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Because it\u2019s so simple and easy to follow, the 10 percent rule has been a go-to for scores of runners over decades. But is this rule past its prime? And should it really be considered a \u201crule\u201d at all? Here is the history of 10 percent rule, its benefits and drawbacks, and a few different ways to safely and effectively increase mileage to improve run performance. <\/p>\n
Is running\u2019s 10 percent rule effective? <\/p>\n
One of the first proponents of the 10% rule was Joan Ullyot, a physician and early advocate of women running long distances, who wrote Women\u2019s Running<\/a> in 1976. Taking note of how frequently runners got injured when they increased their training load too quickly, she spread word of the 10% concept in the 1980s.<\/p>\n ‘I suspect it became so popular for a few reasons,’ says Gaudette. ‘It\u2019s an easy thing to follow; it gives a specific number and makes it easy to universally apply; and on the surface, increasing mileage by no more than 10 percent seems gradual enough.’<\/p>\n Despite its popularity, there’s not actually that much evidence to support that the rule works \u2013 and of the research that has been done, the outcomes are mixed. For example, in a 2008 study<\/a>, Dutch researchers looked at runners who were training for a four-mile race, and found that 20.8 percent of runners who increased their mileage by 10 percent weekly over 13 weeks experienced an injury. Meanwhile, 20.3% of runners who increased their mileage by 50 percent for eight weeks got injured. In other words, about one in five runners got injured regardless of how quickly they added mileage. <\/p>\n More recently, runners who exceeded the 10 percent rule while training for the New York City Marathon<\/a> did not experience more injuries than those who stuck to the rule, according to a 2022 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, runners who increased their mileage too quickly \u2013 measured by another standard \u2013 did have higher rates of injury. Using a metric called \u201cacute-to-chronic workload ratio\u201d (ACWR), the researchers found that if ACWR was greater than 1.5, they were at a higher risk of injury. ACWR compares how much training (workload) a person does in a short amount of time (acute) to their training over a longer period (chronic). <\/p>\n Nonetheless, over the decades, many runners have made the 10 percent rule work for them. Here\u2019s how you could reap the rewards from following the rule, and how the rule could potentially be detrimental to your progress.<\/p>\n How can the 10% rule be beneficial to your training? <\/p>\n The 10 percent rule of running is easy to follow and doesn\u2019t require a complicated plan. ‘While I think there are better approaches, it\u2019s a really simple way to guide someone on how they can increase mileage fairly safely,’ says Gaudette. ‘This can be very helpful when you\u2019re working with someone who doesn\u2019t want to get into the weeds of training and just wants a simple plan to follow.’<\/p>\n Though there isn’t much hard proof it can have huge benefits (much of the claims are anecdotal), the rule hasn\u2019t been shown to be ineffective or dangerous, so if you need an easy way to increase mileage, it\u2019s worth a try. And because increasing volume too quickly has been link to common running injuries, including IT band syndrome and shin splints, it\u2019s still important to maintain a gradual build. <\/p>\n Should you always follow the 10 percent rule?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a novice runner prepping for your first marathon, building up your mileage could feel like it takes forever. ‘For beginners starting at 10 to 15 miles per week, it will take quite a few months to get to 25 or 30 miles per week,’ notes Gaudette. On the flip side, if you\u2019re quite experienced and regularly clock 70 or 80 miles per week, tacking on another 7 or 8 miles weekly can be a too-aggressive jump. For these reasons, the 10 percent rule may not be right for you.<\/p>\n Another drawback of the rule is that it only cares about mileage \u2013 not the types of sessions you\u2019re running. ‘If you\u2019re thinking of following the rule, ask yourself if you\u2019ll also be taking into consideration any increases in intensity, races, or harder workouts,’ Dave Berdan, two-time winner of the Baltimore Marathon, former collegiate coach, and current coach with Run Doyen<\/a> tells Women’s Health. ‘Everything needs to be monitored, not just overall volume. Volume at all of the different training intensities matters more than random overall volume.’<\/p>\n What do you need to consider when applying the 10% rule?<\/p>\n If you set the goal to run more miles, you can always follow a training plan to reach a certain distance, such as a half or full marathon. Most of those plans incorporate gradual increases in distance, combined with other workouts, to improve your endurance. But if you\u2019re going to sidestep the 10 percent rule, here are some guidelines to keep in mind.<\/p>\n Add regular cutback weeks<\/p>\n Gaudette prefers to follow a three-weeks-up, one-week-down training plan: Increase your mileage slowly over three weeks (making sure to keep a rest day or two mixed in each week), then a step back during the fourth week and cut your mileage total back to the same number as week one. The cutback week gives your body a chance to rest and recover.<\/p>\n Work with a coach<\/p>\n There are a variety of ways, some more inexpensive than others, to ask a coach to help you figure out how many miles you can safely add to your schedule based on your experience and goals. Berdan connects with his clients to assess how their body is handling both the volume and intensity after each week. ‘It\u2019s through regular communication about how they are responding to workouts that I plan increases or decreases in volume,’ he says.<\/p>\n Dial down your intensity<\/p>\n Reduce the amount of speedwork you’re doing as you increase your weekly miles. For example, if you\u2019ve been doing two speed days per week, cut back to one. If you\u2019ve been doing one, decrease the volume by 25 to 50%, suggests Gaudette. ‘Reducing the intensity has been shown, in some studies, to really help with adaptation to increasing mileage,’ he says. You can swap these speed sessions for easier, zone 2 runs. <\/p>\n Check in with yourself<\/p>\n Throughout training, keep tabs on your mileage, intensity, and how you feel, suggests Berdan. Keep in mind other stressors in your life that might affect how much volume you can handle. ‘Everyone has good runs and bad runs, and it\u2019s normal to be sore sometimes when pushing limits on volume and intensity \u2013 but if you\u2019re chronically sore or have several bad days per week, that\u2019s a good sign you\u2019re doing too much,’ he says. ‘To find your training volume sweet spot, the most important thing is listening to your body.’<\/p>\n Laurel Leicht is a writer and editor in Brooklyn. She’s covered health, fitness, and travel for outlets including Well+Good, Glamour, and O, The Oprah Magazine.<\/p>\n \u00a0As Women\u2019s Health UK\u2019s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine\u2019s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner\u2019s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk<\/a> and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as \u2018Fit At Any Age\u2019, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks \u2013 all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Building endurance for long-distance races requires smart, gradual progression. One training approach that continues to inspire confidence among…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,19,17,13960,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-255862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-service","12":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115802249962262976","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/97a44f92-dc5c-49d7-a6e3-14456e856b84_1554917710.jpg\" "\\"Headshot")
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