How many runs a week should I be doing?

So, would running more, make me faster?

Okay, so if you're reading this you're either someone who absolutely loves running (same) and in fact you love running so much you want to do it every day, or you're someone who wants to improve your running fitness and is wondering if 'more is always better.' Maybe you're both? The long answer is that for most of the population running everyday would do more damage than good. Yes, there are a minority of people who have conditioned their body to deal with the daily load, but the short answer to this question is, it depends.

Running is a high impact sport. 

Let’s start with a quick refresher of what running does to the body. Firstly, there are a bunch of positives, such as improving bone health, cardiovascular health and mental health. But It's important to remember that running is hard and it is hard on your body. Your beautiful tendons, bones, muscles and ligaments take your body's load with every step and as running is a repetitive movement that produces a lot of impact.

What should I think about when planning how much running I should do?

Now let’s look into other factors that would influence the number of runs you do per week. Many factors such as your years of running experience, your injury history, your menstrual cycle status and your life stressors. If you’ve been running for many years, are a seasoned runner, have a mega strong body that doesn’t often get injured and a regular menstrual cycle then you might be one of the ones who can handle running everyday, but take it from me, these people are few and far between.

More is not always better.

The beauty of being a woman is that we are all so unique. Throughout your running journey, you will learn what load your body can handle.. If you can aim for 2-3 runs per week, you will see improvement, especially early on in your running journey. As you progress  your fitness and conditioning and understand what your body can tolerate you might find your sweet spot is between 3-6 runs per week. Not that this is about competition, but don't fear, if you are worried that your friend can run more K’s than you per week, that does not necessarily mean they are going to improve their running faster than you. Not only can some people improve off less load, there are also ways to improve your running fitness by not running, such as cross training alternatives and strength training. My personal favorites are biking and the elliptical, coupled with a few sneaky episodes of parks and rec, schitt's creek or love island and the time just flies by.

So, how do we find what is the perfect recipe for you?

1. Patience, if you’re starting out aim for 2-3 runs per week, even a seasoned runner should be cautious of their load increase, aim to not increase load week on week more than 10%
2. Take note of how your body responds to changes in load. Adding an extra run a week might make you feel stronger or it might make you feel fatigued or result in a niggle (mild injury) so noting what your body can handle is important.
3. Make sure to do all the things that help with injury prevention if you are wanting to up your load, including strength training, stretching, nutrition and sleep!