Starting Running

How Far Should a Beginner Run?

Published September 1, 2026 By SUBNONE

For your first few weeks, measure in minutes rather than kilometres: 20-30 minutes of run-walk, three times a week. Here is why, and when distance starts to matter.

A runner jogging along a suburban pavement in a SUBNONE tee

The short answer: for your first few weeks, don't measure distance at all — measure time. Twenty to thirty minutes of run-walk, three times a week, is the right dose for almost every beginner. That usually works out somewhere between 2km and 4km, but the number on the app matters far less than the fact that you finished feeling like you could have done a bit more.

Why time beats distance early on

Distance targets punish slower runners. If two people both set out to run 5km, the faster one is done in 25 minutes and the slower one is out there for 45. The slower runner — the one with less running experience, whose body is least adapted — ends up doing nearly twice the work.

Time-based targets fix that automatically. Thirty minutes is thirty minutes for everyone, and the load stays appropriate no matter how quick you are.

What that looks like in practice

A sensible progression over the first couple of months:

Weeks 1-2: 20-25 minutes total, mostly walking with short running blocks.
Weeks 3-4: 25-30 minutes, with the running blocks getting longer than the walking ones.
Weeks 5-8: 30 minutes, gradually shifting toward continuous running.

Three sessions a week throughout. If you want the interval structure spelled out week by week, the complete beginner's guide lays out a full eight-week schedule.

When distance starts to matter

Once you can run for about 30 minutes without walking breaks, distance becomes a useful way to think. At that point most people are covering somewhere around 4-5km, and a specific target like a 5K becomes a natural next step.

That is also when it makes sense to start varying your runs — one slightly longer, one shorter, rather than three identical ones. Until then, repetition is doing exactly what it should.

How much to add each week

The commonly cited guideline is to increase your weekly total by no more than about ten percent. It is a rough rule rather than a law of physics, and nobody needs to calculate it precisely. The useful version is simpler: if this week felt hard, don't make next week harder.

Bigger jumps are where problems tend to start. Going from 10km a week to 18km because you had a good Sunday is the kind of thing that produces a sore shin on Wednesday.

Signs you're doing too much

Soreness that lingers well beyond a couple of days rather than easing.
Runs that feel progressively harder week on week instead of easier.
Sleeping badly or feeling flat and worn down in daily life.
Any pain in one specific spot, particularly shins, knees or the outside of the hip.

The fix is almost always the same and almost always boring: run less for a week or two, then rebuild from a level that felt comfortable.

Signs you could do a little more

You finish runs feeling you had plenty left. The first ten minutes no longer feel like a negotiation. You're recovering fully between sessions and starting to feel restless on rest days.

When several of those line up for a couple of weeks running, add five minutes to one session — not to all three at once.

A note on aches

General muscle soreness after running is normal while you adapt. Sharp pain, pain in one specific location, or pain that worsens as you run is worth stopping for and discussing with a GP or physiotherapist rather than running through. This is general guidance, not medical advice.