Double Your Fun: Should You Run Twice A Day?
- By Jeff Gaudette
- Published Aug. 7, 2012
Learn about the advantages, disadvantages and whether or not double runs can work for you.
If you’ve spent enough time at your running club’s favorite watering hole, or happened to eavesdrop on a conversation between veteran runners, you’ve probably heard the concept of running twice per day being tossed around. Runners often refer to this practice as “running doubles”.
Doubles are a training staple for most elite athletes. I can’t think of an Olympic-level distance runner who doesn’t run twice a day at least a few times per week. Since two runs per day work so well for the elites, it’s no wonder that many competitive, non-professional runners will occasionally ask themselves: “Could I benefit from running twice a day too?”
More from Competitor.com–Running 101: How Often Should You Run?
It’s a fair question and the answer, of course, is very individual. Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of running twice per day and then analyze where you might fit in given your current training and racing goals.
FILED UNDER: Training TAGS: aerobic development / double runs / recovery benefits / running twice per day
Jeff Gaudette
Jeff has been running for 13 years, at all levels of the sport. He was a two time Division-I All-American in Cross Country while at Brown University and competed professionally for 4 years after college for the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. Jeff's writing has been featured in Running Times magazine, Endurance Magazine, as well as numerous local magazine fitness columns.