In the running community, we’ve got something called RED – Run Every Day. People do it for a challenge, to raise money or simply to wrack up their mileage as part of a training plan. But just how good of an idea is it to run every day?

Despite the fact that Jess is a seasoned runner, she says that RED isn’t something she’d try herself. “If you’re an experienced runner with lots of miles under your belt, then perhaps your body would be able to cope with a few weeks of RED,” but otherwise, she thinks that running every day sounds like an invite to injury.”

As a general rule of thumb, “running little and often” is how Kate prefers to do things. “It’s definitely better than playing catch up and blasting out all your weekly miles in one run.” However, she also points out that running every day can potentially also lead to injury. One of the most important skills in running, according to Kate, is “learning when to back off. I’d say it’s really important to rest, and stubbornly committing to a streak could be counterproductive if it ends in injury or being overly tired. Sometimes our bodies really need a break.”

Even marathoners don’t run every day. Natascha says that when she was marathon training, she “only ran three days a week and complemented this with a day of spinning and two days of weight training.”

How often should you run? An expert explains how good a daily jog is for our body