Forums >General Running>What distance is a "LONG" run?
In my 20s it was 10 miles.
last year it was 7
since I got hurt last Christmas eve my long run is 3 miles
Surly Bill - The rule that the longest run should only be 25 to 30% of the weekly distance is something I have tried to follow in the past, but don't always adhere to the rule. For example, I've been working on my garden and have only done 3 runs this week for a 21 mile total and one of those was a ten miler! That's nearly 50% of the weekly distance! Another thing I've tried is to keep all my runs close to the same distance, they may vary by a few miles, but the longest is not twice that of the shortest! Many things can cut down what we would like to have as our weekly millage and it can be a struggle to build back.
There was a "training schedule" a while back for people who have to work for a living, like REALLY work, a tech industry salary person, that involved just 3 runs a week, sometimes two. The main workout was a 2-4 hour run on the weekend. The other runs were just junk miles during the week, maybe 30-40 minutes in duration. I think this would probably be better than 4-5 short to moderate distance workouts a week.
Currently, the running fad is "streaking", trying to run every day, even if it's just a mile or two. I've seen a lot of training fads come and go. Some work great for some people, and they should stick with them. People should try a variety of strategies for a couple months at a time to find out what works best for them.
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
RIP Milkman
I've always defined by time and distance training for, not by miles
5K/10K: 90 minutes
Half: 120 minutes
Full: 150 minutes
When you go by time, these will naturally get shorter in distance as you get older.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Are we there, yet?
The rule that the longest run should only be 25 to 30% of the weekly distance is something I have tried to follow in the past, but don't always adhere to the rule. For example, I've been working on my garden and have only done 3 runs this week for a 21 mile total and one of those was a ten miler! That's nearly 50% of the weekly distance! Another thing I've tried is to keep all my runs close to the same distance, they may vary by a few miles, but the longest is not twice that of the shortest! Many things can cut down what we would like to have as our weekly millage and it can be a struggle to build back.
That rule was also formulated based on the assumption that you ran 5-7 days per week.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
health - me too except that, after 45 years of annual marathons, ever since I got old.
Otherwise, as a fitness-and-fun runner just seeing if being in excellent shape from winter skiing was good enough to run a recreational 26.2 miles without training for it, any training was in accordance with assurances in the 1978 winter edition of the then The Runner magazine that being able to run half the marathon distance without stopping was good enough as long as you moderated your pace by another minute or more. It worked for some 25 years until I became a Marathon Maniac in 2005 and didn't have to bother anymore after that.
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
I do low mileage (14 to 20) three workouts a week and consider my long runs anything 5 miles and above is considered long for me. Usually either 6, 8 or 10 is the most at this point. One easy (four miles) and one hard or tempo (4 miles).
Jay
Why is it sideways?
A run is called a "long run" due to its function in a training plan. Most training plans or strategies have a specific run that is longer than the others and serves that function in training. You'd want to designate those runs as long, not because they hit a certain universally agreed upon distance or time, but because of their purpose and function within the training context.
Hey there
Problem Child
Yes this is true to a point. Doing a total of 12 miles as part of a speed or tempo workout, then doing an 8 mile ‘long run’ would be interesting. Mostly because it’s labeled as a ‘long run’ while not being very long compared to 12 miles of running.
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
physiological benefits and purpose of the Long Run can be found here: https://www.olyrun.com/benefits-and-purpose-of-the-long-run/
Of note is this:
A study from 1967 showed that the maximum development of mitochondria occurs after around two hours of exertion at 50-75% VO2 max.
A subsequent study from 1982 showed that the maximum development of mitochondria occurs after 90 minutes of exertion at 70-75% VO2 max.
Thus, the Long Run should be at least 90 minutes, but better at 2+ hours. Some people will need to work up to this, but pace is almost irrelevant. Go ahead and jog 12-15:00 miles.
Ha ha hey. Started logging here again this year! Good to see the old regulars still around.
@Running Problem: folks can label however they want, but if you have a 12 mile workout seems unlikely that you'd want to call an 8 miler a long run. I guess I was just trying to say that "long" is a workout type, not a distance or duration. So, yeah, up to a point it's true. I'd call that point where it is not true any more a time to change the label!
Today? 10.4 miles was a long run.
be curious; not judgmental
Runs in the rain
Jeff - Your answer that a "long run" is defined as a specific part of a training plan is the most proper answer. I guess wanting it to be a set distance is not really correct. However by labeling different distances as "Easy', Medium long", "Long" and "Extra long" I can see how far I was running for any particular time period and this gives me an idea of the state of my training.
Surly Bill - The link on the benefits of the long run was very helpful. I am considering adding in some speed work at the beginning of summer, but after reading the link I realize I still need to prioritize distance at this early stage of training. Not sure what I'll do, but would like to test improving pace with some intervals.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Ha ha hey. Started logging here again this year! Good to see the old regulars still around. @Running Problem: folks can label however they want, but if you have a 12 mile workout seems unlikely that you'd want to call an 8 miler a long run. I guess I was just trying to say that "long" is a workout type, not a distance or duration. So, yeah, up to a point it's true. I'd call that point where it is not true any more a time to change the label!
Gotcha. I started thinking of the point of the workout being time of feet so when you said that shouldn’t be used to define it I was sort of confused.
From what I've read recently, here and on other websites, getting in a good base and maintaining 40+ miles a week is the "best" way to increase performance, even if those miles are all slow. Intervals, repeats, hills, etc. are all just fine-tuning enhancements once you get to a level of fitness. Doesn't hurt to go out and run fast once in a while, though! A good combo workout is the venerable 20x400, with 400m jog recovery interval. This is a 12 mile workout, with 1 mile warmup and cooldown. And the recovery laps can be jogged at walking pace, so it's deceptively "easy" to accomplish the 20 faster 400's (faster than 5k pace).