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The Truth About Run Mileage

ByDave

There’s a lot of debate around how much mileage you need to be running for selection. Some say you need to hit 70 miles of running per week to be selection-ready, while others insist on capping it at 20.

Where your run mileage lands should depend on multiple factors.

But in my view, debating run mileage largely misses the point. Run mileage is an input – a variable we can tweak to achieve a desired outcome – peak physical fitness, durability via resistance to injury, and ultimately, success at selection.

So, when I work with athletes, there is no rigid minimum or maximum weekly mileage I plan – although I’ll share in more detail why I have never shipped a candidate on only 20 miles or as high as 70 miles per week.

🚨 Heads Up:

This is a longer article, but I highly suggest you read it in full. At the end, I share a sample week to illustrate how even 30 miles per week can drive considerable progress.

Why Mileage Alone Won’t Build Leg Resilience

There’s an argument out there that you need high mileage to build up your leg resilience and that logging high mileage is how you “toughen up” your legs for selection. The principle behind this-testing your limits in advance of selection-is solid. But in my opinion, mileage alone does not tell the whole story.

It seems mileage is being used as a proxy for resilience and readiness. The better way to look at this is how much ground force or impact you are absorbing in a given week.

The impact of three miles of hard 200m repeats on your legs is far greater than three miles of easy, zone 2 running. So, while one candidate might be running 70 miles per week-60 of which are low-intensity-another candidate doing 50 miles with 20-miles of high-intensity work is absorbing more ground force and testing their leg resilience more than the other.

So, what this mileage debate overlooks is intensity.

In short, I would not consider mileage alone a great measure of your leg resilience – it also matters how you’re running.

Preventing Lower Leg Injury

So, how do you actually prevent shin splints? Shin splints and stress fractures are often the result of too much repetitive impact, which the body cannot recover from. This is why I have my clients who are newer to running or who are overweight start running on softer surfaces and supplement with nonimpact modalities like the stationary bike or concept 2 rower.

Your shoes (whether fresh or worn down), foot strike, body weight, and bone mineral density all contribute to your leg’s ability to absorb impact.

And when you start feeling pain or tenderness in your legs, it’s critical that you dial back your volume. Of all the injuries you can power through, running through shin splints is one of the worst decisions you can make. They will quickly get worse, and you could find yourself with the worst-case scenario – stress fractures.

So, you should buy a new pair of running shoes every several months, gradually increase your run volume, strength train with heavy weight to build bone mineral density, and you can even consider supplementing with vitamin D and calcium.

The bottom line is that you need to be mindful of your body as you train. Yes, I recommend you increase your volume over time so you’re not tested with high volumes for the first time at selection – but be methodical about it.

How Much Mileage Do You Need?

In my experience coaching, I have yet to find a need to push weekly volume beyond 50 miles. If someone needs to hit 70 miles per week to meet target run times, it’s likely a signal they’re missing something: poor programming, poor body composition, or they’re doing too much and unable to recover and drive adaptations.

The only scenario I can imagine programming so much running is in someone who has a major psychological challenge with running – they do not come from a running background, we’ve hit multiple 50-mile weeks, he’s also strong and crushing all other metrics, but he needs a feeling of security and feeling that he’s “outworking” the competition in terms of run mileage.

But I’m also not a proponent of low mileage either. I can’t think of a single athlete I’ve worked with where we only hit 20-mile weeks. For land-based selections, like SFAS (which are my main focus), it’s not uncommon to log 20 miles in back-to-back days of prefatigued runs and rucks.

Run mileage depends on the individual.

Building a Balanced Program

Generally, I’ll have guys doing impact cardio (running or rucking) up to five times per week, though most average four. Some Army candidates only need to run twice per week once we’ve hit our target times, with rucking being added once or twice per week. And others may only focus on running to start as we build overall fitness.

For most of my athletes, the peak mileage lands around 40-45 miles per week, and that’s in addition to metabolic conditioning and strength training. Mileage is just one component of a complete training program.

What a Sample Week May Looks Like

Here’s a sample week from one of my athletes. It totals only 34 miles, but alongside two metabolic conditioning sessions with non-impact cardio and 2 days of strength training, it’s more than enough volume to drive results:

Monday: 5x800m repeats (5 miles total)

Wednesday: 5-mile tempo run (7 miles total)

Friday: Prefatigue Metcon into 8-mile fartlek

Saturday: 15-mile ruck

Remember, run mileage should support your goals, not dictate them. Start low, progress steadily, and increase only when needed. Strength, speed, and resilience will come from high effort, consistency, and smart programming-not from chasing arbitrary mileage numbers.

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I'm a coach with a passion for helping athletes dominate the toughest selection courses in the world. Over the years, I've trained well over 100 athletes for Special Operations selection courses, including SFAS, RASP, Air Force A&S, BORTAC, SWAT, and MARSOC A&S. My mission is to bridge the gap between traditional performance training and the unique demands of tactical and military athletes.

I got my start coaching hybrid athletes, blending strength, endurance, and hypertrophy training to achieve peak performance. As I worked with more tactical and military athletes, I realized there was a need for a specialized approach tailored to the grueling physical and mental challenges of SOF selections. This realization drove me to focus on prepping SOF candidates for success, combining cutting-edge research, proven training methodologies, and real-world experience.

Whether you're preparing for selection, seeking to level up your fitness, or simply curious about what it takes to thrive in these elite environments, I hope you'll find the information I share helpful.