Serious Question111
What is the most milage a runner can do without burning out? 4/28/2012 11:22PM Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I'm curious to see what letsrunners think of this question, obviously cam levins can handle 160's, gerry lingren even more, so tell me, what is the most that its possible to handle? whats the most its wise to handle?
casual commentary
RE: What is the most milage a runner can do without burning out? 4/28/2012 11:27PM - in reply to Serious Question111 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I don't think many elites go past 140mpw (maybe some Japanese runners) and the majority of elite long distance runners are at 100-120 perhaps. So I'll say somewhere around 120, probably less for most people though.
Guppy
RE: What is the most milage a runner can do without burning out? 4/29/2012 12:05AM - in reply to casual commentary Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Highly variable on the athlete. For most guys, 100mpw is a good standard to shoot for, but some might not be able to handle that much. Even Lydiard said if you can run more than 100mpw, don't, just run faster. Most marathoners these days are going 120+mpw at least part of the year, some go 150mpw much of the year.

I'm a big proponent of mileage even for 1500m runners (at least during a large portion of the year that does not include peak racing season), but guys like Cam Levins are the exception. Obviously it works for him, but most guys would not run well off of that kind of mileage. For a standard 5k college guy, I'd recommend 90-110mpw during base, and 85-105mpw during season, dropping some towards the end of the season. I had the best race of my life the season I upped my mileage to 100mpw. At first I didn't see much improvement over 80-90mpw, but the difference came when I started to taper for championship races.

The most I've done is 106mpw, but I've done 55 miles in three days before too (got sick that week and missed a day, then took a low mileage recovery day and ended up in the 90s). If you build up slowly and have a few years of training under you you can run quite a bit. More does not always mean better though.
Queton C.
RE: What is the most milage a runner can do without burning out? 4/29/2012 8:01AM - in reply to Serious Question111 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I have never heard of anyone who can handle above 160s for any sustained period of time and there are only a few marathoners in the world who can handle that kind of workload (I know Mutai does and that when Geb was in 2:03 shape he did). Beyond that and most people will not be able to repair all the damaged muscle tissue.