Setting Your Running Routes From Home
At UPC, we encourage people to think about running in a slightly more structured way. Not instead of long runs, but alongside them.
Most people default to the same thing, heading out for a 5k and calling it a day. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if that’s all you ever do, progress can stall and running becomes repetitive.
By setting up a few measured running distances from home, you give yourself far more options for training, whether that’s functional fitness, conditioning, or improving speed and fitness over time.
Why Set Specific Running Distances?
Having set distances allows you to train with intent rather than just running aimlessly.
It helps with:
Interval training
Speed and pacing work
Conditioning workouts
Functional fitness sessions
Time-efficient training
Instead of guessing how far you’ve gone, you know exactly what you’re working with.
Keep It Simple: Out and Back Routes
You don’t need fancy loops or long routes. The easiest way to measure distances is using out and back runs.
That simply means:
Run in one direction
Turn around
Run straight back to where you started
Examples:
200m
Run 100m out, turn around, 100m back
400m
Run 200m out, turn around, 200m back
You get the idea hopefully.
Measure it once, remember the turnaround point, and you now have a repeatable distance you can use any time.
Key Distances We Recommend Having
If possible, try to have access to some of the following distances near your home:
200m – short, sharp efforts and finishers
400m – classic conditioning and pacing work
500m – ideal for functional fitness workouts
800m -2000m – aerobic intervals and fitness building
5k or 10k route – steady runs and longer efforts
These distances cover almost everything you’ll ever need for structured running and conditioning.
How This Improves Training (Not Just Running)
This approach works especially well when running is combined with strength or functional workouts.
For example:
Short runs mixed with gym-based exercises
Intervals instead of one long steady run
Conditioning sessions that don’t require equipment
Better pacing and control rather than always running flat out
It also makes training far more practical for people with limited time. You step outside, do the work, and you’re done.
A Tool That Can Help
To measure and save these distances, many people choose to use Strava or a similar GPS-based app. It allows you to measure routes once and reuse them in the future, making consistency much easier.
The tool itself isn’t the goal. Having repeatable distances is and a commitment to running / working out is.
Build Your Toolkit for the Future
You don’t need to change how you run overnight. Simply start by identifying one or two distances from your front door and build from there.
Over time, this gives you more flexibility, better progression, and more ways to train without always defaulting to the same long run.
If you want to stay connected and share progress, you can also join the UPC Club on Strava here:
👉 https://www.strava.com/clubs/U_P_Coaching
Want to Train This Way?
If you’re reading this and you’re not currently part of the UPC Club, this is exactly how we approach training.
Not just doing workouts.
But understanding why you’re doing them.
Find out more about joining the UPC Club:
Train online:
https://www.up-coaching.com/upc-club-online
Train in Sunderland: