How to Run MORE Mileage (safely!)

Run more, increase your mileage, and become a faster runner!
Plan weekly mileage: bit.ly/3bfLSNv
Season planner: bit.ly/31kmGz5
How to increase mileage: bit.ly/2J23QFD
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!
Be sure to plan your season effectively with our free Season Planner worksheet. Get it now: bit.ly/31kmGz5
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.
Visit strengthrunning.com/ to see their award-winning blog, free email courses, and full library of training programs and coaching services.
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[@jingyuzhang8646]

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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@paulkurgat7985]

afaaa

[@paulkurgat7985]

afaaa

[@john4437]

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

[@ahmedkhedr776]

nice dynamic warmup and stretches in intro

[@paxundpeace9970]

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.

[@MK-tk8tb]

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

[@JasonFitzgerald]

You monster!!!

[@DWNY358]

I think an Amazon warehouse would be more suitable

[@robertmelendez6677]

Great info as usual!

[@studiokmrphotography]

This is great information. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@Mila-fj1fy]

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

[@jeffreyharrison4045]

Well said! Thanks!

[@pamcar5167]

Great tips Thank you

[@MrDfresh90]

Do you have a list of the books? Love the channel and podcast!

[@jayantnagarkar1018]

Great information & tips./ stressful way run. thanq

[@christopherbrand5360]

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.

[@paxundpeace9970]

This does work for lower volume but for higher volume this would increase to quickly.

[@SeeChadRun]

[looking at your shirt] I ran the Backcountry Wilderness half in 2020. No pancakes, but the run was a lot of fun. I wish I had brought my action camera (only did a race recap video on my channel). Anyways, great feedback and thoughts on running more mileage!!! I love running in the 50-70 miles per week (6 days a week. Always take Sunday's off). My only downfall is listening to my body and taking an extra rest day occasionally. LOL!

[@riaancoetzer9015]

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.

[@paxundpeace9970]

You pushing to hard running up to 80 km shows that you were capable or maybe still be capable to run it lot. Anyway those increases are to sharp 5km more ever two weeks is to much. This 10 additional kilometers in less then a month. That is to much just calculate from your base mileage of 50km per week = 220km per month If you would increase your mileage like you said for every two weeks by 5K then you would Get 50 55 55 60 (20)= 240 km in the first month and alreaedy 60 65 65 70 (20)= 280 km with in the second month.

[@bojabang2188]

Great video

[@paxundpeace9970]

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.

[@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.

[@johnlong1100]

Good tip. I will try this

[@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

[@JasonFitzgerald]

Thank you! Though I certainly don't edit these myself!

[@DonGivani]

If you run 80 km a week and you are in your forties or older, even consider 10 percent increase a month

[@matthewgreenidge172]

Top Coach

[@JasonFitzgerald]

Oh stop ;)

[@runspace]

2:00 You got the concept wrong! The 10%-rule doesn't mean you HAVE to add 10% every week, you can add 1% if you like!

[@StrengthRunning]

lol sure, like I don't understand the 10% rule...

[@stuartholmes4414]

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

[@roustabout4fun]

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

[@JasonFitzgerald]

That's a great idea when the roads are snowy. Just slow it down, keep it easy, and you'll be ready when it's clearer out there.

[@patternsandrhythms]

Thankssss

[@michaelhodgens6160]

Do recommend building mileage say for 3-4 weeks then back off for a week or two the start building again?

[@usmansamoo2361]

great

[@claranumberone]

I have been a beginner for loooooong time! I just run 25 miles or less per week. 🙁

[@keybearer26]

Do what you can homie, little victories make big gains! Happy running

[@christopherbrand5360]

If you’ve been doing it for a loooooong time, you’re hardly a beginner. You are a seasoned low-volume athlete :)

[@Kelly_Ben]

Nothing wrong with that! I race 50ks with an average training week of 25 miles. Am I breaking records? Nope. But I'm having a blast, I'm rarely ever injured, and doing things I never thought I could. I simply don't have the time to run more, especially while keeping up with minimum strength and mobility work.

[@JasonFitzgerald]

You're not a beginner, then! You're in a good position to start running a little more. Give it a go :)

[@claranumberone]

@@JasonFitzgerald Thanks! I will do it. I love running. :)

[@haydencoffman2410]

Baseline mileage: 9-10 miles a week lol 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@alancooke6630]

How many weeks should I do a specific mileage to confirm it is my baseline. Are you taking accumulative fatigue after, say, 3 or 4 weeks to discover it is above, or should it be how I feel at the end of the first week?

[@soccergalsara]

i think he means kind of what you're used to. so mine was 40-45 for a year or more, but knew my body was craving higher mileage but due to injury couldnt' . went to 50-55 and by 2-3 weeks felt like a bit too much (but this was with marathon training runs which were new too me), but stuck to it and absolutely fine. so by 6-8 weeks that's my new baseline. just listen to your body alot. your body knows. e.g I thought I was bit tired, but went to do inteval sessions when I thought I didn't have it, and smashed them still.

[@hannesaltenfelder4302]

What I see often is, that beginners, once they see results(after 1-3month), they become so motivated, that they want to increase their mileage a lot (like 50% or even 80%). But their bones/tissues are not ready for that and they overtrain. One thing you can do with your new power is to keep your heartrate a bit higher for longer during each day. I do that by "running" 30min every day extra on top of my normal training. BUT in a very slow pace only 15 steps in one direction, turn around, 15 steps back. Why? It is like a super slow interval training and you can use a metronom to get used to higher cadence. (My "slow cadence" is 176 at a speed of 8min/km, sometimes even slower). Benefits: you lower your heart rate you increase your cadence (I started with 165) you can focus on some form factors like a straight spine, foot placement, breathong etc.) You work on your base fitness and loose fat. You easily experience runner's high. (For me it is more meditation than a workout, I sometimes did this for 2hours). You get rid of the lactate, you might have build up with your normal training. You constantly adapt your tissues/bones to a new training load in a very gentle way. By running only 15 steps you do not accidentaly run too fast when you reach runner's high.

[@filipinoaye1494]

This guy is a fucking boss

[@Prateek_474]

Sir I am from India my age is 14 and I am tranning for 1500m and 3000m I can run 95km to 100km normally and my highest milage is 120km so sir should I need to increase my weekly milage or it is ok

[@elistewart1780]

I think you are good dude. Your longest race is 3k, assuming you are running 6 days a week that's up to 20km per day. Seems like overkill to run a 20k when prepping for a 3k race.

[@gaythugsmatter7029]

Were it so easy

[@juanseaforth5111]

First!!

[@syrphilipgulmatico5352]

My limit is 1.5 miles😢 ... 4.5 miles per week

[@StrengthRunning]

That's a self-imposed limit. Middle schoolers run more than that and you can, too!

[@syrphilipgulmatico5352]

@@StrengthRunning im trying interval training right now to get the speed and stamina... I previously had a stress fracture and chronic Posterior shin splints when i tried boot camp(that i failed because i suck at running). Hopefully after interval training i can build enough strength to do longer runs at a faster pace.

[@syrphilipgulmatico5352]

@@StrengthRunning i iust dont know if I understand how running works or just my body just sucks at it. 🥲... I did improve from getting shin splints running for a minute to being able to run 1.5 miles per run without too much shin pain

[@Mr.Unknown2099]

I only have a week bruh💀

[@jumpropestairs6129]

Or jog.

[@jarrodcordova9538]

Lame.

[@goitsemodimomorakile2562]

Thank you for sharing,my challenge after running 23km I suffered tibialis anterior on my right leg🙏🫶