How Many Miles a Week Should I Run?

How many miles a week should I run? For most beginners, roughly 5 to 15 miles (8 to 24 km) a week is plenty, while people training for a half marathon often build towards 15 to 30 miles (24 to 48 km) and first-time marathon runners towards 25 to 40 miles (40 to 64 km). The right number for you depends on your goal, how long you have been running and how well your body copes, so treat every figure in this guide as a rough range rather than a target to hit.

There is no single right answer. Two people chasing the same half marathon can need quite different weeks, depending on their running history, their pace and what else they do, such as strength training, HIIT or a physical job. Below you will find rough ranges by goal and experience, why minutes can matter more than miles when you are starting out, and how to build up without picking up an injury.

How many miles a week should you run for each goal?

The table shows rough weekly ranges for the peak weeks of a training block, usually the last month or so before a race. You do not start there. Most plans begin well below these numbers and build towards them over weeks or months.

Rough, rounded ranges for peak weeks only, drawn from typical beginner and intermediate plans. Your own plan may sit above or below them, and that is fine.

Newer runners here means roughly your first year of regular running, or anyone currently running fewer than about 10 miles (16 km) a week. Regular runners means people who have run consistently for a year or more and already handle the lower end of their range comfortably. If you sit somewhere in between, start from what you do now, not from the table.

Why does experience change the numbers so much?

Your heart and lungs tend to adapt to running fairly quickly, often within a few weeks. Muscles, tendons and bones usually take longer to catch up. That gap is why a new runner can feel fit enough to run more before their legs are ready for it, and why steady, patient increases tend to work better than big jumps.

More experienced runners have years of that slow adaptation behind them, so they can usually handle more weekly volume. Even then, more is not automatically better. Plenty of people finish a half marathon feeling strong on 20 to 25 miles a week, especially if they also do some strength work.

Why can time on feet matter more than miles for beginners?

When you are new, two runners covering the same distance can be doing very different amounts of work. Five miles at a 9-minute-mile pace takes 45 minutes. The same 5 miles at a 13-minute-mile pace takes 65 minutes, which is 20 more minutes of impact on legs that are still adapting.

That is why many beginner programmes, including couch to 5K style plans, are written in minutes rather than miles. Planning by time keeps the effort honest, stops you speeding up just to tick off a distance, and makes walk breaks feel like part of the plan rather than a failure. A simple way to start:

• Run, or run-walk, 3 times a week for 20 to 30 minutes at an easy, chatty pace.
• Once that has felt comfortable for a couple of weeks, add 5 minutes to one run, usually the longest one.
• Switch to thinking in miles or kilometres later, when you are running regularly and training for a specific race.

If you are not sure how slow easy should feel, our guide to easy run pace for beginners explains the talk test and why slow running still builds fitness.

How do you build up your weekly mileage safely?

The short version: add a little, keep most of it easy, and back off before you need to. A few principles cover most of it.

• Build in small steps. The old 10% rule (add no more than about 10% to your weekly total) is a reasonable rough guide, though it is not a guarantee of staying injury free.
• Take a lighter week every 3 to 4 weeks. Cutting back by around a quarter to a third gives your body time to absorb the work.
• Keep roughly 80% of your running easy. Extra miles should be easy miles, not extra hard sessions.
• Watch single runs, not just weekly totals. A sudden jump in your long run can matter more than the number at the end of the week.

That last point comes from a large 2025 study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, that followed more than 5,000 runners who recorded their training on GPS watches for 18 months. Runners had a higher rate of overuse injury when a single run was more than about 10% longer than their longest run in the previous 30 days, while the usual week-to-week measures showed weaker or no clear links. It is an observational study, so it shows a link rather than proof, but it is a useful reminder to grow your long run gradually.

For a step-by-step progression with a sample 4-week block, read how to increase your running mileage without getting injured.

How should you split your miles across the week?

Most people do best spreading their weekly total over 3 to 5 runs rather than squeezing it into one or two big efforts. Our guide to how many times a week you should run covers frequency in more detail, but a typical week looks like this:

• One long run, the slowest and longest of the week.
• One or two shorter easy runs at a relaxed pace.
• Optionally, one session with some faster running, such as strides or short intervals, once you have a few months of steady running behind you.

As an example, a newer runner building towards a half marathon on 18 miles (29 km) a week might run an easy 4 miles on Tuesday, 5 miles with a few short faster sections on Thursday, and a long run of 9 miles at the weekend. Rest days matter as much as run days, because that is when your body adapts to the work.

Do you need fewer miles if you also lift weights or do HIIT?

Often, yes. Strength sessions, HIIT classes and hybrid races all add training stress, and your legs do not know which session caused the fatigue. If you train across several disciplines, sitting at the lower end of the mileage ranges is usually sensible, especially at first.

The upside is that strength work can help runners in its own right, and many people find they run well on slightly fewer miles once they add a couple of strength sessions a week. The trick is balancing it all so that hard days do not stack up back to back.

That balance is what Edge is built for. Edge treats running, strength and HIIT as one plan, so your weekly miles are set alongside your gym and HIIT sessions rather than piled on top of them. Edge Pro gives you a fully personalised plan, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime, and Edge syncs with Strava, Garmin, Apple Health and Coros so your runs land in one place. It is the same approach 20,000+ members already use.

What are the signs you are running too many miles?

Your mileage is only right if your body is coping with it. Ease off for a few days, or take a lighter week, if you notice:

• Aches or niggles that are still there the next morning, or that get worse as you run.
• Legs that feel heavy and flat for several runs in a row.
• Easy runs that feel much harder than usual at the same pace.
• Poorer sleep, low motivation or a sense of dread before runs.

A pain that changes the way you run, or does not settle after a few days of rest, is a reason to stop and see a physio rather than push on.

So what should your weekly mileage be?

Start with what you can manage comfortably now. Pick your goal from the table, aim for the lower end of the range for your experience, and build towards it slowly, with a lighter week every month or so. If you are a beginner, count minutes rather than miles until running three times a week feels routine. The best weekly mileage is the one you can keep doing, week after week, without getting hurt.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.