortable with 8-10 miles a week. I did 20 a week last year. How many average people run 30 miles a week? That's over 4 miles, seven days a week. Are they doing a 15 mile long run and a few shorter runs? Are they doing at least two strength sessions a week? Do they have any recovery days? I'm not trying to be a wiseguy, I just want to understand how the average Joe/Joan can get those many miles in a week. Maybe because I'm slow (11:00 pace on average)? I guess it has to be more doable if you are running 8:00 and under paces.

[@StrengthRunning]

It's pretty simple. Most runners are running between 20-35 mpw in 4-5 days of running with one longer run.

[@derhak727]

Planning to do a US crossing in 2 years... so I REALLY gotta up my mileage lol

[@jasonbotting3666]

Fantastic bucket list goal. Good luck!

[@TheRealDanielTV]

How is the plan going

[@derhak727]

@@TheRealDanielTV im spending a lot of time on google maps lol

[@TheRealDanielTV]

@@derhak727 what sort of mileage are you on now? Best of luck for it😁😁

[@derhak727]

@@TheRealDanielTV about 60-70 miles a week

[@erichuifitness]

Critical mistake was not establishing my baseline

[@placeborhizomes6708]

What I like about Strength Running is how down-to-earth his advice is. For instance, his advice about cadence is the right advice for beginner and intermediate runners.

[@JasonFitzgerald]

James! Thank you.

[@giovanbattistafichera8439]

Honestly, I don't understand the concept of "tune-up races". If, say, I run a 10k before a half, isn't the recovery time from that 10K race going to affect the next days of the training week?

[@StrengthRunning]

Yes, but so will a workout or long run. Every other athlete plays multiple games or competes more than once in a season... what is there not to understand?

[@giovanbattistafichera8439]

​@@StrengthRunning I'm just wondering whether they're better than just training without racing before the target race.

[@hankvinson5967]

I'll increase when the races aren't canceled!!! Next year? 2021? Who knows!!!

[@bigflat1238]

Yes 24 is what I am aiming at ,but I will also cycle,skip ,swim,my training log mm ,think that is underneath all the rubbish in my car,

[@feargalbuckley1559]

To reinforce what you said I want put the "10% a week" concept in to perspective. Assume you never took a rest week, and start at 30 miles per week. By adding 10% every week for 20 weeks you will be running over 200 miles by week 20. This is obviously not a realistic improvement for any one. Milage increases take time. With increases like this you would soon be running more hours in a week then there are hours in the week!!

[@MoonLight-qw8sz]

Ya he said only use that rule in the beginning

[@dirtymike3329]

Lol

[@UshaRani-vu5pk]

My only single problem is breathing heavy

[@trinigyul7507]

I run 20 miles a week

[@garwill2032]

♥️♥️

[@newbeginnings9457]

Tape ears back for less wind resistance! Lol just playing! I appreciate the info Sir!

[@JamesGoodrich7]

Mileage doesn't tell the whole story, elevation gain/loss is an important metric as well. 50 miles with a lot of gain/loss goes further in my mind than 65 with little to no gain/loss.

[@ke8mattj]

More of an anecdote, but I agree with you. When I was doing higher mileage without much elevation, I had worse performances. When I cut down on the miles but added elevation, I got better. I also felt a lot less burned out.

[@StrengthRunning]

Yes, but that simply isn't what this video is about. And 90% of runners don't run enough vert to bother even tracking it...

[@JamesGoodrich7]

@@StrengthRunning yes but you still talked about it like mileage was the main factor. Also, vert can replace some of the mileage. I disagree, many trail runners track vert; I'll routinely hit 3-5k of gain every week.

[@JamesGoodrich7]

@@ke8mattj I absolutely feel the same! Elevation gain/loss plays so much of a factor and I don't think people realize that

[@StrengthRunning]

@@JamesGoodrich7 Mileage IS the main metric to track in training for majority of runners. Vert is niche and doesn't apply to 98% of runners. "Many trail runners track vert" doesn't mean anything.

[@dlowlow72]

Mileage

[@kairyu9905]

This didn't help me in Cookie Run: Kingdom :(

[@Humannn8ss8]

Increasing milage at 10% every two weeks will take forever 🤯

[@raynerussell7998]

Yup! Takes alot of time and hard work

[@Chaudharys1]

He could have summarised it in 1 min

[@ihateeveryoneontheearth.an2023]

Go away donkey

[@JasonFitzgerald]

@@ihateeveryoneontheearth.an2023 lol

[@filiptomas3658]

You summarize it in a minute if you are capable.