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“How do I start running?”

This is a question I am often asked by friends, family, and readers of my blog. While I would never consider myself an expert on the subject, I do feel as if I’ve had enough experience to get them pointed in the right direction. I start off by asking them a few exercise related questions;

1. How often do you exercise now?

2. How often do you and are able to exercise if you were to start a training program?

3. What is the farthest you’ve ever run and how recent?

4. What is your goal?

It’s important to establish what kind of exercise base you already have so ou can figure out where to start from. If you do not exercise regularly, you’ll want to start off slow and low (mileage), building up endurance for both over many weeks. If you exercise fairly regularly and feel comfortable hitting the elliptical or other like cardio equipment for at least 15-30 minutes, you’ll find it easier to build up the miles and even add in different kinds of workouts like speed, hills, etc…

Having a goal, for the sake of this post let’s say it’s to run your first 5k, is a great motivator and will keep you on track as you begin your running journey. (Websites like active.com have a quick and easy race finder right on their home page where you can you can search races in your area.)

Now that you have established your base and picked a goal it’s time to find a training plan! There are many, many, MANY plans out there to choose from and you could spend all day tracking them down but I recommend the following:

Beginner – Cool Running – Coach to 5k Plan / From the Couch to 5k / The Galloway Method – These sites provide excellent run/walk methods of training which are perfect if you have not been exercising regularly and are really just getting started. The idea is to build up your running endurance slowly while still going the miles needed to train for any particular distance. Many people use this kind of method to train for longer distances and stay injury free.

Novice – Hal Higdon’s 5k Training Plan for Novices – A step up from the run/walk method (while still using it on certain days)

Intermediate – Hal Higdon’s 5k Training Plan for Intermediate / Running Planet’s Your First 5k – Both of which eliminate walking from the plan and focus purely on running only.

I also recommend joining your local running club, most of which have on-staff coaches and organize various distance running programs, where you can meet like-minded beginner’s who will help keep you motivated and share in your journey. (Miles go by faster with friends!) These websites keep a catalogue of running groups that you can search by area:

USA Track & Field Club Search / Road Runner’s Club of America

While you’re hitting the net for more information, check out these great reads about getting started in running:

How To Train For Your First 5k or this post I recently wrote up about all the stuff nobody ever told me starting out, Nobody Ever Told Me That?!?! (Running)

It’s easy to get derailed when you’re first starting out because you can become unmotivated at the lack of immediate progress. Remember that it typically takes about three weeks to ingrain a routine so stick with it, it will get easier with time!!! Another derailment is injury, newbie runner’s tend to be a little over-eager and as a result end up with common over-use injuries such as shin-splints, iliotibial band syndrome, achilles tendonitis, and plantar faciitis. It’s too easy to push yourself too hard getting started, I can’t stress enough to listen to your body and back off the training if you start to feel discomfort. Consult your doctor immediately if you experience pain as a result of your training.

Finally, the most important piece of wisdom I can share with newbie runner’s is this; Running should be fun, not a chore. Positive attitude can be the difference between a good run and a bad run, so go out there and have fun!!!

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to email me anytime, I love helping out new runners!!! redheadrunning (@) gmail