The amount we run has probably the biggest influence on how well we can run.
It’s not quite as simple as the more you run, the faster you will be, but for most of us, it holds true.
The main questions we will address in this video are
Why volume matters
How much volume is optimal?
At what rate can I increase volume ?
How to increase volume
1. Why volume matters
Elite marathoners cover anything from 160-220km a week in training and middle distance runners 130-190km 5so there is clearly something to be said for running a lot. Ultra-trail runners dont tend to cover as much as distance in training due to slower running speeds on hilly terrain , but overall training time is very similar. The vast majority of all this running is performed at a low intensity.
The benefits of high volume low intensity training are numerous
– increased mitochondria density in slow twitch muscle fibres. Mitochondria break down glycogen, fatty acids , amino acids and ketone bodies into the ATP that muscles use for energy
– improved mitochondria function
– increased respiratory capacity of slow twitch muscle fibres
– builds capillary density – the greater the number of capillaries the faster you can transport oxygen and glycogen into the muscles.
– improve lactate shuttling
– increased bone density
– stronger tendons, ligaments and muscles
– improved running economy ( you run faster for the same effort )
It is commonly said that low-intensity training builds the aerobic foundation on top of which higher-intensity running sits. Unless you have a good base you will be unable to maximise the performance gains from the harder sessions.
2. How much volume ?
The simple answer is as much volume as your athlete can handle.
How much they can handle depends on a multitude of factors but can be split into two distinct categories
1) Time and motivation to run
2) Recovery
2.1 Time and motivation to run
Except for professional athletes, most athletes have a limited amount of time available time to run. The amount of time they set aside for running also depends on their motivation. Some very busy people find time to run 100+km a week and others that seem to have more time run a lot less.
Understanding an athletes motivations and how running fits into their lifestyle is an important first step in determining optimal volume. Someone who is training for a bucketlist race may be more motivated and therefore find more time to train than someone training for a local race.
2.2 Recovery
Without recovery, there is no adaption to training. When determining how much volume an athlete can sustain it’s important to understand how the athlete’s lifestyle supports the recovery process.
Factors to consider include
– poor sleep habits
– high stress levels
– poor diet
– alcohol consumption
These will all negatively impact training adaptions so training volume needs to be lower, even if they have the desire to train more.
2.3 How much volume is needed for an ultra ?
The simple answer is more the better but a common question is how much volume is needed to run a 100km or 100 miler. There are no definitive guides on this but it often helps to give athletes some ballpark figures to guide their race choices and race expectations.
Based on over a decade of coaching experience I would suggest a minimum of 7 hours a week for 100km races and 10 hours for 100 mile races.
Note that I said time not distance, as it will depend on the terrain of both the race and training.
Yes one can finish a race doing less but if an athlete wants to race it well ( relative to one’s potential) then I think those minimums are needed.
3. Increasing Volume
How quickly can we safely increase volume per week minimising the risk of injuries and over training?
The 10% rule
This is a commonly held belief by a lot of coaches and runners yet there is no scientific validation of it. There is simply nothing to suggest that by limiting an increase in volume by 10% we reduce the risk of injury or over training.
For example this study showed that whilst increasing by \> 30% resulted in more injuries than those who increased by less than 10% there was no difference between those who increased by 10-30% than those who increased less than 10%.
To illustrate how non-sensical the 10% rule is consider this:
If an athlete starts at 10km a week of running and increases by 10% every week – after one year they are up to 1291km a week. If they increased by 5% after one year they would reach 120km which seems more realistic BUT it would have taken them 34 weeks to go from 10km to 50km . Applying a numerical rule to guide progression in volume simply makes no sense.
So what can we use if we dont use the 10% rule? First let’s go over how we can increase volume.
3.1 Understanding Progressions
When increasing volume we have a few choices to make
3.1.1 Are we increasing distance or duration ?
The decision on which is best comes down to terrain , if your athlete is primarily running on flatter runnable terrain then increasing by distance might be the best approach. If however your athlete is running on very hilly terrain then increasing by duration is a better approach.
3.1.2 Increasing volume on one or two key runs or every run ?
Typically we think of increasing the long run but we can also increase the other runs in the week and there is a big difference in load between the two options.
Consider adding 5km to a long run of 25km vs increasing five runs of 10km to 11km. The latter seems reasonable -it’s only an extra 5-6 minutes of running for 5 runs of the week but increasing a long run from 25-30km would come wiith much higher risk.
3.1.3 Increase volume density
We spoke about volume density in the Factors that influence Ultramarathno performance video. Grouping runs in s shorter period of time can increase training load without increasing volume. To refresh your memories – if we did a hard hills session on a Friday night , followed by a long run on Saturday morning and a medium run on Sunday morning that would provide a higher training load than if we spread those runs throughout the week.
Think about whether an increase in density would suit your athlete more than an overall increase in volume.
3.2 How much can we increase volume by ?
You can now understand why there is no easy answer to this as it depends on what you are increasing.
Increasing a long run from 25-30km might be too ambitious but increasing a long run from 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours might not be due to the terrain involving a mix of hiking and running.
We need to think about the mix of hiking and running that makes up the athletes volume as we can safely increase hiking kilometres much quicker than running kilometres.
We should also consider the athlete’s history . What have they managed in the past ? When looking at historical data also need to keep in mind intensity. They may feel that 80km a week is max they can handle but upon reviewing their historical data you see that they ran most of their easy runs too fast. They could possibly handle more volume if they ran their easy runs at a lower intensity.
There is one more thing to consider before we start discussing weekly volume increases.
3.3 How quickly does the body adapt to training ?
Most training plans are created using a 7 day cycle , this is not based on the physiological response to training but on the days in the week. The two are not the same.
Just because an athlete handled a training load in one week does not necessarily mean they can tolerate more the following week. Skeletal adaptions take more than a week. The exact time it takes to adapt is complex as many factors are involved but it’s likely in the order of 4-6 weeks.
What this means is we could increase our volume every week and the athlete seemed to cope extremely well only to have then suffer an injury 4 weeks later.
Have a look at these charts
Here we see volume increasing consistently but physical adaption decreasing until eventually, an injury occurs
In the second chart volume increases at a slower rate with periods of no increase which allows more time for adaption to occur and increases the tolerance for load.
We need to stop thinking in terms of increasing every week and ask ourselves do we think our athlete is ready for an increase. Is there evidence that they can handle more volume ? Have they reported running feeling easier , long runs getting stronger at the end , easy runs creeping up in speed etc
3.4 How to increase volume
As much as I would like to give you a modified version of the 10% rule it’s not that simple as you can begin to understand. I have coached athletes to go from 50 to 100km a week in less than 2 months and others that never reach 100km.
Instead ask yourself these questions
– do I want to increase volume over a number of runs or just the long run
– will the increase come from running or a mix of running and hiking
– historically what has the athlete maxed out at?
– Is the intensity staying the same for the week ?
– does the athlete have the recovery capacity to handle more?
– does the athletes data suggest they are ready for an increase ?
Ask your athlete these questions
– how fatigued/ sore are you ?
– when you finish runs do you feel like you could easily continue with a minimal increase in fatigue ?
– do you want to run more ?
– do you have any niggles ?
– any signs of excess training fatigue ( will discuss in detail shortly )
If you are confident they are ready for an increase in volume then here are some guidelines that work for a large percentage of athletes
Long runs on trails and hills
– 15-20 minute increases up to around 3 hours and then 20-30 minutes increases are usually tolerated well
Long runs on road or flat trails
2-3km a week with perhaps a consolidation week every 3rd week where it stays the same
Weekly volume with long run staying the same
10-15 minutes increase of 2-3 easy runs in a week
I stress there are ballpark figures , some will easily tolerate more , some less . Many will need consolidation weeks where there is no increase to ensure body has adapted before you increase again.
For those that prefer numbers , ramp rate is a measure of how quickly training load is increasing per week. Most athletes will handle a ramp rate in the 1-3 range with no issues , 3-5 for more advanced , experienced athletes and greater than 5 usually only for short periods. This will be discussed in detail in the analysing data section of the course.
Signs that training volume is too high
If training volume exceeds the body’s ability to recover and therefore adapt we need to either reduce training volume or improve the athletes ability to recover.
The later is very hard to do as most non professional athletes will struggle to find more time to sleep and relax.
If the athlete is not coping with the training volume they will experience some of the following
– persistent niggles
– performance decline
– constant tiredness
– decrease in motivation to train
– significant weight loss
– reduced sex drive
– elevated resting heart rate
– compromised immune system leading to frequent colds ,viruses
– reduction in HRV
– higher perceived effort
– sore muscles lasting longer than usual
Some of these you may be able to observe through training metrics ( resting heart rate, reduced HRV, performance decline ) but the rest require open communication with your athlete. It also requires your athlete to be honest with you. Many athletes do not want to reduce their training and will withhold any information they think will result in a reduction in training. As a coach you need to educate your athletes that to improve performance, you need both training and adaption. If recovery is compromised then so is adaption and training needs to be reduced to a level that the body can recover from.
Key Take Homes
Higher training volume is associated with better performance
An athletes training volume is dependent on how much time they have to run, their motivation and their ability to recover and adapt to the training.
Understanding the athlete’s lifestyle habits and how they affect recovery from training is an important part determining appropriate volume.
Increases in training volume should not be based on the 10% “ rule”, instead consideration of the athlete’s specific training goals, training environment and lifestyle should be made.
As a general guide increases of 10-15 minutes on 2-3 easy runs a week is tolerated well.
For long runs on runnable terrain 2-3km is a safe increase for most, for hilly trail runs most athletes will handle increases of 15-20 minutes for runs under 3 hours and 20-30 minutes for runs over three hours.
Understanding how the athlete is adapting to the training is key to avoid overtraining – this involves looking at the athletes training data and getting feedback from the athlete as to how they feel they are handling the training load both physically and mentally