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Speed or Distance? What to Build Next

"I'm a 38-year-old man, a former athlete, and now a little overweight. I've built up to 1.5 miles in 15 minutes. My goal is to lose weight, and I still like to push myself — I'm competing again. Should I focus on speed or distance next?

– John, Staten Island

Answer by Dominique: Hi John,
Thanks for your question about whether to focus on speed or distance next.

Let's answer the question first: below about 30 minutes or 3 miles of continuous, comfortable running, building distance beats adding speed. Your 1.5-mile ceiling — roughly 15 minutes at a 10-minute-mile pace — sits well under that line. So distance is your next step, not speed. Here's why, and what that looks like in practice.

I'll break my response down as follows:

1. Why Distance Comes First (Updated)
2. How Much Distance Is Enough Before You Add Speed
3. What This Means for Weight Loss Specifically

1. Why Distance Comes First (Updated)

Think of your running like building a house. A house needs a strong foundation first — without it, the walls look fine for a while, then the cracks appear, and eventually the whole thing comes down. Your aerobic base is that foundation. Build it with plenty of slow, easy running, and everything you add on top of it — including speed — holds up far better.

Here's where I'll update the old advice on this page: CrossFit and high-intensity interval training aren't the problem. They're genuinely effective, evidence-backed tools — I'm not dismissing them. The issue is timing, not the method. Layer intervals onto a base that isn't built yet, and you add injury and burnout risk without the fitness return you're chasing. Build the base first, and interval training becomes a genuine asset, not a shortcut with a hidden cost.

So for you, John: distance now, speed later. Once you've got a good base, speedwork will make you faster — but most runners rush it, and spend too little time on the base that makes it work.

2. How Much Distance Is Enough Before You Add Speed

Here's the number to aim for: build toward 30 minutes of continuous, conversational-pace running — roughly 3 miles at your current pace — and hold it comfortably for 2 to 3 weeks before you add any structured speed work.

For you specifically, John, that means roughly doubling your current continuous running time. You're at 1.5 miles in 15 minutes right now. Get to around 3 miles, running the whole way at a pace where you could hold a conversation, and keep that up consistently for a few weeks. That's your green light for speed work — not a fixed date, not a feeling, but a checkable target you can measure yourself against.

3. What This Means for Weight Loss Specifically

Minute for minute, hard intervals burn more calories than easy running. But at your current volume, that's the wrong comparison. Total weekly consistency — showing up 4 to 5 times a week at a distance you can sustain — drives weight-loss results far more than any single session's burn. A stalled or injured runner burns nothing at all, and rushing into speed work before your base exists is the fastest way to become one.

Next Steps

Once you're ready to go further, these will help:

• Base training for runners — drills to build your foundation properly.
• The full base-to-speed transition checklist — for once you've hit the 30-minute/3-mile mark.
• Once you're ready, structured speed workouts — including fartlek and other formats, when the time is right.
• Running for weight loss — since that's your goal here too.
• Check whether you're overtraining, undertraining, or just plateaued — worth a look if you suspect the opposite problem to yours.

So, John — distance first, speed later. Get your continuous running to around 30 minutes, hold it there for a few weeks, and the speedwork will do far more for you once you add it.

All the best,
Dominique

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