How Many Days a Week Should High School Distance Runners Run?

This question doesn't have one perfect answer, but it's also one that many athletes and coaches get wrong.

A lot of factors go into a training plan and figuring out how many days per week an athlete should run. Most high school distance runners will run 5–6 days per week, but there isn't one schedule that works for everyone.

Training age, experience, mileage, ability, health, team practices, and the time of year all matter.

Should High School Runners Run Every Day?

Generally, no. I always suggest one full day off from running.

One total rest day is good for developing athletes. It allows them to recover from the workload because recovery is where the training adaptation really happens. Without adequate recovery, there isn't enough time for the body to make the appropriate adaptations from the training.

More isn't always better.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for an athlete is nothing.

How Many Days Should a Beginner Run?

This is a question that's tougher than it sounds.

If a high school athlete is joining the team right when the official practice season starts, they're somewhat stuck doing whatever the team is doing. Ideally, they should start training in the offseason so they have time to gradually build up the number of days they run.

I prefer to start new athletes at four days of three to four miles each and build from there.

If they can handle that first week well, then I might move them to five days of around four miles. Once they have demonstrated that they can handle that workload, I'll move toward six days per week.

That's a relatively quick buildup, but that's what it often takes to establish consistent training within the short timeframe we typically have to prepare for a high school season.

Of course, this isn't a formula for every athlete. A runner coming off an injury or illness, or someone with very little running background, may need a different progression.

Should High School Runners Run on Weekends?

Absolutely.

Typically, there is more time available on a Saturday for training than there is during the week when athletes are dealing with school, homework, and other responsibilities.

That makes Saturday a great opportunity for a long run or quality workout.

A lot of teams have Saturday meets, so that's already part of the training week. But when there isn't a meet, Saturday is a great day to get another solid run in.

If six days per week is the goal, Saturday needs to be part of the schedule.

If an athlete missed a day or took an unexpected day off during the week, however, that doesn't automatically mean they need to run both Saturday and Sunday to "make up" the mileage.

Training isn't about making up missed miles.

Should Easy Days Count as Training Days?

Absolutely.

Easy days are an essential part of any distance training plan and absolutely count as training. All miles count as training.

Every good training plan has a combination of quality days, a long run, and easy days.

For many high school runners, that might mean two quality sessions plus a race, along with a long run. The exact combination depends on the athlete and the time of year.

The easy days aren't filler.

They're what allow you to do the harder training.

What About Multisport Athletes?

This is a tough one because all sports are not the same.

I don't count other sports as running miles, but they can still be hard and challenging.

You have to determine how that activity affects the athlete's overall training load.

If an athlete played a 90-minute soccer game and never got subbed out, that's probably not the time to send them out for a six-mile run.

But if they had a game and spent most of it sitting on the bench, that's a different story.

This takes communication with your athlete. You need to know what they actually did, how they feel, and how that activity affects the rest of their training.

Don't just look at the calendar.

Look at the athlete.

Should Varsity Runners Run More Days Than JV Runners?

I like training most of my athletes the same, to a certain extent.

I don't exclude JV runners from training days simply because someone is faster than them.

So yes, my JV athletes might also run six days per week.

They might not all have the same mileage. They might not do exactly the same workout. Their paces will obviously be different.

But the basic structure of the training can be very similar.

Being slower doesn't mean an athlete doesn't need consistent training.

What About Athletes Who Are Struggling?

If you have an athlete who is constantly tired, isn't recovering, is getting slower, developing aches, losing motivation, or struggling to complete workouts, it's time to look at the plan.

This isn't automatically a time to increase mileage or add more days of training.

It might be a situation where it's time to take an extra day or two off and reassess.

Don't keep repeating the same mistake and expect things to magically work out.

Sometimes fatigue is simply a byproduct of the training. That's normal.

But if an athlete has been struggling for weeks, it's time to figure out why.

Look at:

• Training load

• Recovery

• Sleep

• Nutrition

• Stress

• Injury

• Illness

• School

• Other sports

• Motivation

Sometimes the answer is more training.

Sometimes the answer is less training.

The coach's job is to figure out which one the athlete needs.

Should the Number of Running Days Change During the Season?

I'm a pretty strong believer that six days per week is the right number for most of the high school distance runners I coach.

But that doesn't mean every athlete runs six days all year.

If they're just starting to train, recovering from an injury or illness, or dealing with other circumstances, the number of days can be different.

Summer is a great time to build toward six days per week. Then, when the season starts, the athlete already has the consistency and routine established.

As championship season approaches, I don't necessarily want to dramatically reduce the number of running days.

Instead, I want to modify the training while maintaining the rhythm we've established.

That might mean reducing mileage, adjusting workout volume, increasing recovery between hard efforts, or changing the emphasis of the workouts.

You don't necessarily need to give an athlete several days off just because it's championship season.

Postseason is a different story.

That's when I believe athletes should take a real break from running.

For many athletes, that means a week or two completely off from running to recharge.

Those who need to stay active can find some cross-training, but reducing the number of running days to zero a couple of times per year can be an important part of long-term development.

The Number of Days Isn't the Most Important Thing

At the end of the day, the number of days an athlete runs isn't the most important thing.

How they absorb the training and continue to improve is.

The goal isn't to run as many days as possible.

The goal is to find the amount of training an athlete can consistently handle, recover from, and improve from.

Six days per week might be perfect for one athlete and too much for another.

Five days might be exactly what another athlete needs.

The best training plan isn't the one with the most days.

It's the one that helps the athlete get better while keeping them healthy and consistent.

Start with the athlete, not the number of days.