How to Start Running and Keep Going

Starting to run seems simple: put on your running shoes, step outside and start running. But for many people, starting is not actually the hardest part. The harder part is making it past those first few runs.
Someone who has never run before may go out for their first run and try to run for as long as possible — and often as fast as possible too. Within a few minutes, it feels hard, breathing becomes difficult, and they have to switch to walking. After an experience like that, it is easy to think: “Maybe running just isn’t for me.”
Usually, the problem is not whether you are capable of running. The first attempt was simply too demanding.
During the first few weeks, there is no need to find out how fast or how far you can run. It is more important to get used to a new type of exercise gradually and give your body time to adapt.

​Start by alternating running and walking

​You do not need to run continuously from your very first session. If you have no previous running experience, alternating running and walking is a perfectly normal way to start.
Run for a short period at a comfortable pace, switch to walking, and then start running again. As your body adapts, the running intervals will gradually become longer and the walking intervals shorter.
There is no need to rush to leave walking behind. Switching to walking does not mean that you “cannot run”. It simply allows you to keep the effort appropriate for where you are right now.

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​Running slowly is still running

​At first, it can be difficult to know how fast you should actually run. The pace often ends up being too fast simply because you do not yet know what an easy run is supposed to feel like.
One of the simplest guides is conversational pace. During an easy run, you should be able to have a normal conversation without noticeable breathlessness or having to interrupt your speech to catch your breath.
If that means running very slowly, then that is the right pace for you at this stage. Even if it feels as though the people walking nearby are moving faster than you, that does not make your run pointless. Running is still running at a very slow pace: the movement pattern and the physical demands are different from walking.
If it becomes difficult to talk comfortably even at a very slow pace, switch to walking, recover, and then start running again.
Speed does not need to be the goal of your first training sessions. First, give your body time to get used to running.

​You do not need to start with 5K

​Five kilometres is often seen as the first “real” running distance. So when people decide to start running, it is easy to set an immediate goal of going out and running 5K.
But during your first training sessions, that number is not particularly important.
Instead of trying to cover a certain number of kilometres, focus on gradually getting used to running itself. At first, that may mean alternating short periods of running and walking. Over time, there will naturally be more running and less walking.
Eventually, your first 5K stops being a distance you have to somehow get through and becomes a natural next step.

​You do not need to run every day

Your body needs not only training but also time to adapt to it.
For most people, a few running sessions per week are enough when starting out. The days in between leave time for recovery, walking, strength training or other activities you already enjoy.
How often and how long you should run depends on your starting fitness level, other physical activity, age, lifestyle and recovery. There is no single schedule that works equally well for every beginner.
And there is definitely no need to make up in a few weeks for all the years you did not run.

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​The first few weeks are not a test of willpower

Running does require effort. As you progress, some sessions will be deliberately challenging: longer runs, faster intervals, tempo work and other types of training designed to help you improve.
But at the beginning, the goal is not to find out how much discomfort you can tolerate.
If every run leaves you completely exhausted, you need several days to recover, and you already dread the next session, you have probably started too hard.
It is perfectly fine to finish your early runs feeling that you could have done a little more.

​Do not compare your beginning with someone else’s running

​On social media and running apps, it is easy to see someone running 10K before work, preparing for a marathon or holding a pace that currently seems impossible to you.
But you are seeing where that person is today, not the hundreds of training sessions that came before.
At the beginning, it is much more useful to notice your own changes: whether the same effort starts to feel easier, whether you can run for longer before switching to walking, and how you feel and recover after each run.
At this stage, those changes tell you far more about your progress than someone else’s pace.

​Running needs to fit into your life

Even a perfectly designed training plan will not help much if it cannot realistically fit around your work, family, sleep and everything else in your life.
So when you start, think about how much time you can realistically and consistently give to running.
Two or three runs that comfortably fit into your week are better than an ambitious schedule that you constantly struggle to follow.
If you want to keep running for the long term, it needs to gradually become part of your life — not require you to reorganise your whole life around it.

​If you are not sure how to start on your own

The first few weeks often come with plenty of uncertainty: how long to run, when to switch to walking, what pace to choose, when to increase the duration, and how to know whether the training load is right for you.
This is where a running coach can help. Not by pushing you to run more, but by choosing a suitable starting load and gradually adjusting it as your body adapts to running.
If you would like to start running but are not sure how to begin, you can start with a free online consultation. We will talk about your current situation, your goal, and how running can realistically fit into your schedule.

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Find out more about running coaching and consultations on the Running page.