How long should my long run be?

Based on your weekly runs, I'd do a weekly long run in the 8-10 mile range for the time being. Maybe do 9 next week and hold it there for a few weeks before you go to 10.

Don't keep bumping it up every week. Now that you're at 8 miles, just hold it there for a while, or even back off a bit if you have a big race coming up or feel more tired or closer to injury than usual. After the season ends, though, you can experiment with going up to 10 if you want, and running some higher mileage during the week, in the gap between XC and spring track.

But your basic instinct to run some more on your own is absolutely correct, and in the medium-to-long term will make you a much better runner. Good luck with the breakout track season.

Not to be that guy but that's not a long run. Your new to running and everything and that might be the furthest you ever gone. But right now just go for a hour or so. No need to worry about long runs at this stage since:

1. Your total running volume right now is low.

2. Your new

3. There's other training stimulus that's more important at this stage than the long run. Like jogging for a hour and knocking out some strides would do better right now than worrying about your long run.

Benrunning_07 wrote:

I’m a freshmen and I’m starting to get into running. I’m not that talented 20:42 was my last race and I only have 1 more race left in the season but the last 3 weeks I’ve been doing a long run on Saturday or Sunday. 3 weeks ago it was 6 then 7 and yesterday I ran 8 pretty comfortably (8:50 pace) and in the 5 weekdays I run with the team I’d say we run about 25 miles on average. Would it be to my detriment to keep bumping up the long run every week, or is it good for me. I’ve also never had a injury problem in any sport I’ve ever played!

What you're doing is great. Keeping it up in the off season is going to be what's hardest, but also, the most beneficial. If you're doing 5K cross country stuff, you probably don't need a long run of more than 10 miles, although more wouldn't hurt. If you get to 10 miles and still want to add miles, you could look at increasing your total weekly mileage, also. In other words, keeping the long run at 10, but adding some miles the other days, make your short runs a little less short and your medium runs a little longer. Both long run distance, and total weekly mileage, have benefits. Both take time to reap the full benefits.

Consistency is the most important. Stay consistent.

Back in high school I ran 1 hour on Sundays as a long run. Worked out well.

Yeah it sounds like you're progressing how you should. 8 is plenty rn. You shouldn't really go too much higher without increasing the mileage. 8-10 range is fine. Honestly 12-13 range is good for most. Elite runners who focus on the 5k/10k are going to get up to 30k-35k (2 hours) but they won't do that every week. 15-16 is good for most & is what most college kids will be around training for the 8k/10k. No need to rush the progression.

& don't worry about being talented or whatever. Most people never break 20:00 for 5k. That's around the corner for you. & then who knows with more (smart) training.

Try bumping the long run up every other week. Do it in small amounts. Give your body time to adjust. You want to continue to not have a history of injuries.

colder and wiser wrote:

Don't keep bumping it up every week. Now that you're at 8 miles, just hold it there for a while, or even back off a bit if you have a big race coming up or feel more tired or closer to injury than usual. After the season ends, though, you can experiment with going up to 10 if you want, and running some higher mileage during the week, in the gap between XC and spring track.

But your basic instinct to run some more on your own is absolutely correct, and in the medium-to-long term will make you a much better runner. Good luck with the breakout track season.

In addition to this very good advice, let me add that it is a common mistake to think that you always need to add more. It is usually better to get to a certain level, as you appear to have, and stay there for awhile. This is how you build strength of the running sort.

Over the winter, maybe work up to 10 as suggested above. At 8:30 pace, that's an 85 minute run, which is right about where long runs should be for most people racing 1500 to 5-10k. Stay there most weeks, and consistency plus growth in your case will have its effect, and you'll probably be running closer to 8:00 pace by spring, without trying to force the pace.

I think a long run 75-85 min is good for 5-10k racing, but if I had to prioritize I would pick workouts over long runs. Be sure to be fresh for the workout after the long run. If not, be sure to run easy enough on the long run. You lose very little if any by running slower on the long run than you lose on not being able to do the workouts well.