How should you gauge your runs?

The running world is full of statistics and numbers, but one datapoint has dominated the community for centuries--mileage. However, recent studies have shown that basing runs on time could be healthier and prevent injuries.

Max Paquette is a professor of biomechanics at the University of Memphis. Alongside his own running career, he has spent years coaching both high school athletes and his wife, a professional runner. 

“I think when you prescribe distance, especially to some kids or inexperienced runners, they see it as a challenge,” he said. “They will compare the same run to last week. When you compare it to time, and because it does not require a GPS watch, you just go and run.”

Runners today have access to many sorts of instant data. Anything from time elapsed to distance traveled to pace can be tracked in live time with watches. These watches have long been a source of debate among coaches who believe that runners should listen to their bodies over these pieces of technology. 

“The issue with watches and prescribing distance is that runners will focus on pace,” Paquette said. “It becomes easy to believe that running faster is always better, and part of that comes from the idea that you need to ‘go big or go home.’ We should train easy and train consistently, but that’s not a fun or catchy thing to say.”

When it comes to the data, taking recovery runs based on time forces athletes to focus on what their body tells them instead of relying on a watch. 

“If I tell you to run eight miles, you are going to run eight miles regardless of how you feel,” he said. “On one day, you might feel great and run those miles in 56 minutes, but, on another day, if you feel beat up or tired, you might run it in 65 minutes. When you feel beat up, the last thing you need to do is spend more time running. Even though it is easier from a metabolic standpoint, you will still be running for nine extra minutes.”

Paquette likes to take this idea and break it down from a biomechanical standpoint. Cadence, the number of steps a runner takes every minute, is the most important aspect of this debate. On average, runners will take 170 steps a minute. When basing runs on mileage, those extra nine minutes will result in over 1,000 extra steps. Those steps, coupled with the constant impact from the ground on tired legs brings an athlete closer to injury. 

Even with this information, running culture in the United States is based on mileage, with some exceptions. In a Twitter poll, 75 percent of runners said that they base their runs on mileage. Lydia Kurfman, a sophomore cross country runner for the University of Memphis, prefers mileage.

“I have found that I usually run the same distance regardless of whether I use time or mileage,” she said. “I like to pay attention to the mileage that I am running so that I can stay healthy.”