How to Increase Your Running Mileage Without Getting Injured, According to Experts

When it comes to running injuries, the most common tend to occur from overtraining. Unfortunately, these injuries can become chronic if left unaddressed for too long.

According to Yale Medicine, top issues are shin splints, stress fractures, runner's knee and iliotibial (IT) band friction syndrome, which can occur when runners push too hard too soon. While overuse injuries can have a number of culprits, the most frequent ones occur from increasing mileage too soon, says Timothy Miller, M.D., sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Ready to burn major mileage and keep your body strong? Check out these expert-guided tips.

Injury risk from the "too much, too soon" approach doesn't just happen in running, according to Chad Walding, D.P.T. and functional movement coach.

"Any time you take on too much load or resistance, that can lead to strain in the muscles and joints", he says. And that could happen with nearly any sport, including strength training. Walding adds that injuries are much more likely for newbies who want to progress in their training too quickly and speed through the basics.

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"You need a solid foundation and good movement patterns", he says. "If you have poor form from the start, progression will just lead to more mileage with that form, which is not a good plan".

Walding says good form cues include staying upright in your torso—not leaning forwards or backwards—and looking ahead instead of down. Also, keep shoulders back and down instead of rounded and let your hands be loose, which helps your arms stay more relaxed.

Hiring a personal trainer or a running coach can be helpful or even just having a form check next time you go to buy running shoes at a running shop.

One of the most important ways to avoid injury is to stick to your game plan. If you've set out to run 10 kilometres for the day, try to cap it at that (or run less if your body is telling you it needs rest).

"With any new training programme, it's crucial to start slow and build your training gradually", says Miller. "Without a slow progression, you are much more likely to get sidelined by an overuse injury like tendonitis, a stress fracture, muscle strain or even a tendon tear".

Mileage is usually increased based on percentage or time. For example, if you've started by running for 15 minutes a couple of days a week for a few weeks, bump up to 20 minutes per run in the following few weeks.

If you're curious about taking the percentage approach, consider the "10 percent rule". Here the guidance suggests increasing distance no more than 10 percent more than the previous week. For example, if you're running 10 kilometres this week, next week add one more kilometre to that total.

But just because this is a frequently cited guideline doesn't make it an actual rule, says Miller. For beginner runners, the main consideration is consistency and that might mean not increasing your distance at all for the first month (or longer), as a way to get into a routine and to strengthen the muscles needed for the movement pattern of running.

As you become more comfortable with consistent running, you might find that the 10 percent bump weekly is your sweet spot. But if you're showing signs of burnout (think: fatigue, stumbling, mild overuse injuries like ankle soreness), consider cutting back on the distance. Bear in mind that overall life stress could impede your recovery from your training as well and could be a cause for feeling exhausted. Be sure to take time off the track and practise mindful breathing, such as through yoga practice, when you're feeling overly stressed.

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To shake things up, take a page out of the book of seasoned runners who keep their training interesting by adding different running workouts such as hill runs, sprints, trail runs and even the occasional 5K fun runs.

Plus, don't forget cross-training activities such as swimming or cycling, which can play a major role in injury prevention, Miller adds. Strength training, in particular, has been shown in numerous studies to boost running performance because it improves oxygen delivery to the muscles—key for both distance and speed—as well as running economy, which combines cardiorespiratory, metabolic, biomechanical and neuromuscular factors.

Another plus comes from increasing flexibility, balance and range of motion, and practices such as yoga have been shown to be helpful for runners.

You're feeling sore from your 5K run that you smashed the day before yesterday. Your training programme has scheduled a 6K run for you to complete today. What do you do? Knowing what degree of soreness is OK to push through and when to take it easy is part of a long-term running journey, according to Kate Ayoub, D.P.T., health coach at Own Your Movement in Washington D.C.

"Progression isn't linear and your performance and recovery won't always follow a strict training schedule", she says. While it's helpful to have a preset framework for your training, such as a calendar with proposed distance per run and per week, it's also crucial to keep some openness in there.

"The more you listen to your body and what it's trying to tell you, the better the athlete you'll become because you can adjust in ways that increase performance and lower your injury risk", she says.

For example, if your soreness tends to decrease quickly with movement, try jogging an easy kilometre and, if you're feeling good, keep going, she suggests. But if you have enough muscle soreness that it impairs everyday function or you find yourself feeling as if you have to push hard to get through that first kilometre, it's better to switch to some cross-training activities such as stretching, swimming or yoga.

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Active recovery and good sleep habits are just as important for injury prevention and increasing distance as running itself, says Ayoub.

She suggests that "rest days" can still be filled with activities like going for a hike, doing some gardening or housework, going to a dance class or going swimming. Balancing these fresh movements with your running can be part of having fun.

"[When] you're training for a specific event like a race, check in with yourself to make sure you're still enjoying what you're doing", she says. "Even when you're putting in the work, it shouldn't feel like a chore".

Words by Elizabeth Millard

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