When you’re new to running, it’s easy to wonder whether you should try to run faster or farther first. It’s tempting to chase speed right away—after all, faster miles feel like progress. But most beginners improve more quickly when they focus on building distance first.
A solid endurance base makes every run feel easier, strengthens the systems that support harder training, lowers your injury risk, and sets you up to get faster later.
In this guide, you’ll learn why distance comes before speed, how to build that base safely, and when—and how—to start adding faster workouts once your body is ready.
Distance vs. speed for new runners
Before you jump ahead, let’s take a closer look at why distance comes first for beginners.
Fast running is high-impact. Every time you pick up the pace, the load on your cardiovascular system, muscles, joints, and bones increases.
If you start hammering intervals before your body is used to regular, easy running, you stack stress on a system that isn’t ready yet. That’s when shin splints, tight calves, sore knees, and general burnout show up.
Distance work, on the other hand, builds your aerobic base. Easy, longer runs train your heart, lungs, and muscles to use oxygen more efficiently. You grow more capillaries, strengthen connective tissues, teach your body to tolerate repetitive impact—all of that makes you more resilient when you eventually do start running faster.
There’s also a practical side: if you’re training for your first 5K or 10K, you need the stamina to cover the distance before you worry about how fast you can do it. A quick first mile won’t help much if you’re forced to walk the rest of the race because you ran out of gas.
Once you can comfortably run your target distance at an easy pace several times a week, you’ve got the foundation to handle more intensity. That’s when it makes sense to add simple speed sessions—like 200- or 400-meter repeats or short bursts at faster paces.
At that point, your body has the background fitness to absorb the work, and those faster efforts will actually move the needle.
You’ll find examples of speed sessions later in the article, but before we get there, let’s explore how to build your endurance base.
Related: The #1 Reason Why New Runners Quit
How to build distance as a new runner
Now that you know why distance matters, let’s walk through the simplest ways to build it safely. Improving endurance takes patience, but these principles help you extend your mileage without unnecessary setbacks.
1. Use a run-walk-run approach
You don’t need to run every minute of your workout to become a better runner. Mixing running and walking helps you go longer, manage fatigue, and build confidence.
Start with short ratios like 1 minute of running and 2 minutes of walking, then progress to longer running segments—2:2, 3:2, or 4:1—as your fitness improves. Over time, you can shorten the walk breaks and work toward running continuously.
2. Keep your pace truly easy
Many beginners run too fast on everyday runs. The right effort feels relaxed enough that you can talk in full sentences. If you’re breathing hard or counting the seconds until you can stop, slow down.
Most runners can physically run farther than they think; it’s usually pacing—not fitness—that gets in the way.
3. Increase distance gradually
A good rule of thumb: Add no more than 10 percent to your weekly mileage. If you're running seven miles per week, bump it to about seven and a half, hold it there until it feels comfortable, then add a bit more.
These small increases protect you from shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and other common beginner injuries.
Related: How to Build Endurance and Stamina When You’re Starting From Zero
How to introduce speed once you’re ready
After 4-6 weeks of consistent running, you can start layering in simple speed elements.
1. Start with strides
On one run per week, add four to six short accelerations at the end. Each stride lasts about 20–30 seconds at a quick but smooth pace, followed by a full recovery jog. Strides improve cadence and running mechanics without much stress.
2. Finish a run a bit faster
Another easy entry point: pick up the pace slightly during the final few minutes of an easy run. Imagine you're asking your body to shift gears when it’s fatigued—a helpful skill for racing.
Once your body adapts to strides and gentle pickups, you can rotate in classic workouts like intervals, fartleks, tempo runs, or mile repeats.
3. Fartleks
Run slightly faster for about two minutes, then recover (jog) for about four minutes. Repeat several times. It’s unstructured, fun, and great for building speed gradually.
4. Tempo runs
After warming up, settle into a comfortably hard pace—about 10 seconds per mile slower than your goal race pace—for 20–25 minutes. This pace improves your lactate threshold, helping you run faster for longer.
5. Mile repeats
Run the mile repeats at a pace that feels comfortably hard—about 15–25 seconds per mile faster than your current 5K pace. You should be able to hold the pace for the full mile, but not carry on a conversation.
If you finish the mile gasping or unable to recover during the half-mile jog, you’re running too fast; if you feel like you could go much faster, you’re running too slow.
6. Interval runs
Alternate short, fast efforts with equal or slightly longer recovery jogs:
- 30-second pickups: Run 30 seconds fast, then jog or walk 90 seconds; repeat 6–10 times.
- 1-minute intervals: Run 1 minute quicker than easy pace, then jog 2 minutes; repeat 5–8 times.
- 2-minute intervals: Run 2 minutes at a steady hard effort, then jog 2–3 minutes; repeat 4–6 times.
Always include a warm-up and cool-down before and after each speed session.
The bottom line
Distance comes first. Speed follows. Adding speed work improves your fitness, strength, and aerobic capacity, but it requires a foundation of endurance to do safely and effectively.
If you're new to running, spend your first several weeks building mileage at comfortable paces. Once you can handle your target distances comfortably, incorporate speed work gradually.
Eventually, training for both distance and speed makes your runs more engaging and rewarding while preparing you for whatever race distance you choose to tackle.
