If you are over 40 years old, how many times per week do you run and what distances are you running right now?

I want to avoid shin splints, runners knee, and micro-fractures so I'm not running every single day.  I'm thinking two 5Ks a week and one interval speed run per week, all on my treadmill is a good way to go for long term health.

I have read though that some runners recommend taking a week off every four weeks and doing other cardio stuff like swimming laps or biking.  Does anyone here follow such a pattern where they'll take an entire week off after so many weeks of running?  

I don't really consider myself a runner, but I typically run a mile at lunch time just to get the blood flowing, probably 2-3 days a week, then 1.5 miles of intervals (either 400m or 800m) once a week , then a 5k once a week. so 6.5-7.5 a week, with some weeks being a little less if I miss a session or two (I hate the intervals so sometimes I skip it). I've been doing this for the last few months and it's been fine- about the same mileage as you're talking about. I'm in my early 40s.

I’m 48, and have been running 3-5x/week for the last 15 years.  Currently running somewhere between 30-50 miles per week, but started out doing a lot less.  I don’t take any more than a couple of days off, unless I’m on vacation or something.  I had to take 19 days off in 2021 when I had a fairly serious case of the Rona.  I have not had any problems or injuries, aside from a brief issue with pain in my left knee 12 or 13 years ago that a chiropractor fixed in 3 visits.  

I’m no expert on running, but if you have more specific questions I’d be happy to try to answer them.  There are some guys on this forum with a ton of knowledge and experience.

I'm just shy of your age group (39 in October), but I take zero days off.

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I certainly don't endorse this for most people, though. I worked up from running 4 days to 5 to 6 per week over years, then just happened to discover that if I did a short, very low effort run on that "off" day I actually felt better the next day than if I had skipped that little recovery run. Your mileage, literally, may vary.

It sounds like you have a good plan. Make sure you get to a real running store to be fitted for some shoes. Try out a bunch and go with whatever feels the most comfortable.

I don't know of anyone who takes a full week off after 3 weeks of running, but many will take a "down" week to recover - maybe running 70-80% of their usual mileage. These people are mostly avid runners training for specific events, though. If you're running 3x days per week and not more than 3-4 miles per day you may not need to even take that down time at all - it's not a lot of stress and you're giving yourself plenty of recovery between each run.

If you aren't doing any running now, jumping straight to those three runs may be too much. Take it gradually. Maybe start with just a mile or 2 depending on your capabilities and add a bit of distance every week or two. I'd even skip the workout until you're running the miles per day you want for a couple weeks and THEN change an existing run to the workout - this way you're not adding both mileage and intensity (speed) at the same time. You level off, then increase either mileage or intensity - not both at once.

There's nothing wrong with running on a treadmill, but why not outside? If you have a decent hill nearby, hill sprints are a great workout. Less stress on the body than running at the same effort on flats because the ground is "rising up" to meet you. Sprint up a hill until you can't any longer, then walk/jog to the bottom and repeat.


Definitely make sure you up your protein a bit, and maybe collagen as well (beef bone broth is good for this) to help give your body what it needs to build up the strength in your legs/joints.

I run twice a week with the wife unit.... I'm 50 and its just a simple 5km run on Margit Sziget in the middle of Budapest.

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Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

Right now I'm already running, but I'm still working myself up to 5K following the Couch to 5K program. I am in the final week of the program and running 2.75 miles, I'll be up to 5K next week.  I had a little tightness in my right shin and so I cut down from three to two times per week to rest that and it seems to have worked with no shin pain on my last run (I'm also stretching my shins daily now whether I run or not).   I've been taking collagen as a supplement steadily for about a month now.

I don't run outdoors, because the treadmill is lower impact and I like controlling the speed on the treadmill so I know as a metric how fast my pace is the entire time.  I like that I can dial in the speed and then on my Garmin watch also dial in my heart rate, which is pretty steady at around 130 bpm until at the very end of my run when it will spike up to around 140.   I just like the more controlled environment of the treadmill as well, but I do plan to mix in some running on the high school track nearby eventually (nice track with rubber surface).  

Mid-50s here.

Just try to stay in shape or get into shape I'll do 3-4 days a week. If I'm training for a race I'll do 5 days a week. The rest days really do help in preventing injury. Currently on a 3 day a week with 3 days weight training schedule. All my running is outside though, on trails. Can't stand the dreadmill.

One thing to consider with the treadmill is that many, if not most of them (particularly cheaper models) are not very good at measuring speed or distance.  A lot of them will tell you that you are moving faster and/or farther than you really are, and can give people some unrealistic expectations.  Getting outside to compare is a good idea, if for no other reason than to compare results.  

I live in MN, so mine gets a lot of use for about 6 months of the year.  It’s a great tool.  I’ve put a ton of miles on it in 15 years, though probably not as many as it tells me I have.  I do know that I can’t run the times/paces in real life that I can on a treadmill.

That would be a concern for me if I were seeking to competitively run, but I am just doing this for my own health and so for me having the consistent metric is what is most important and the treadmill provides that for me.   I like my data and metrics, VO2, follow my Heart Beat via my Garmin Watch, track my workouts in my Garmin, and track my food in MyFitnessPal.  I like my numbers and so long as they are consistent I measure my performance against them.

I’m. 66.  I generally run three days a week.  Tuesday pub run is 4.5 miles.  Thursdays in 3-6 miles.   Saturdays are 5-7 miles.

Hit the gym and do a comprehensive lower body work out once a week to keep the injuries at bay.

I run races in a regular basis to keep me honest and motivated. 5 and 10ks only because I don’t want to train hard enough for a marathon.  Mostly trail runs with the occasional run and gun because I’m stupid.

Swimming and biking will be different. They hit different muscle groups. For me personally the swim is the hardest by a large margin. I do something every day. Cardio or resistance, or both. I run outdoors but all my riding is on a Wahoo Kickr. FWIW I'm 57.

After eight weeks solid on my run program I did start to feel some discomfort in my right shin.

I took one week off from running (did other cardio) and have come back to it with two days a week,  I'm basically doing active recovery and so far my shin is feeling better and I think (knock on wood) I'm getting past the shin discomfort.  I'm going to give it another week at two running sessions a week and then add back in my third running session.  Plan is to do two 5K runs with one day doing interval runs for speed.   Probably going to be a few months before I'm satisfied with my 5K time though.   In high school, I could run a 5K in just over 20 minutes, but now in my mid 40's I am not anywhere near that fast.  

I'm not doing lower body weight lifting right now. I'm going to wait to get back up to my three days a week running sessions and then add back in my lower body weight day after a few weeks.

I think I'm going to keep doing the 8 weeks of running with one week off and the goal is to do three running sessions a week steady, but listen to my body and adjust as needed.  I get too hard headed sometimes and don't listen to my body, which results in injuries so I'm trying to be smarter about how I push myself.