STEP BY STEP

READY TO BECOME A RUNNER? YOUR JOURNEY STARTS HERE!

START HERE

WORDS: ELIZABETH HUFTON

You’ve heard it before: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But taking that first step as a runner feels so hard when you haven’t put on sports kit since your school days and your fitness and self-esteem are at rock bottom. So, before you take that small step, you’ll need to take a giant leap of faith in yourself – and we promise you won’t look back. Of course, it’s rare for any long journey to be completely smooth, and you’re bound to lose your way every now and then. Often all you need to do is take a short diversion and you’ll be back on track. We’ve enlisted the help of some running coaches, expert in dealing with the unfounded fears and genuine problems faced by new runners, and asked some of the Women’s Running team about their early running days to show you that you’re not alone. Ready?

STEP ONE: JUST DO IT

If you’re after the very, very concise guide to starting to run, it’s this: JFDI. Pull on the nearest thing you have to sports kit, step out of your door and start running. Take a leaf out of our cover star Helen Bly’s book (see page 10): “One day something had changed and just wanted to be able to run and that was it. And once I’d started, I wanted to be able to finish it.”

It’s common for new runners to have a long list of worries about running, ranging from what people will think of you to whether or not your body can take it. Remember that your first run is just a start that you can build on and that it will take time for your body to get used to the exertion.

“My two most important pieces of advice are: don’t be afraid to walk, and it’s going to hurt but you will learn to love that feeling of pushing yourself!” says Shaun Dixon, head coach at Let’s Get Running (letsgetrunning.co.uk). “On all of your runs at this point I advise you to run at a comfortable level of breathing where you could maintain a degree of conversation if running with a partner. If you can’t do this, slow down or walk. I’ve been running almost 20 years and I do it all the time.”

Coach Lorn Pearson (lornpearsontrains.co.uk) has a succinct way to remember this: “Run until you feel tired (or it gets hard), walk until you feel guilty (or it gets easy).” You can maintain this walk/run approach for the first few weeks of your training.

Still reading this instead of running? There are lots of reasons for putting off your first run, and top of the list is lack of confidence. Once you’re out running you’ll quickly realise that no-one is staring at you or judging you, but if you’re really scared, you could try running at quiet times of day, or keeping your first few sessions indoors. “A good way to start can be on the treadmill in the gym, just to get used to building up the walk/runs,” says Pearson. “It takes away the element of having to run outside and find routes, and means the only people you’ll see will be in the gym.”

Health concerns can also give you the fear, but unless you have known medical conditions that you feel put you at risk (such as arthritis, asthma or type I or II diabetes), you can crack on. “You should forget the fallacy about running being bad for your knees and joints,” says Dixon. “Modern research has debunked this theory. In general, runners have stronger joints than their sedentary counterparts.” If you do have serious concerns, a quick visit to your GP should put your mind at ease or help you work around existing conditions.