It can be difficult for runners who are not following a specific training plan to determine how long or how far they should run in a day.
Is there an ideal duration or distance to run per day? Should you run every day? Do you have to run for a certain amount of time a day to reap the health benefits of running?
There is a long list of factors to consider when determining the number of miles or amount of time you should be running, how many rest days you should take, and what training schedule works best for your running goals. This is why there is no straightforward answer to these questions.
In this guide, I explain, as a certified running coach, the optimal duration for running each day across various goals and fitness levels, including considerations for health, weight loss, and performance gains in distances ranging from the 5K to a marathon.
How Long Should You Run A Day?
Before we consider how long you should run in one day, it’s important to establish what runners may mean when they ask, “How long should I run in one day?”
Although the question seems simple enough, it’s not actually all that straightforward, as it could be referring to two different things—distance or time.
Generally speaking, how long to run a day in a matter of time is how many minutes you should run per day.
In contrast, if distance and weekly mileage are the variables you’re more interested in, the question you’re actually looking to answer is, “How far should I run in one day?”
The good news is that we will address both of those questions because no matter how you quantify your running (time or distance), the same factors will affect how much you should run a day.
What Factors Should I Consider When Deciding How Long To Run A Day?
How long you should run per day depends on several factors, which is why there’s not a simple, single answer for all runners.
Here are the primary factors to consider:
#1: Your Goals
Your running goals are the single most important factor to consider when deciding how long you should run in a day.
Ultimately, the question needs to be, “How long should you run in one day to _______?
The blank serves as a placeholder for your goal:
- How long should you run a day to train for a 5K? 10K? Half marathon? Marathon?
- How long should you run a day to lose weight?
- How long should you run a day to get faster?
- How long should you run a day for physical and mental health?
The list of potential questions is virtually limitless, as your unique goal might alter the exact ideal daily run length.
However, later in this article, we will address how long you should run a day based on the four common running goals listed above.
#2: Your Fitness Level
Your current fitness level and experience as a runner significantly impact how long you should run each day.
If you are a beginner runner or are returning to running after time off, you will want to keep your runs shorter until your fitness improves, you build endurance, and your body makes the necessary adaptations to the high-impact of running.
You can gradually increase the length of your runs as your body becomes more accustomed to the impact of running and your cardiovascular system becomes stronger.
If you are an experienced runner or an advanced runner with long-distance experience, you can expect the amount of running you will do to be higher.
#3: Your Pace
The pace you run influences how long you should run a day.
Faster runners will run further than slower runners during the same time duration, which makes giving recommendations for the number of minutes to run per day quite difficult.
For example, if one runner trains at a pace of 12 minutes/mile and another runs at a pace of 6 minutes/mile, the faster runner will run twice as far per length of time.
#4: Your Injury Risk
Runners who are injury-prone to overuse injuries such as shin splints or who are returning from an injury may not be able to run as long each day as those who are not.
If you are at a high risk of injury, you may complement your running with cross-training cardio activities that involve less impact, such as biking, elliptical, rowing, and swimming.
These alternative forms of exercise can increase your physical fitness without the high-impact stressors of running, which brings us to our next factor:
#5: Your Overall Workout Plan
Running may or may not be the only type of exercise you do in the week or each day.
Runners who also strength train, cross train, other disciplines such as Pilates, or have physically active jobs may not want to run as long per day, as doing too much exercise can lead to overtraining and injuries.
Essentially, how much you run per day needs to be considered in the context of your overall workout routine.
#6: Your Availability
Your schedule and availability certainly influence how long you should run a day.
Running should, in most cases, fit into your lifestyle rather than dictate the schedule for the rest of your life unless you are an elite runner.
If you work full-time and have other responsibilities during the day, your runs may need to be shorter so that they do not interfere with your other responsibilities, sanity, and enjoyment.
#7: Your Health Status
Your health status can influence how much you should be running per day.
For example, runners with chronic diseases or who take certain medications may not be able to tolerate as much vigorous physical activity as those in good health, and elderly runners may need to reduce their training volume over time.
How Long Should You Run A Day To Train for A 5K?
Several factors must be considered when deciding how much to run a day, so these general guidelines and recommendations will be presented in ranges.
Based on your personal situation, you may fall on one end or the other of the range or nowhere at all. Think about your needs and how the aforementioned factors affect you.
Average runners training for the 5K should aim to run about 15-25 miles per week, which might break down to 20-40 minutes 3-5 days per week.
Again, slower runs will be out there longer to accommodate a reduced running speed.
More competitive runners training for a 5K will probably want to run 45-60 minutes per day on most days of the week.
How Long Should You Run A Day To Train for A 10K?
For the 10K, your daily run should probably be around a 45-60 minute run, with a weekly longer run potentially extending up to 80 minutes or so.
How Long Should You Run A Day To Train for A Half Marathon?
How long you should run a day for a half marathon training program is usually in the ballpark of one hour or so, with the important caveat that your weekly long run will be upwards of two hours or more.
How Long Should You Run A Day To Train for A Marathon?
The time commitment when training for a marathon is all over the map based on the training program you are following.
In many cases, the length of time you should run a day isn’t that much more than for the half marathon, though the long runs will be upwards of three hours or more.
Some longer workouts during the week will also be closer to 90 minutes, depending on your level and pace.
How Long Should You Run A Day for Health?
The good news is that if you are primarily running to improve your health and well-being and reduce the risk of various diseases, the guidelines for how long you should run a day are much clearer.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention1Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans | health.gov. (n.d.). Health.gov. https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/physical-activity-guidelines (CDC) recommends that adults should be active on most days of the week or accrue a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise.
These guidelines can be thought of as jogging or running for 30 minutes five days per week or running more intensely for 25 minutes three days per week.
How Long Should You Run A Day to Lose Weight?
There aren’t any specific guidelines for how long you should run a day if you are trying to lose weight.
Obviously, the more you run, the more calories you will burn, which theoretically means you will lose weight faster. However, the other key component of the equation is your diet and the number of calories you eat per day.
Running too much per day can overstress your body, disrupting hormones like cortisol and ghrelin2Cui, H., López, M., & Rahmouni, K. (2017). The cellular and molecular bases of leptin and ghrelin resistance in obesity. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 13(6), 338–351. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.222 (a hunger hormone), making it hard to lose weight. Not running long enough daily will cause your weight loss to stagnate or require you to cut more calories from your diet to see any weight loss.
With that in mind, a good recommendation is that runners looking to lose weight should run 30-60 minutes most days of the week with at least one full day off.
How Long Should You Run A Day to Get Faster?
If you are looking to get faster, how long you should run a day depends mostly on your current running pace.
A gradual progression in training volume and intensity is the most effective way to run faster.
This is best achieved by incorporating structured workouts into your training program instead of doing steady-distance runs daily.
In other words, rather than running 30 minutes a day at a moderate intensity every day, take your 30-minute workout time, and run intervals, hills, or a tempo run with a warm-up and cool down twice a week instead.
These tougher, more intense workouts will really get your heart rate up and work other systems to help you increase your speed.
Again, it’s important to reiterate that running should enhance your life and not overwhelm you.
Therefore, when it comes to deciding how long you should run per day, there are no “rights” or “wrongs”—do what works best and feels like is enough time for you.
However, as a running coach, I never recommend running every single day. Your body needs time to rest and recovery, so always work in at least on rest day per week to stay healthy.
If you are just beginning and would like to train for your first 5K, lace up those running shoes and check out our Couch to 5K training plan and guide:
