Before you compare your journey and training calendar to someone else’s, know that the answer to this question depends on a variety of factors. Your running experience, fitness level, goals, schedule, and how well your body responds to training will all contribute to deciding and learning how many days of running per week works best for you.
There is no set number of days that every runner should follow and the most important thing is that you meet yourself where you are currently at in your running journey.
If you are just beginning your running journey or coming back to training after some time away, you may benefit from running three days a week. For some that have been running for longer, or for more experienced runners, five or six days a week of running may be their preferred amount. The important part of this is that the goal is not to run as often as possible, but to find a schedule that allows you to make progress while giving your body enough time to recover.
The best training load for you is going to be the one that you are recovering well from and the amount of running you are doing in your week contributes to that.
For beginners or those returning to running, three days of running per week is often a great starting point. Running places stress on the body because every step creates impact through the feet, ankles, knees, and hips. When you are new to running, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints all need time to adapt to this increased load. Running every day from the beginning can make it difficult to recover and may increase the likelihood of developing an overuse injury. Spreading out these three runs on nonconsecutive days will allow recovery time between sessions. Light to moderate cross-training or strength work are also activities that can help strengthen your body to prepare for the runs in your schedule.
Consistency is far more important than trying to run every day.
If you are beginning your running journey or coming back to a training plan, know that you do not need to run continuously. A run-walk approach can be an excellent way to build fitness up gradually! This approach allows the cardiovascular system and muscles to adapt without placing excessive stress on the body. The goal should be to establish a regular habit rather than trying to run as far or as fast as possible as soon as possible.
Once you have developed a consistent running routine, you may be ready to increase your frequency to four days a week. Four weekly runs can provide enough training volume to improve endurance while still aiding recovery. Keeping most runs at an easy conversational pace can make it easier to recover and allows you to handle a greater amount of training over time. With four runs in a week, one could be where there is a quality session in there with strides or speed work.
Remember, the best training load is going to be the one that you feel recovered from.
Runners who have more experience may choose to run five days per week. This can be useful for people preparing for long-distance races because it allows them to spread their weekly mileage across more sessions. Rather than chunking a large amount of miles into fewer weeks, runners can divide it into shorter, more manageable workouts. Five days of running does not mean five hard workouts. A typical week might include one long run, one speed session, two to three easy runs, and at least one complete rest day. A cross training or strength day can take place on that second day off running.
Some advanced runners may eventually run six days per week, especially when training for a marathon or longer-distance race. At this level, easy effort runs are crucial. The majority of weekly mileage is at this comfortable and lighter effort. A small portion is devoted to challenging workouts. Running six days a week can work well for an experienced athlete whose body has adapted to frequent training, but it is not necessary for everyone. More running only helps when the body can recover from it.
Running seven days a week is not necessary for most recreational runners. While elite athletes may use very frequent running as part of their training, running every day leaves less room for recovery and can make it harder to respond to fatigue or little niggles that can pop up. Taking at least one rest day each week can be beneficial, especially when you are increasing mileage or intensifying effort in workouts.
A rest day does not erase your progress. Recovery is part of the training process because your body needs time to repair itself and adapt to the stress of exercise.
Your goals should play a major role in determining how many days you run. If your primary goal is general health and fitness, three or four runs per week may be plenty. You can combine running with strength training, walking, cycling, swimming, or other activities to create a routine. If your goal is to lose weight, increasing overall activity may be more important than simply adding additional running days. A sustainable schedule that you enjoy and can maintain consistently is more useful than an aggressive routine that leaves you exhausted after a few weeks. In future blogs, we’ll explain what training loads for different race distances can look like, so if you have questions about how many weeks of running would be best for you, reach out to us at Pace of Me Coaching!
