Running three times in a day?

Yes to the first two. No to the third.

Unwise and will backfire, unless it's always 3 easy slow jogs and not too much mileage -- in which case, suboptimal training.

Nobody runs three times per day. Most elites double three times and do three singles and take a day of rest. That is 9 runs total.

My friend Muhammed tried doing that (5 miles each run). He ended up getting sick and had trouble shaking it off. Poor Muhammed...

Sub-8 Mile wrote:

Unwise and will backfire, unless it's always 3 easy slow jogs and not too much mileage -- in which case, suboptimal training.

Is there any evidence that something like 10/5/3 spaced throughout the day is significantly worse than 10/8?

Or, a more likely comparison would be like 10/5/5 vs 10/8 I guess, since I would assume someone tripling would be trying to increase mileage.

A fair number of elites have done three times a day training with varying degrees of success.

cidki0. 1 wrote:

Is this common for elites? Or for those trying to become elite? Or just plain stupid?

#OutRunRonChallenge

It's not common but it's been done. The routine at Kenyan camps used to be, maybe still is, a semi easy run run at 6:00AM, a hill or interval session at 10:00AM, and another easy-ish steady run at 4:00 PM. When Shorter and Jack Bacheler were in Vail getting ready for the '72 Olympic Trials they were running three times a day. Paul Cummings was doing it in his professional years, at least according to his training profile in Runner's World. I know of a couple guys who did three ten mile runs on Sundays instead of one long run. Japanese marathoners do it at times. I believe Cam Levins was doing it as well. The guy who had my college's mile record ran 4-5 times a day when he was serious. But it's not real common.

Yo Sara ian wrote:

A fair number of elites have done three times a day training with varying degrees of success.

Yeah. Kenyans I watched in a video l watched last year were running 6 am, 10 - 11 am, and 4-6 pm for regular training. Don't know how common it is.

I will do it about twice during a cycle. Total of 30-40 miles. It’s brutal, but I feel I need to let my body know what pain is.

If you can't recover which you won't, it's all junk miles in the end and you'll be slow and injured.

I’ve done it mainly as ... easy jog to work loosens legs up (in winter months when wanna hit track in warm part of day). Track workout. Jog home in afternoon to loosen legs back up.

As usual, different things work for different people.

Some years back (actually a few decades now?) there was a fairly good study that found statistically-significant benefits for two training sessions daily vis-à-vis a single session--similar total workloads--but no statisticall-significant additional benefit with a third.

That said: A number of people *do* have a third session, but often oriented (partly, at least) toward recovery and/or injury prevention e.g. a pool workout in the evening.

And I personally used some triples when I was coming back from a layoff. For example, I would run for 20min in the morning, 40 at midday, and 30 in the evening. Total was only 90min, which I would often run as a single session when fit; but had I tried it as a single at that point, it would just have been a slog-and-jog. Instead, with my three sessions I was able to keep a reasonable pace and something closer to the mechanics I would be using in a distance race.

There was a guy from Spain several years ago who popped a huge indoor 3k win (Sanchez, I think his name was) who reported running three times a day in an interview.

I've personally always found doubles to unequivocally be a huge benefit to my training but I've never pushed to triples. I'd like to give it a shot if I can dedicate the time.

One summer I had a really odd school and work schedule and on Wednesday would run 3x as a recovery day following repeats the day before. I would go out on the roads early. Mid-day between classes would get in 3 on a grass loop on campus. After an evening class I went to the track and ran. 9-12 miles each Wednesday that summer.

I did 3 x a day in 1975 when I recorded my high volume week at 175 miles. You do spend quite a bit of time in prep and showers, but a valid way to train if you build up to it.

on my side it's a movie wrote:

If you can't recover which you won't, it's all junk miles in the end and you'll be slow and injured.

Actually, this is a very good description of junk miles.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I did 3 x a day in 1975 when I recorded my high volume week at 175 miles. You do spend quite a bit of time in prep and showers, but a valid way to train if you build up to it.

175 miles?!?!? Are you sure we aren't talking about kilometers?!?!? Wow!

cidki01 wrote:

Or just plain stupid

This would be my vote. No reason to run three times a day. You can get plenty of mileage in doubles. You should also be getting 60-70 mph (at minimum 50) in singles before you think about doubles.

RyecorDone wrote:

Yo Sara ian wrote:

A fair number of elites have done three times a day training with varying degrees of success.

Yeah. Kenyans I watched in a video l watched last year were running 6 am, 10 - 11 am, and 4-6 pm for regular training. Don't know how common it is.

Common misconception - training 3 times a day is NOT what makes the Kenyan's good, it's that their TALENT and ABILITY level ALLOWS them to train 3 times a day and still benefit from it.

The average male Kenyan elite runner has a VO2MAX of OVER 80. Their aerobic system and heart have TREMENDOUS power. The easy miles don't bother them at all.

Now take your average LRC 16 min 5k guy with a VO2MAX of only low 60. Put him on the same training as the talented elite Kenyan's (not just in VO2MAX/aerobic power, but also in genetics, length of calves/legs, tendon elasticity etc.) and he will either get injured, not be able to hit his key workouts anymore, be constantly tired/fatigued or just burn out completely, since for him, 3x a day is a much bigger stimulus than for the Kenyan "machine".

Is it possible to train 3x a day for a decent period of time? YES! Is it an effective way to train for 99% of the people? NO! You can reach your potential with just 7x runs a week containing a long run and quality workouts and strides, maybe some doubles if advanced. No need to dive into areas hoping to become that 13 min 5k guy when the genetics might limit you at 15 flat, no matter what you do.