Summary: Why you may not need to run 20 miles? The most common questions that we hear when athletes start a marathon training cycle: “How many 20 mile runs will I do before the race?” There is nothing magical about a 20 mile run. Lets dig deeper…..The most important thing to consider when training for anything would be individual differences. Every single person is different. Everyone has different natural ability, training experience and goals. You should train specific to your background! Not for someone else. There is such a thing as diminishing returns. That is the point where the training is no longer productive and is actually counter-productive. Are long runs important to marathon training? Improved VO2 max Adaptation to utilize fat Increased muscle strength Increased energy stores What is the 10% rule? A widely accepted rule for mileage is to never increase by more than 10%. You never want to start a program that jumps your mileage drastically. Your risk for injuries like stress fractures jumps up with the volume increases. Your health and safety in a program is your number 1 priority. Slow and steady progressive overload wins. If you are not currently running more than 25-35 miles per week at the start of marathon training, we will have usually increase both mileage AND long runs immediately. The more variables to work on, the more stress we will be putting on your body. The more stress, the more careful we need to be with training!Increasing mileage is all about stress management. Give feedback to your coach and be honest with yourself. There is not a magic mileage number that will get you to XX marathon time.We have coached athletes to 3:30 marathons who peaked at 38 miles per week and athlete who peaked at 65 miles per week. There is no right or wrong way. The right way is the way your body responds best to! Potential Signs of ‘too much mileage’?
