Runspire’s Top Tips for New Runners
In January, we often see many people take up this wonderful sport of running to help improve their physical and mental health, taking on challenges like RED January to motivate them to make positive changes in their lives. However, oftentimes new runners can find it difficult to stick with it as, admittedly, it can be very challenging! To help with this, we’ve pulled together some of the best advice from members of Runspire (taken from The Runspire Podcast, Episode 10: The Best Advice for Newcomers) to help new runners along their running journey so that they can fall in love with the sport in the same way we have!
@rosiehatesoup: Don’t give up!
“My advice would be don’t give up! Before I first started running regularly, I’d started, tried and given up so many times before because nobody had ever told me the first mile is always going to be the hardest. I’d set off and about five minutes in would find it minging and would stop, but didn’t realise that it would get better if I kept going! My advice is to keep going and keep pushing to chase that runner’s high that everyone talks about!”
@marky_runsuk: Find yourself a running buddy
“My piece of advice for first time runners is to find yourself a running buddy. It will help you stay consistent and will give you the support you need when you’re out running because you’re both going through the same journey together. Also, you’ll always end up going out for that run because you never want to let that person down and visa versa. I wish I’d done it at the beginning but I tried doing it all on my own and when I got to a point when I was struggling and didn’t think I could continue with my running, a friend messaged me and I took him up on the offer. Now we pretty much run every Sunday together and I feel more motivated than ever.”
@f1tness_kes: Don’t go out too fast!
“My top tip for anyone who’s new to running is to make sure you don’t go out too fast. All too often when I’ve been out, that first mile – regardless of the distance I was going to run that day – I’d be full of energy and just want to run way too fast. Just slow it down, take that first little stint very easy and build up your pace after that.”
@thegall_of_it: Try not to put pressure on yourself
“My advice is to try not to succumb to the pressures of social media to try and keep up with everyone else is doing. We all live very complex lives these days with family and work and other commitments, and so it’s easy to try and follow what everyone else is doing. Try not to put that pressure on yourself.”
@minimalisttrailrunner: Invest in good socks!
“My best piece of running advice for newcomers to the sport is don’t just invest in a pair of good running shoes, but also invest in a good pair of running socks as well. They are important to a runner’s comfort and performance and what you don’t want to happen is get out the door while you’re wearing your new good looking and snazzy running shoes while you’re wearing old castaways from the back of your drawer. That could lead to quite a negative and uncomfortable running experience rather than a blissful running experience!”
@the_running_apprentice: Be patient and kind to yourself
“My top tips for new runners are to be patient, to be kind to yourself and to try not to compare yourself to other runners. It’s important to be patient with yourself, especially with those early runs. Sometimes the runs will go brilliantly and sometimes they won’t, and that’s okay! Just stick at it and try not to beat yourself up about it; it can take time, a lot of consistency and a whole lot of patience but eventually you’ll end up finding your groove and end up loving it – but if you don’t end up loving it to begin with, that’s fine too. The fact that you’re even giving it a go and getting out there is amazing. It’s really easy to end up comparing yourself to other runners too, especially on things like Strava or Instagram, but you need to remember that everyone’s at a different point in their running journey. There’s always going to be someone faster than you and there’s always going to be someone slower than you, so try not to worry about other people’s running and instead just focus on your own journey and the progress that you’re making.”
@rawsonruns: Focus, dedication and determination
“Here are my top tips for someone getting ready for their first marathon. If you’re new to running or working your way up to the distance, it can be very daunting imagining yourself running 26.2 miles. For me, it comes down to three key things: focus, dedication and determination. Focus on your training to begin with – you won’t become a marathon runner overnight, so take your time and don’t push yourself too hard at the start. Plan your runs, write them down so you’re more likely to stick to them. Make them a mixture of distances and gradually build up to longer distances. Keep your end goal of 26.2 miles in mind and enjoy the process.
Dedication is also very important as it goes hand in hand with your focus. Dedicate time to training – it will all be worth it, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the start. Be dedicated so much that, regardless of the weather, you will get out and bank your training run. You’ll feel great that you did it, although maybe not straight after!
The third and maybe most important thing is determination as you’ll need a lot of it! In your training when it gets tough, be determined to keep pushing on. On race day, when you’re chasing down that 26.2 miles, it’s going to be grit and determination that push you over that finish line. But that feeling when you do cross the line, where you can now call yourself a marathon runner, is something very special. Marathon training is never easy, but it gets easier the more you do. If I can do it, so can you!”
@kyla88c: Get involved in the running community
“I’m quite new to running myself and the best bit of advice that’s worked for me is to get involved within the running community. Everybody is so supportive, from going to Parkruns (when they’re back up and running!), to your local running club, whether it’s an online run club like Runspire, or even just connecting with people through Instagram. It might seem daunting at first – I remember thinking that everybody’s so much further ahead than me in their journeys and that I won’t fit in, but actually it’s the complete opposite; they have helped my journey grow and grow. The support is incredible and the motivation is really there. You will always find someone to cheer you on or give you advice or understand when you’re having an off day and sometimes it’s nice to run with other people too. I just think that it’s such a useful to have the running community that we have and, no matter how shy you are or how daunting it may seem, it’s so worth the rewards to get yourself involved. I would say get out there and meet likeminded people and include them in your journey.”
@yvonneuk88: Don’t run through niggles, listen to your body
“Some advice for new runners or people that are injured is that when you start running you might get little niggles and, what people normally do is ignore them and keep on running, but if it starts getting painful you should stop as you don’t want to make your injuries worse and even cause you to be out of action for longer periods of time. Before you start running again, reassess your injury and maybe do some strength and conditioning work which will help you to recover.”
@lankylegskeepsrunning: Progress and success doesn’t happen overnight
“We all have bad days and bad runs, and sometimes bad runs turn into bad weeks of running. When this happens, I like to think back to when I started. Look back at how far I’ve come since my first 5k, since my first 10k or even just looking back over the past few months. Progress and success doesn’t happen overnight and it can’t be taken away over a few weeks from just a few bad runs. We’re all on an incredibly hard journey so when you’re feeling down about yourself and feeling in a bad place, think of Coldplay’s Chris Martin sipping on a pint of Guinness, because ‘nobody said it would be easy’ and ‘good things come to those who wait’!”
If you’d like to check out the full episode of this podcast or any of the other epsiodes, search for The Runspire Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. If you enjoy, don’t forget to rate and leave a review!