How Much Does Mileage Matter?

Distance Runners Can Become Fixated on Weekly Mileage, Often to Their Detriment.

- Matt Long

RACKING up the miles is part and parcel of developing the aerobic energy system for any endurance athlete. But there are two opposite schools of thought about how best it should be done. One camp insists that training should involve a high volume of work designed to overload the system, the other camp that ‘less is more’ –the quality of what you do is far more important than the quantity.

So just how much does mileage really matter? Are you doing more or less than is necessary? There is no straightforward answer and much depends on your genetics and individual strengths and weaknesses. But to help pick your way through the maze of training advice, we’ve consulted four leading experts for the ultimate advice. They are:

Spencer Duval: represented GB in the steeplechase at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He is now England Athletics national coach mentor lead – endurance.

Andy Butchart: impressed greatly with his sixth place in the Rio Olympic 5000m.

Pippa Woolven: has been a regular GB international of late over the country.

Charlie Spedding: famously bagged a London marathon victory and Olympic bronze in 1984. He now manages the website: loseamillionpounds.com

Their collective wisdom leaves us with eight golden rules to follow.

Rule 1 – Avoid junk mileage: “Mileage does matter but only appropriate mileage,” says Duval. “Being efficient and capable of sustaining a certain pace is more important”.

Woolven agrees: “I try not to get too hung up on it. I don’t really believe in doing ‘junk miles’”. 

Rule 2 – Periodise your training: This is something many athletes get wrong. Yet periodising your training into distinct blocks and tapering before competition will help with your long-term development.