One of the most common questions from novice runners is “how do I train to run further?” The best response I can think of is “one mile at a time”. When you look at most training plans for first time half marathoners and full marathoners, for example, you’ll see that a core component of training to run further is that your training scales in very small, incremental, and closely measured steps. The typical time needed to train for a half marathon for a novice runner is 2-3 months while the typical time needed to train for a full marathon by a first time marathoner is usually 4-6 months. In other words you’ll spend 8-12 weeks preparing to run 13.1 miles and 16-24 weeks to run 26.2 miles.

When looking at it that way you start to get the sense that becoming a long distance runner means adding 1 more mile per week onto your weekly long run. For example, by week 6 of training your long run could be 6 miles and by week 10 of training your long run could be 10 miles. That continues on until by week 20 of training you should be plenty prepared to run 20 miles, and in many cases novice runners are ready for a 20 mile race by week 16. In this article we’ll dive into a complete list of things to consider when training to run further and it all starts with setting the expectation that you just need to increase your effort slowly and surely by one mile at a time.

At the core of becoming a distance runner is a simple training plan that emphasizes a steady increase in mileage from one week to the next. The general rule of thumb that most running coaches suggest is that you should never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% from one week to the next. For example, if you run 20 miles this week don’t run any more than 22 miles next week. Below is an example training plan that a novice runner would receive if they signed up through a marathon training program like Team-in-Training or Aids Project Los Angeles:

It’s important to note that on the days of the week that are blank you shouldn’t always rest. You’ll want to incorporate a healthy amount of cross training, strength training, and a lot of stretching. We’ll get into that more later on in the article because they are all critical parts of training to run further.

In summary though one of the first things you should do when training to run further is write down a schedule like the one you see above and follow it as closely as possible. Do not increase your weekly mileage too much and also don’t go on long breaks between running (such as taking the entire week off) and then jumping off the couch to do a long run one day a week. You’ll need the shorter runs of 2-4 miles a piece during the week as your “maintenance runs” in order to maintain a base endurance level. The maintenance runs are also instrumental in working out any soreness and stiffness you may have from the long runs you do on weekends.

Long distance runs put a lot of stress on your body especially when it comes to the joints at your ankles, knees and hips. Preserving joint integrity can be aided by a solid strength training plan. What the strength training does in particular is build up the muscles surrounding your joints which increases the integrity of the joint itself because the surrounding muscles act as a support structure for the joints. For example, I read a recent study that showed that female basketball players are somewhere around 10x more likely to have an ACL tear in their knee because women are much less muscular by nature and the pattern of stopping, pivoting and changing direction rapidly in basketball puts a lot of strain on the knees. Without as much supporting muscle structure in the Quadricepts women tend to incur a lot of ACL tears.

Many running coaches would recommend at least two days a week of strength training for any runner. And with all strength training plans the goal is to steadily build strength over time so don’t go out the gates trying to dead lift 400lbs. That won’t get you anywhere. Below is a solid list of exercises that you should include in your strength training program:

• exercises for the Glutes and Hamstrings such as single leg deadlifts and hamstring rolls
• explosive box step ups
• a series of six different lunges ranging in difficulty
• top 3 core exercises for runners

And of course you’re going to want to do upper body training as well but the above sets of exercises are specific to building a really strong core and legs. Having a strong core is particularly important. I have yet to meet an exercise physiologist or top runner who hasn’t said that the most important part of their strength training is core training.

If you layered in strength training into your program then your training schedule may change to look something like this:

With a schedule like this you can hit your core twice a week and still get a day of upper body and lower body strength training in. Also, the Thursday run acts as a “maintenance/loosening up” run where you can work out any tightness/soreness from your strength routine. Then you get Friday to relax in preparation for your longer runs on Saturday. Finally you get Sunday to relax and recover so that you can get into Monday feeling strong. Many runners working on distance avoid doing strength training within 48 hours of a long run because it is difficult to knock out longer runs when you’re sore and tight from strength training so they’ll front load their week with lower mileage runs and strength training instead and ramp up mileage on the weekend.

It’s worth noting though that as you scale your training program you’ll begin to adapt to the schedule and can possibly handle strength training more than 1-2 days a week. Many runners will include 10 minutes of strength training exercises at the end of every run to also aid in loosening up muscles and maintaining range of motion. For example, you may decide to do two repetitions of 10 walking lunges since the lunging motion also opens up the hips and helps you return to pre-run range of motion.

Lastly, we won’t get into it in this article but incorporating hill running routines is another great strength and condition addition to your running schedule. After you build a base fitness level (4-6 weeks of running) consider substituting one of your weekly maintenance runs for a hill running session. You can read more about hill running here.

Having the proper pre-run and post-run nutrition is really important. Pre-run you’ll need to load up enough free muscle glycogen since that is the fuel you’ll need for distance runs. After the run you’ll want a balanced intake of complex carbohydrates and protein since you’ll want to replenish spent muscle fuel via carbohydrates while aiding in muscle repair/building via protein.

The ideal runner’s diet should be rich in fruits and vegetables because that is the cornerstone of any healthy diet. The complex carbohydrates that act as muscle fuel that can be found in fruits and vegetables are much better sources of energy than simple, processed sugars. Most distance runners avoid common sports drinks like Gatorade since those are heavy in simple sugars (meaning they are not optimal sources of muscle fuel) and can also be hard on your stomach especially as the miles add up. The last thing you want is to feel like vomiting when you still have miles to go.

Instead many runners will consume naturally occurring sources of complex carbohydrates prior to a long run by eating bananas, oatmeal, honey, steel-cut oats, whole grain bread with peanut butter, as well as whole wheat pastas. During a long run you need to continue the intake of complex carbohydrates to continually refuel. Try supplements like Perpetuem by mixing it with water and consuming periodically throughout long runs. It’s packed with complex carbohydrates, sodium and potassium, and an ample amount of protein.

After a long run many runners will turn to over the counter recovery drinks such as Endurox. Typically it is recommended that you find any recovery fluid that is high in sodium and potassium since that’s what you sweat out during long runs and leads to cramping, and a healthy combination of carbohydrates and protein. From my experience though I’ve found nothing better for recovery from a long run than 2% fat chocolate milk. Milk has naturally occurring enzymes that help lower muscle damage, protein to assist with muscle recovery, and loads of sugar so that you can replenish the spent muscle glycogen. You can read more about the benefits of chocolate milk as a recovery drink in this article.

You can learn more about the “good carbs” in this article. It provides a solid academic review of high quality vs low quality carbohydrates. Use this as a guide for what to eat in the 24 hours leading up to a long run. And remember to experiment with recovery drinks on your own. Try some of the lab formulated drinks and then try natural sources like milk and coconut juice (which is packed with sodium and potassium and is another wonderful recovery drink).

Ultimately, your ability to scale your mileage comes down to how much fuel you have in your tank, how quickly you can replenish your muscle fuel when it runs out, and how well you aid in your body’s recovery via the fluids you consume immediately after a long run. Since every weekend will eventually begin to include a long run you’ll be asking your body to recover in less than 7 days so that you can lace up the shoes and do it again. To really master the long distance game you have to first master the recovery game.

The majority of running injures reported tend to come from one of two sources: (1) scaling your mileage too quickly (2) lack of stretching leading to muscle imbalances that disrupt form, causing dysfunction/injury. As a rule of thumb, plan on stretching for at least 30 minutes each day. And if you feel tightness/discomfort in certain muscle groups wait for a few hours and then stretch again.

The constant pounding a runner experiences induces muscle tightness. Over time you get more and more tight until eventually that causes injuries such as IT Band Syndrome. Stretching should be performed after every single run and all core running muscle groups should receive at least a few minutes of stretching. For a great list of top stretches for runners check this site out.

Many runners will incorporate yoga and/or swimming into their weekly training as well as a “loosening up workout”. Both also do a great job building a solid core. If you incorporate yoga/swimming into your distance training schedule then it may look something like this:

Whatever you do don’t overlook the importance of stretching. Even if you do your regular yoga sessions be sure to stretch immediately after every run. A lack of stretching will catch up to every runner especially as your mileage increases.

In order to improve the distance that you can run it takes dedication and an immense amount of detailed execution. Be sure to follow the below tips religiously and you’ll find yourself in the ranks of other distance runners in 4-6 months:

1. Get your hands on a training schedule and plot every day of training for the next 4-6 months.
2. Start with low mileage and slowly work your way up. But never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% week over week.
3. Include plenty of rest time especially at the beginning of your training.
4. Pre-run and post-run nutrition are critical for ensuring you have enough fuel to push your mileage during the run and to recovery quickly after the run. Try 2% chocolate milk after long runs. You’ll be glad you did.
5. Stretch, stretch, stretch. And when you think you’ve stretched enough, stretch again.
6. Include a healthy amount of strength training in your schedule (at least 1-2 days a week) with heavy focus on core stability. The goal is to do high repetitions until failure, not heavy weight until failure.
7. Last but not least, listen to your body. If it starts telling you “enough is enough, give me a break!” then listen to it.

Image credit to WilzFoto’s