How Many Miles Should High School Distance Runners Run?

This is an important topic for all distance runners and coaches.

Let me start with the fact that I am a “high-mileage” guy. When I was at my best in my own running journey, I would often peak at 140 miles per week.

But here is the difference: I was a high-level, 29-year-old marathoner. We are talking about high school distance runners. These are developing athletes who haven’t had the same years of training and physical development that I had after nine years of adult training.

So, how many miles should a high school distance runner run?

There is no single right answer.

There Is No Magic Mileage Number

I don’t like giving blanket statements such as, “All high school distance runners should run X miles per week,” because it simply isn’t true.

What works for one athlete isn’t necessarily going to work for another.

High school distance runners aren’t all the same age. They don’t have the same training age, ability level, background, or injury history. Those are just a few of the things a coach should consider when setting an individual athlete’s mileage goals.

The goal shouldn’t be to reach an arbitrary mileage number. The goal should be to find the amount of training that allows an athlete to improve while remaining healthy and consistent.

I Look at Mileage Over Months, Not Just Weeks

Total mileage is one of the key components of distance-running success, in my opinion.

But I’m not just talking about the total number of miles in a day or even a week. I’m interested in the miles an athlete can consistently accumulate over months of training.

I like to track mileage across four training periods:

Summer → Cross Country → Winter → Track

I have always coached in California, so our structure may look a little different from programs in other parts of the country. We don’t have an indoor track season, and we can run outside year-round.

Our year typically looks something like this:

• Summer: 9–10 weeks

• Cross Country: approximately 17 weeks

• Winter: 9–10 weeks

• Track: approximately 17 weeks

We have traditionally done our highest mileage during the offseason periods, typically reaching peak weekly mileage shortly before the first meets of the cross country or track season.

How I Start a Brand-New Runner

When I have a brand-new athlete who has never run before, I don’t immediately hand them a mileage number.

I’ll often start by having them go out for an easy 20-minute run. That tells me quite a bit about where they are physically and what kind of initial goals might be appropriate.

After we have a week or so of learning how to train, we can start establishing mileage goals.

For example, I might give a new athlete a goal of around 24 miles for that first full week. They won’t all reach it, and that’s OK. It’s a goal, not a do-or-die requirement.

That situation is very different from an experienced incoming freshman who has already competed in club cross country or track.

I'll ask those athletes what they have been doing previously. Some of the strongest incoming freshmen I have coached were already running around 40 miles per week.

If an experienced athlete has demonstrated that they can safely handle that training, I might set a summer goal of peaking around 40 miles per week going into freshman year.

The important point is that those two athletes shouldn't automatically receive the same training simply because they're both freshmen.

How I Build Mileage From Season to Season

During the competitive season, our weekly mileage generally comes down because we are racing frequently.

We might race around 12 times during a 17-week season. With workouts, races, recovery, and everything else that happens during a high school season, there isn't much reason to chase a big weekly mileage number simply for the sake of hitting it.

Instead, I use the offseason to gradually raise an athlete's training capacity.

A general goal I have used is to increase an athlete's previous peak weekly mileage by about five miles during the next offseason.

For example, suppose an incoming freshman successfully builds to 40 miles per week during the summer.

After cross country, we might take one or two weeks off and then gradually begin building again.

A progression might look something like:

28 → 33 → 36 → 39 → 42 → 45 miles per week

That's only an example. The actual progression depends on the athlete.

This is where communication becomes extremely important. Coaches need to know how their athletes are responding to training rather than simply following numbers on a spreadsheet.

And we aren't just accumulating easy miles during the offseason. Workouts and other training elements are incorporated into the overall plan.

How High Should High School Mileage Go?

Using this gradual approach, we typically build an athlete's training capacity from one offseason to the next.

In my experience, I have rarely found a reason for one of my high school athletes to exceed about 60 miles per week, even as a junior or senior.

At that level, a week might already include two harder efforts, a 12–14 mile long run, and a couple of double-run days.

For the athletes I've coached, that has generally provided plenty of training stimulus without needing to chase higher mileage simply because a bigger number sounds better.

And importantly, 60 miles per week is not a goal every high school runner should try to reach.

Many athletes can become very successful runners on considerably less mileage.

Consistency Matters More Than Chasing a Number

The biggest lesson is learning what each athlete can handle and not jumping straight into a mileage target.

Mileage only helps if an athlete can absorb the training.

If increasing mileage leads to constant injuries, exhaustion, or missed training, the athlete loses the very thing higher mileage is supposed to create: consistent training over time.

So don't push an athlete toward a particular mileage number simply because you saw it online or because another successful runner is doing it.

Learn your athletes. Communicate with them. Build gradually. Pay attention to how they respond.

The goal isn't to see how many miles a high school runner can survive.

The goal is to find the amount of training they can consistently handle that helps them become a better runner.