The goal of training is to deposit as much fitness as possible into your training account. Little deposits day after day add up. But once you are comfortable running almost every day and aren’t running little-paycheck-to-little-paycheck, it’s time to add some bigger deposits. It’s time to do long runs.

Long runs are where your most important physiological and psychological adaptations occur. Everything else can be perfect, but if your long runs aren’t appropriate for your race goals, you’ll never get close to your potential. Want to be a big spender on race day? Then you need to deposit some long runs into your account during training.

However, there are no get-rich-quick schemes. You need to put in the time, and plan long runs strategically to avoid compromising consistent training.

WHY LONG RUNS?

The body is a fickle machine, with lots of moving parts and flowing fluids. Long runs can help make you a well-oiled, finely tuned instrument by improving almost all of the elements that count.

“Long runs serve a multitude of purposes, but the most important and obvious include strengthening your muscles, tendons and ligaments; improving your aerobic endurance and efficiency; and teaching your body to use fat as a fuel source,” says Mario Fraioli, founder of Ekiden Coaching.

In other words, long runs have three main physiological objectives:

MUSCULAR: The unique stress of long efforts is the best stimulus for musculoskeletal adaptations that enhance the resilience you need to be a trail runner.