How much running is too much?
New evidence on avoiding running injuries.
There’s a golden rule in running that’s been passed down through generations: don’t increase your distance by more than 10 percent a week. But what does the data say?
A huge new study of more than 5,000 runners has found that it’s not just how much you’re running each week that matters. It’s how much you’re adding in a single session that could be putting you at risk.
The study
Researchers tracked 5,205 adult runners for 18 months using data from their Garmin devices, alongside weekly injury reports. They wanted to find out if sudden increases in running distance - either over a week or within one single run - were linked to a higher risk of injury.
Spoiler: they were. Especially when those increases came all at once.