Running every day: Coach Jon’s experience
Having recently completed a ‘run every day’ challenge earlier this year, Coach Jon reflects on his experience of completing the challenge.
Earlier this year, I set myself the challenge of running every day for a month, with no rules, no targets, just lace up the trainers and get out of the door every day. Why? No real reason, apart from a self-fulfilling sense of achievement and a desire to investigate whether a little and often approach would bring about any tangible running improvements. Before I let you know how I got on, let’s take a look at some of the benefits and negative aspects of running every day.
The benefits of running more
We hear it time and time again, but consistency is key when it comes to athletic performance. Running every day is undoubtedly going to increase that consistency. Consistent, high-frequency running can help build muscular and soft tissue resilience, potentially leading to fewer injuries and a slow and controlled build in fitness.
Several studies, such as this 2011 study by Giovanna Tanda, report that weekly mileage is a better predictor of marathon performance than the length of the longest long run in an athlete’s training diary. So, rather than relying on two to three runs with a weekly very long ’long run’, perhaps running more frequently for a shorter duration could benefit your running.
The key to running daily, or ‘almost daily’ (not forgetting the importance of rest days where appropriate), is keeping the duration of those runs very short and the intensity very low. This might mean running for less than 20 minutes or completing that 20-minute run as a walk/run. Adding in walk breaks can be a great way of limiting the risk of injury whilst trying to increase your running frequency. A simple 60 seconds spent walking at regular intervals throughout a run allows time to reset both mentally and physically and can be used to great success by runners of all abilities.
Is it for you?
Running every day is not for everyone. It’s a well-known fact that the high mechanical loads involved with running put extra stress on the lower limbs. Therefore, injury-prone and new runners should carefully progress their running frequency. New runners may potentially take several years to get to a position of being able to complete daily runs. Increasing your running frequency will likely lead to an increase in running mileage, which may leave you open to more injuries. However, as we have discussed, a properly managed daily running schedule with low intensity, low duration running may decrease your injury risk as tissue resilience improves.
As we know, adequate rest is always essential to any training plan. It is during the downtime of a rest day that our bodies become stronger. Careful consideration of running every day is required. Breaking frequent running up with rest days and cross-training will help allow the body time to recover and reduce the risk of injury. Taking advice from your coach on how to best up your running frequency is the best way to proceed safely.
How to bring daily running into your routine.
As with most things in sport, it’s important to make changes gradually. Don’t jump straight from three or four runs per week to six or seven runs. Add one at a time and initially make that extra run very short. You could consider adding the extra run every other week to make the transition even gentler.
Make it a habit. If you want to make daily running a habit that sticks, running daily is the way to go; making it part of your daily routine means there is no question of whether you will run today.
Adding in an extra few very short, very easy runs should be manageable in your weekly schedule. Try setting the morning alarm 30 minutes earlier for a quick 20-minute low-intensity jog before getting ready for work. If you are pressed for time, drop that morning run down to 10 minutes. Some may argue that running for anything less than 20 minutes offers no tangible aerobic benefits; in my book, something is usually better than nothing. Just being outside, moving and waking up the body with an additional short run can work wonders for some. For others, the mental aspect of knowing that ‘I ran today’, is worth it, even if it was just 10 minutes.
How did I do it?
Before starting the daily running challenge, I was comfortably running 20 miles a week spread over 3 or 4 runs, some weeks running five times a week. I spent a few weeks before the challenge running six days a week before starting the 4-week block of at least seven runs a week. During the ‘run everyday’ block, I averaged 30 miles a week. I kept the runs all extremely easy apart from one very short hill reps session on a Tuesday and a slightly longer run on a weekend.
I found the easiest way to add in the extra runs to my weekly schedule was to switch my usual cycle to the gym or pool for a run; it’s only 2.5km each way, but with at least three commutes to the pool a week, an effortless way to increase my weekly run tally. On top of my usual running schedule, I found the extra runs didn’t take any extra time or effort out of my week as they only added a few minutes to my journey each way.
Is there a regular commute you do that you could switch to a run? If you regularly use public transport, can you jump off a few stops early and jog the last 20 minutes home?
I was thrilled with how the running everyday block went. I came away without a single niggle. I found I had no soreness or fatigue in the legs throughout the whole month. The fact that my overall volume was still relatively low (30 miles a week) helped keep the stress on my body low. It was also an especially quiet time of year for me work-wise, so limited life stress allowed me to get plenty of good quality sleep, work on my conditioning and mobility and keep on top of high-quality nutrition. Perhaps trying the challenge in a busier work period for me would bring about a different result. I have come from the challenge feeling very strong and look forward to testing my running legs at some upcoming events.
Will I still do it?
Will I continue to run every day? No. I’m a big fan of a rest day, so I make sure, at the very least, I have one day completely off running every week. However, I am continuing with the short running commutes to the pool, so my running frequency is undoubtedly a lot higher than it has ever been before.
In summary, unless you are very new to running or significantly injury-prone, increasing your running frequency could reduce your chance of injury and boost your running performance. Just make sure you stick to the rules: Keep it short, keep it easy and increase your frequency gradually. If that process goes well, you could consider taking on a ‘running everyday challenge’ of your own. If you do, we’d love to hear how you get on!
Jon has been coaching with his local triathlon club in Hertfordshire around his full-time job as an airline pilot for several years. Unfortunately, Jon lost his pilot’s licence for 11 months in 2019 due to being diagnosed with testicular cancer (read his story here). He used the time off from flying to complete his Level 2 and Level 2 BTF diploma qualifications as well as a L3 Personal Trainer qualification. With his new coaching qualifications under his belt, Jon was able to join Tri Training Harder as a coach in 2019. He has now recovered from cancer, started flying again and is training hard for the coming triathlon season.
Jon has a flexible approach to coaching and training, from his own busy lifestyle he knows how to balance training around family, friends and social commitments. Jon loves to utilise the knowledge gained on his Personal Trainer course and finds incorporating well-structured strength and conditioning sessions vital to triathlon performance.
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