Aug 296 min read

How To Run For Longer: 10 Top Tips!

Updated: Oct 26

For most running is just a big chore and it is hard to imagine ever just enjoying heading out the door for a run. I certainly hated running for a short while when I first started and it took me a few months until I managed to get to the point where I could run for a long time, not be tired or out of breath, and just be able to enjoy running and seeing sights. However, through all I have learnt about running I am sure I can make this journey a lot easier for you, and you will learn how to run for longer in no time at all.

Why is running so hard when you start?

When you first start running and you go for a run and 2 minutes in you feel like you are going to pass out, it can feel pretty demoralising. You see other runners going for 30 minutes and wonder if they are just built differently. This is a feeling pretty much all new runners have.

When you start running, even if you are a reasonably fit individual from football, gym, or whatever sports you like, you are likely to struggle!

When you run your muscles, which are not used to running, will require a lot of oxygen! However, if you have not run a lot before then you will not have many red blood cells, your red blood cells will not carry much oxygen, your body will not be able to use oxygen efficiently and your lung capacity will probably not be amazing.

All of these things are going to make running a lot harder for you when you start and give you that horrible feeling in your legs and lungs that screams for you to stop! But you also have the mental struggle of running when it is something new to you, when you feel all the things that tell you to stop running it becomes very easy to listen to that voice.

How to run for longer

1) Run/Walk

When you first start running it can seem pointless to go out and do a few minutes of running and then having to have a shower and everything- seems like a lot of work for a short run, right?

However, if you implement a run/walk strategy then you can get longer out of your run and also get the health benefits of walking too.

A run/walk program ideally comes to a total of 15 minutes. This can start off as 10x 30 seconds running with a 60 seconds walking recovery, then you can slowly increase the amount of time spent running and reduce the amount of time you spend walking, this can be done daily, and in no time you will be able to run for 15 minutes straight.

2) Don't go too fast at the start

Did you know that every world record from the 1500m up to the marathon was run with a negative split (meaning the second half of the race is faster than the first half)?

Your attitude towards learning how to run for longer should be the same, start off very slow and ease yourself into it. However fast you start running you will probably feel reasonably okay because it will take a couple minutes for the lactate acid to build up and your body to tell you that you have started off too fast.

Read: The Importance Of Starting Off Slow.

3) Vary the runs you are doing

When I first started running I would often just go out and run 15 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. However you should include a long run once a week, you should do some strides at least once a week (just go and run 50m fast and have a slow walk back), and you should also do some short and slow runs to get used to the feeling of running and it not being super hard- this is like a recovery run.

You should vary the length of the runs as well as the paces to help improve the adaptations to your cardiovascular system.

4) Stay consistent

One thing that I struggled to get my head around when I started running at a high level is that it is better to average 50 miles a week consistently than it is to average 65 miles a week but be bouncing between 40 miles a week to 80 miles a week. This is because you need to be doing roughly the same amount of work from week to week for your body to learn how to adapt. You can slowly increase the amount of running you do each week but don't do too much too soon.

Whether you run 5 miles a week or 20, it is important to stay consistent so you can adapt to the training you are doing.

5) Learn how to run with good form

Imagine you had a car and you were trying to get places by using as little fuel as possible, you would need everything to be as efficient as it can be. Running is no different, if when you run you waste loads of energy then you are going to be running slower and getting tired faster.

If you want to learn how to run for longer then you need to learn how to run with good form!

Read: Pose Method Running: How To Improve Your Running Form

A book a HIGHLY recommend to everyone is 'The Running Revolution' by Nicholas Romanov. This book can teach you how to run effortlessly with great form so you can run longer and look the part when you are running.

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6) Do 1 longer run per week

Long runs should be a part of every runner's training schedule due to the huge benefits you get from them both physical and mental. However, when you are just starting out with running and your goal is to try to run for longer, you may try to run further with each and every run you do. But, this is not optimal, you can burn yourself out very fast by doing this and end up exhausted and injured.

For most of the runs you do, you should not be pushing yourself very hard, even if you are someone who can only run for a maximum of 15 minutes, you can do 5-minute runs to recover instead. Otherwise, if you just try to push to run for 20 minutes every day you are going to find yourself exhausted.

You should spend most of your time running in a very easy state and not running for too long. Doing 1-2 long runs per week is PLENTY!!!

7) Get doing some strength training

Strength training can be very beneficial for your overall running ability and is a great way to learn how to run for longer and run faster. By hitting some good leg days or even by doing some simple at-home gym sessions, you can improve your leg strength and run better.

8) Improve your mental strength

"Running is 90% mental".

Running is not only a physical sport but also a mental one, and your mind will try to tell you that you are done long before you are. You are built for running through evolution but in the modern day our minds have such poor attention spans and we are hungry to just go on our phones and watch some rubbish. Your mind will tell you that you are exhausted long before you are. Your mind is an excellent slave but a rubbish master, you need to control your mind so that it can work to your advantage, otherwise you will never have proper discipline and self-control.

There is a great saying by Eliud Kipchoge that goes: "Rule your mind, don't allow your mind to rule you."

9) Learn how to recover better

As with any form of training, your recovery is more important than the work/training you do. Without proper recovery, you will never learn how to maximize your adaptations.

There are many ways in which you can learn how to recover better such as;

Find the right supplements for runners
Foam rolling or using a massage stick
Using a massage gun
Optimising your sleep
Improving your nutrition
Using compression gear

You may also like: Best Value For Rollers.

10) Get coaching

Training yourself and setting your own training is a very hard thing to do. Being your own coach means that you have to make the decisions of a coach with the mentality of the athlete and this simply does not work. I tried to do this for a long time and I found it hard. There were times when I was sore and I thought "If this is someone I was coaching I would tell them to take the day off", however, I always just wanted to run.

Having an expert help you through your training can improve your performance, reduce injuries, and help you learn to run for longer and faster.

Anyway, I hope this article will help you to learn how to run for longer and also learn how to enjoy running more!