How to start running

The basics

• Start with run-walk intervals, such as 1 minute running and 1 minute walking, and add running time each week.
• Run most of your runs at an easy pace, where you can talk in full sentences.
• Increase your weekly distance by about 10% at most.
• Common race distances are 5 km, 10 km, the half marathon (21.1 km) and the marathon (42.2 km).
• Rest days count: muscles and tendons adapt between runs.

What you need

• Running shoes that feel comfortable from the first step.
• Technical clothes that dry fast, and layers in winter.
• A watch or phone to track time and distance.

How a pickup game works

Group runs work like pickup games: a club or a shop posts a time and a meeting point, runners show up, and the group splits into pace groups. Free weekly 5 km events like parkrun run in many countries on Saturday mornings.

Pickup etiquette

• Run at the back of the group if you are new; most groups regroup at corners.
• Keep right (or left, where people drive on the left) on shared paths.
• Call out "on your left" when passing.
• Nobody is too slow for a group run: ask which pace group fits you.

Your first games

• Start slower than you think; most beginners run too fast.
• Three runs a week is enough to improve.
• Sign up for a 5 km event: a date makes you train.

Questions