Don't run > 20 miles a week is a myth?

[ForbiddenPlanet]

I'm in a lucky place at the moment, running 10K 3 times a week is where I wanted to be and I'm there. Still early in my running journey after starting C25K 6 months ago and learning as I go. No niggles and my running is increasingly comfortable, with scope for improvement as I am still overweight (BMI 27 - 28). Still finding my level.

Wondering about running longer distances and been stumbling into what appears to be an infamous study suggesting running > 20 miles a week is bad for you. And articles by others / runners debunking the conclusions of this study.

Purely by accident I'm running just under 20 miles a week. I have done one 10 mile run, and the thought of doing a regular 10 mile run, maybe once a week, or even HM distance now and then, is tempting. Especially, as I saw the reports a while ago of a study that showed marathon training improved vascular health significantly, and improving my vascular health is my motivation for running. However, I would probably be reluctant to give up my two other 10K runs, so I'd probably be running up to 25 miles a week or more.

I suppose the common sense view is I should just take it steady and stick to the 10 per cent rule, and always run well within myself - which I try to do since getting injured in November, and have rest periods. Or just stick with my 3 10K runs a week, which I probably should be (and am) very happy about being able to do. Touch wood!

I guess I'm hoping others will have already been down this route, perhaps just hoping for reassurance.

[mrrun Ultramarathon]

Long/er runs affect people differently and preparations vary from one runner to another. My marathon training entailed 4-5 weekly runs, some as long as 32k. Ultra marathon is the same. I don't run less than 10k three times weekly nowadays unless I've got cold or if the weather is vicious.

What really makes the difference between us is our targets, age, weight, genes basically. I'm slim and naturally enjoy longer runs but if I'm not 100% prepared in terms of fuelling, hydration and rest, I am likely to struggle.

Is it healthy to run 150km per month? I don't know, but it suits me. My blood pressure is normal, my weight is the same as it was when l was 18 (I'm 55 now), my GP seems to like what I'm doing. I guess we need to monitor what we are doing and if anything changes for worse, we should adapt. Otherwise, for me at least, it's business as usual.

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

Thank you mrrun, good to know you do all that with little or no problem. I'm 62, with hypertension - though that seems to be a lot better since I quit caffeine and alcohol - and I don't appear to be losing body or muscle mass so far.

A nurse practitioner told me when I was injured in November that 10K 3 times a week would be too much for me, but it seems absolutely fine, in fact I feel great. My weight has yoyo-ed over the years, which may be why my BP became high, and I have a heavier build, with a comparatively large torso. I thought that middle distance running / 10K would be my limit, but the 10 mile run I did was pretty comfy.

Thanks for the sound advice and sharing of your experience - much appreciated!

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

Ah, good old black coffee and red wine. The Patron Saints of high blood pressure.

As for weight control/loss, my diet has always been moderate and varied. I don't eat bread, very little pasta, red meat here and there, lots of fruit, plenty of water. And l love fish. I haven't noticed any weight loss (as if l need it) until marathon training. If you dedicate yourself and look after your food, that weight is coming off alter those long runs. It is definitely coming off.

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

Thanks for the encouraging words. I do hope to get down below 25 BMI through this healthy sustainable habit of running, as opposed to a fad diet!

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Yep, I agree with mrrun , it's an individual thing! I have never heard of this idea that >20 miles a week is detrimental to health.

Many of us older runners do find that it is best for us to observe special precautions, such as taking more than a day's rest between hard workouts. But we still manage to train for and run marathons, a practice that by definition requires that we run >20 miles per week 😊😊😊

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Thanks Roseabi. I did find a lot of links when I was Googling such as this one -

active.com/health/articles/...

saying "In another observational study, researchers tracked over 52,000 people for 30 years. Overall, runners had a 19 percent lower death risk than non-runners. However, the health benefits of exercise seemed to diminish among people who ran more than 20 miles a week, more than six days a week, or faster than eight miles an hour. The sweet spot appears to be five to 19 miles per week at a pace of six to seven miles per hour, spread throughout three or four sessions per week."

I glad to hear it's pretty much apocryphal or at best a sweeping generalisation. Thank you for your wise counsel, as ever!

[misswobble Marathon]

Reading this reminds my to rein in my coffee habit ☺️

I’d recommend upping your distance very carefully ! I think we can run as far as we like, clocking up miles, just as long as we’re careful and develop slowly.

Having done all that I still got a calf injury a few weeks ago when my plan upped my pace 🤨🤷‍♀️

I’m still intent on training for an ultra. I’m 62 and see no reason to not keep plugging away at distance I will be doing a marathon on my 63rd birthday I hope 😃

Good luck with your running 😃💪👍

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Thanks misswobble. Wow - super impressed by your running achievements - gives me hope and motivation!

[misswobble Marathon in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

We all should have hope It’s free fuel ⛽️ 💪👍😃

[2718281 Half Marathon]

I read somewhere a study from Copenhagen, where they followed runners for several years and evaluated the overall health differences. The runners were grouped based on time (I don't remember the details but it was something like, no exercise, 1 to 3 hours a week, 3 to 5, and more than 5). The results showed that the worst group in terms of cardiovascular incidents over time was the one with no exercise, followed by more than 5 hours, then between 3 and 5 and then 1 to 3. So technically they proved that too much exercise is worse than the right amount of exercise but better in any case than no exercise. Now this is an statistical study, there are many factors that they couldn't take into account: Different time ranges (1hour instead, might be more useful but they might not have enough data), geography (they had people who lived in Copenhagen, where they cycling to work? Is diet or genetics a factor?)... So while I think that the results are interesting, as in any statistical study, the results are valid for the average but the average doesn't represent a particular individual.

Do what feels right, people who don't like it will find things you should be worried about. To me is a personal challenge to get to the half marathon distance, I obviously don't want to get hurt, but I also don't mind if it's not the healthiest thing

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon in reply to 2718281]

Thanks 2718281. Yes I think that Copenhagen study is the one I've seen referred to and discussed. I also do enjoy the challenge of running. I find it very cathartic, transitioning from feeling daunted at the beginning of a run to being euphoric at the end of it!

[SlowLoris]

This is interesting

youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U728A...(Not working as expected?)

but it doesn't really apply to us. I'm on quite high mileage at the moment but not at a great pace for most of it. It mentions the Copenhagen study.

[Irish-John Marathon in reply to SlowLoris]

Ten minute miles? I wish 😂 Best EVER I've done in almost four years was a 5k in 33 minutes and change

But, what fun I have doing the 5ks and other distances

MIGHT be a "shorter" life - but certainly a merrier one

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon]

Thanks for that SlowLoris. Much appreciated. Certainly food for thought.

[Irish-John Marathon]

Life itself is a bit of a gamble

Runners can be "conservative", "reckless", " methodical" "Have-a-go" and so on. It's so often an individual thing.

My last physical - well, hopefully not my "last" lol - they discovered one of my atria is "compromised".

I had two questions.

1) Does this mean it will probably be my heart that does me in?

2) Can I still reasonably hope to be able to train for and do my best to run a FM in 2020?

Answer to 1) - after a lot of waffling was "It would seem likely barring other factors or events" ( good news that, thinks I. I have a good chance so of going fast when my Cosmic Marker is called in

Answer to 2) was my own Physician saying "You gotta do what makes each day worth looking forward to - and you are hardly going to live worrying about the hammer falling sometime" which I took to mean he knew I wouldn't really listen to him if the answer was no, but "yes" is too uncertain also.

I've had so much fun running, and because speed is not going to happen, hitting new milestones in endurance and distance I'm certainly not going to exchange it for possibly living a more miserable span of time more anyway

So, a roll of the dice willingly taken and believe me - it's much more fun being in Vegas than cooped up in Fort Knox.

Next check up on Thursday, will be interesting to get a second set of figures to compare against the first..but that's even assuming I'm not knackered by anything before then - heck, my DOC might be dead by then, vehicular ?accident, meteor strike?, outraged spouse?...like I say, we really only have today

Live well, run slow and steady - enjoy life

Wishing you many happy miles in your future