6 Easy Ways For Runners To Increase Weekly mileage

A common problem a lot of runners have, is to achieve hitting a weekly mileage goal. Achieving it is one problem, but once it is achieved the new problems of hitting the goal consistently and increasing on that mileage arise.

Why is it important to increase weekly mileage, or kilometres? Simply put, the more you run the fitter your cardiovascular system will be. The stronger your muscles and bones will be. The more energy you’ll have to sustain fast running over longer time periods.

Of course, running more isn’t the only way to improve your fitness. You can also do it by doing more intense running (running faster), or by training on challenging terrain with more elevation gain.

That being said, weekly distance (mileage) in the weeks and months leading up to race day is a great indicator for race day performance. In general, more weekly mileage means better race times.

In this article, I’ll share 6 easy ways for runners to increase weekly mileage.

6 Top Tips For Runners To Increase Weekly Mileage

1. Book races

When we have a tangible race booked, something to aim for, we’re much more likely to be motivated to put training in to achieve the goal. Finishing the race, and performing well.

I find that, if I book two or three races for the next few months, I’m much more motivated to do the training. I have something real to aim for, something to shape my training plan, and a journey to follow towards race day.

You can start by booking a race once every two to three months. If you’re feeling comfortable, you could build it up to running a race every month.

Of course, it depends on the type of races you’re doing and how far they are in distance. If you’re doing 100-mile ultramarathons, you’ll want to space your race intervals out by at least a couple of months. If you’re doing marathons or half marathons, you could easily get away with doing at least one a month.

2. Run your commute

Though not suitable for everyone, with some living really far away from their place of work or study and some working at home, this is a powerful tool. It can quickly clock the weekly miles up.

If you live two to five miles (or more) away from your place of work or study, you could replace the bus, train or car with a daily run to and from work. As most people study or work five days a week, this creates the opportunity for ten additional runs a week which can be incorporated into your existing routine.

You might not want to run to and from work everyday, but adding a few in each week will add some mileage to your training volume.

One thing that puts people off of this particular method, is the aftereffects of the commute run. Not many people (myself included) want to rock up to work or school, sweaty from the effort.

If you’re fortunate enough to have showers at your work or place of study you could pack some clothes and shower toiletries for a quick wash before starting your day.

If you don’t have access to a shower, and you have some spare cash, you could invest in a cheap gym membership nearby and shower and change at the gym.

Finally, if you don’t have access to showers at work or your place of study, and the idea of shelling out some monthly cash for a gym shower doesn’t appeal to you, there’s another option. You could significantly lower the speed at which you run, keeping the pace to low heart rate zones (zone 2 is a good goal). This means you won’t sweat as much, and you won’t need to freshen up as much compared to someone who runs with more intensity.

3. Join a running club

Running clubs are organisations and groups which specialise in running. It’s as simple as that.

Aside from the benefits like meeting new people, improving your running, and getting support, you’ll have many more opportunities to run.

Running clubs tend to do at least one weekly social club run, giving you access to a regular event to weave into your schedule and increase the mileage. Also, as there’s a social element this often improves the likelihood that you will rock up to training as you’ll feel more motivated by the (healthy) social pressure to attend and socialise.  

In addition, running clubs tend to be involved with an array of races including cross country, club championship races, athletics races, and more. There are tonnes of opportunities to have reasons to run in a club, and you’ll want to naturally run more.

4. Do parkrun every week

Parkrun is a free 5km timed race held every Saturday morning at 9am. It’s hosted by and for the community, and there chances are there’s one very close to where you live.

You can check out the parkrun website to see if parkrun’s take place in your country, and what the closest one is to you.

Committing to running parkrun every week is a fantastic means of increasing weekly mileage for a number of reasons:

• It’s free.

• It’s an event. There’s a buzz in the air, and it’s exciting to take place.

• Opportunity to meet new people.

• Track your progress overtime using the free barcode scanning system. This provides motivation and a clear view of how your improving on different courses.

• Parkrun tourism. This refers to visiting a parkrun away from your ‘home’ parkrun. This is a fantastic means to explore new places, try different courses, and add variety to your training.

If you want to add even more miles with your weekly parkrun experience, you can run to and from the parkrun (if possible). If I’m doing one of the two parkruns in my town of Maidstone, Kent, I’ll usually run 1.5 miles to parkrun, do the 3.1-mile (5km) parkrun, then run 1.5 miles home. Just like that, I’ve already run another 6 miles.

5. Treadmill after gym workout

This is for people with gym memberships, who go regularly.

If you go to the gym and do strength and resistance training with weights, you can easily add a small treadmill session for a cardio cool down.

Do this for at least 15-20 minutes and you can clock up 2 additional miles, and once it becomes a habit you’ll find the weekly mileage starts to climb quickly.

6. Get a running partner

You can organise a couple of weekly runs each week with a friend, a running partner, or a group of friends.

Meet up at a set place, do a 5km to 10km run, have a chat and have a laugh, and you’ll be able to add more weekly miles to your volume whilst enjoying social benefits. Ideally, this will be at the same time and on the same days of the week to ensure it becomes a habit for consistency.

By independently setting up runs with a running partner (or partners), you’ll be more motivated to put training runs in. Not only because of the socialising aspect, but also because you will not want to let the running partner(s) down by flaking and not attending.

Whilst it can be hard to achieve our weekly mileage goals, especially in our modern day connected and busy world, it can be done. By making a few tweaks to your weekly routine, you will be able to integrate more runs into your life and increase your weekly mileage. You’ll be hitting and surpassing your goal in no time, and (from experience) that is a wonderful feeling.

Thanks very much for reading.

Craig

Running Cafe