Long run distance for HS runner

The guidance is usually considered have your long run be NO MORE than 20% of your weekly mileage. Keep it to 12 miles max. Run at a pace at which you can conduct a casual conversation.

I'm also in HS and i'm running 60 mpw. My coach has my longest long run at 14 miles. My friend who is running 70-80 has a 16 mile long run though. Most people on the team probably run 12-14 as their longest run though.

I'd say do 13-14 or so and if you feel good at the end maybe go 15 in your peak week, but since you are only a junior i'd err on the side of caution and save that for your senior year.

Highschooljunior wrote:

I'm 17, going to be a junior in high school next season and have been training a lot (weekly mileage as follows: 50, 50, 60, 61, 60, 64, 40). I'm hoping to go below 16:30 in the 5k next season.

I've heard as a rule of thumb that weekly long runs should be 20-25% of weekly mileage, and I might be going up to 70 mpw this summer. This would mean at least 15 mile long runs. However, some people say that for HS XC long runs should be 10-12 miles and at a faster pace. Does anyone know whether I should start going super long (15+ miles) for long runs as I up the mileage? Or would it be smarter to keep them around 10-12 and go under 20% of weekly mileage

Here's another rule of thumb -- cap your long runs at 90 minutes, and don't push them. For 5k training, you get a lot more benefit from hard 45-60 minute runs. Long easy-relaxed runs support this, but shouldn't be where your emphasis is.