If you’ve had a .ong break from running, or you’ve never run before, it can feel a little intimidating to head out and hit the pavement. However, if you familiarise yourself with the right basic information about running and start as a beginner you will be well on your way to a great running habit. 

Before You Start

If you haven’t had a recent health check, you may want to see your doctor before you take up running. Share your goals and action plan and have the, assess it for potential health issues. This is particularly important if you are returning to running after an injury or have recently seen a specialist such as a pedorthist. 

Have The Right Gear 

You don’t need to have tonnes of fancy equipment to run. However, getting the right running shoes for you is important for comfort and for injury prevention. You should ideally be fit for your perfect running shoes, and, yes, everyone is different and has, therefore, has different needs when it comes ot the ideal shoes for running. 

Use Walking For Breaks 

Before you begin walking, get yourself familiar with what the walk/run method is. Most starter runners use this technique, to begin with. This is because they don’t have the endurance or fitness to run for a particular length of time. The walk/run method involves running for a small segment and then using walking for a break. As you continue to use this, you will be able to gradually reduce your walking time. The aim of the game is to reduce your walking to as little as possible. 

Use A Schedule 

Although you do need ot listen to your body when it comes ot recovery, you should still have a schedule in place for how often you plan to run. It will help you to follow your training and help you to remain motivated. Have a look at a good beginner schedule below. 

-Week One 

Walk for 6 min, jog for 1 min. Complete this three times. Try to do this three times in week one. 

-Week Two

Walk for 5 min,  jog for 2 min. Complete three times. Again aim to do this three times in week two. 

-Week Three 

Walk for 3 min, jog for 4 min. Complete four times. Three runs this week. 

-Week Four

Walk for 2min,  jog for 5 min. Complete four times. Try ti do it three times this week. 

-Week Five 

Walk for 2 min, jog for 8 min. Complete three times. Do this three times this week. 

-Week Six 

Walk for 2 min, jog for 9 min. Complete this three times. Again shoot for three runs this week. 

-Week Seven 

Walk for 1 min, jog for 11. Complete three times. Three running sessions again. 

-Week Eight 

On your first run out this week, aim to walk for five mins at the start and end of your workout and then run for 20mins in-between. By the end of the week, you might b able to run for the full 30 mins.  

Once you’ve worked through this programme, try to run thirty mins three times a week. You will soon notice your fitness and stamina improving. Meaning you will soon be ready to run your first 5k.