5 Tips to Start Running

A few months into starting my own fitness and wellness business, I noticed how much of a struggle people found running. As a keen runner and outdoor enthusiast myself, I wanted to do something about that, not only for physical fitness but because I know how beneficial it is for our mental health too. I created a brand new programme and started to coach complete beginners from walking to running in 12 weeks. 3 years on and coaching over 250 people across their first 5k finish line, I’m proud to say that my humble idea for a group running programme has been a huge success. This year, during lockdown, I made the move to transfer the programme and everything i’ve learnt over to an online course, available to start at anytime from anywhere, with the hope of helping many more wannabe runners to make it happen and bring running into their lifestyle for good.

Through this time as a Personal Trainer and Running Leader, working primarily with women at the very start of their running journey, I have definitely noticed many common patterns, mindset beliefs, and habits that often act as barriers to start running in the first place, or can lead to quitting prematurely.

With the hope that it will help you to fast track over some of these barriers, I want to share with you my 5 top tips for starting to run, but more importantly, to stick with it!

It will get harder before it gets easier!

I’m always saying to my clients that 0-5k is the hardest part of running and I really believe that’s true. Once you get to that first 5k it starts to get a LOT easier and much more enjoyable. So if you’re a complete newbie stepping out of your comfort zone, good on you, but please be prepared for it to get tougher before you really start to look forward to running! You might at times wonder why you’re putting your body through the challenge, but stay strong, keep going and your body (and mind) will thank you for it in the long run!

Side note: Please know that I’m not saying to run through pain! If you ever have any sharp twinges or something doesn’t feel quite right please stop and get it checked before doing anymore running, to avoid making it worse.

Decide when you’re going to run and stick to it!

This is one of the most common barriers - time! We are all busy with many different components to our life and demands on our time, so with any fitness or self care habit, we need to put it in our diary or at least decide on a regular time each week, discuss with partner/family if necessary and don’t let anything get in the way - make it a priority! It’s so much easier when starting something new to make it part of our routine by sticking to the same times each week, whenever that time works for you, whether it’s first thing in the morning, after school drop off, lunch time, between regular meetings, straight from the office, or when the kids are in bed. We all need to work with our individual situations, commitments and lifestyles, theres no right or wrong time.

Be prepared

Particularly if you are attempting to run first thing in the morning but struggle with motivation, make it as easy as possible for your half asleep self to get ready and out the door. So pick your running kit out and even your underwear, socks etc, your headphones (if needed), your phone arm/waistband, your watch and if it’s autumn/winter your head torch. Basically get anything you will need and put all of this in a pile next to your bed so you don’t have to think about a thing and you avoid procrastinating and faffing in the morning.

Always warm up and practice good technique

Many beginner runners make the mistake of rushing out the door all enthusiastic and running straight away without warming up the muscles. It’s safe to say that if you take this approach, you’ll be pretty achy the next day and probably won’t go again! It’s much better to spend just 5 minutes warming up with a few high knees, lunges, squats etc, or at the very least a 5 minute walk. Equally it’s important not to get into bad habits right from the start so pay attention to your form and technique to prevent injury and make you a more efficient runner. Sign up below to get access to my free ‘Running Technique Tips’ video series.

Start slow & build gradually

That first time runner enthusiasm often also results in running full pelt for as far as you can go (usually not very far when it’s your first run!). This is the exact opposite way to start running successfully and is quite likely to lead to injury. Instead, it’s much more effective long term to start with walk-run intervals, where you gradually week by week increase the running and decrease the walking, until your body feels ready to run without any walking intervals. It’s a good idea to think about your training plan beforehand and follow a structured plan to keep on track. If you’re a complete beginner, I’d recommend allowing 10-12 weeks to get up to your first 5k. If you’d like some help and accountability with this, check out my Walk to Run eCourse.

I really hope these tips inspire you and give you a boost to start running but also help you to stick with it, even when it gets tough! It will be worth it, I promise!
I’d love to hear what you think and how you’re doing. Just drop me a message at lou@newwaveswellness.com

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