Beginning runners have a few things to take into consideration before they start their journey. First expect to get sore and wore out. Running takes a lot of energy and if you haven’t worked those muscles in a while they will get sore quickly, this is especially true for beginning runners. But this is where the training plan comes into play. The training plan should advance you slowly and progress through walking then jogging and eventually to running. How long this takes and how far you run is dependent on your training program.
Next for beginning runners or anyone starting a new exercise, if you are over 40 and not accustomed to any exercise you should consult with your physician. Also if you are overweight, which is a good reason to start running, you should talk to a physician. When we say overweight we are talking about anything 20 pounds over or more is considered overweight. Most doctors will more than likely encourage you to begin a run-walk program, that is unless you have a serious health risk. Running can and will keep you healthy and is a good option to stay in good health, that is as long as your take the proper measure to stay safe.
The next very important tip for beginning runners is that you need to schedule your runs just like you would schedule an appointment. You wouldn’t miss an appointment with someone would you? So if you treat your training schedule like an important appointment, because it is, you are more than likely going to stick to it. Write it down on your calendar or put it in your phone so that you are reminded of it.
The last piece of advice for beginning runners is to find a group to run with. If you can’t find a group at least find one other person. When you have someone else to run with you both can draw off each other’s strengths. When one person is having a bad day the other can lift them up. It is great to be able to share your accomplishments with a running partner, especially if you are both beginning runners and are on the same running program. Another benefit of running with a partner is it is easier to stick to your appointments because you don’t want to let the other person down. When someone asks you “how do I start running?” you can say “with me on Monday.”
Running is a great way to get into shape and to stay in shape. It may seem hard at first to start running but it will get better over time. Beginning runners usually quit because they can’t run long distances right off the bat. It is normal to not be able to run long distances at first but your distance will increase over time and if you follow a good training program.
Running Tip: Try not to think about running as work but as an opportunity to zone out from the world for a few minutes.
Here is a beginners guide to running – from walking to running in 8 weeks
Here is a 5K training guide that is really good.
Here is a 10k training guide that is really good.
For those that want to run half marathons here is a good guide
If you are feeling adventurous here is a full marathon training guide
There are many great books out there about how to run faster and running form. A couple of books that I have and still use are “Running with the Whole Body: A 30-Day Program to Running Faster with Less Effort” and “Evolution Running: Run Faster with Fewer Injuries“
