You're ready. Give it your all. No bad excuses. Just dedication, motivation, and the will to succeed. That's how it goes the first week, maybe also the next, but then it seems like the motivation drops and the enthusiasm fades. Run intervals become longer. And eventually, you stop. Sound familiar?
In this article, we have gathered some good tips for starting running, avoiding injuries, and most importantly, maintaining your new habit.
Tip 1: Patience, patience, patience
Your motivation is high, and you're ready to push hard. But be careful. Getting started with running is primarily about taking it easy and being patient. Running is not something you become good at overnight. It takes time. So, start slowly with fewer and shorter runs instead of many and long ones.
Many start running but quickly drop out due to injuries or lack of motivation. One reason is the desire to achieve everything in half the time. But I can't stress enough how important it is to take it easy for a long time.
Tip 2: Your fitness improves faster than your muscles and tendons
If you're a beginner, be aware that your fitness improves much faster than your muscles and tendons. And what does that mean? It means that if you run based on your fitness, you'll likely get injured. It's very important to give your body time to catch up and strengthen itself. Therefore, it's also a good idea to run with a surplus, at least in the first year. Run feeling like you can go faster and longer. It takes a long time (many months) for your body's tendons to adapt to increased load, so give it time. Don't push your body; focus on building good routines where you go out regularly and with energy.
Tip 3: Have a goal and remember your motivation
A pitfall is forgetting your motivation. You've started well, but suddenly you've forgotten the purpose. That's why it's good to have a goal to train towards. It might be a specific distance you want to run, maybe you want to run a distance in a specific time, or complete an official race. Whatever it is, a goal can push you out the door on tough days. When you've reached your goal, or when it feels overwhelming, remember why you started. Was it for health? Weight loss? Personal goals? Something else? Your motivation stems from something you should remember. It was the motivation that got you started and should also help you continue.
Tip 4: It's in the breaks you get better
Once you start running, it can actually, believe it or not, be quite enjoyable. That's why many want to run as much as possible. Many overdo it, and that's something to be cautious about.
Injuries are often what cause people to stop running. And metaphorically, running is a marathon, not a sprint. Remember the breaks. Rest so your body can recover. It's in the breaks you improve. It's here your muscles and tendons have time to recover and strengthen.
Tip 5: Run in proper running shoes
It may sound trivial, but many underestimate the importance of running shoes. Maybe you have some old running shoes from 10 years ago, or just some regular sneakers you think you can run in. Be careful with that.
Instead, buy proper running shoes that protect your tendons and joints, and help you get the best start as a runner. If you need tips and inspiration for finding your next running shoes, there's help here:
This year's best running shoes
Running shoes for beginners
See our full range of running shoes here.
Tip 6: Remember tip number 1 and don't rush
The best advice when starting running is to have patience. Without delving into clichés, running is something you should enjoy doing repeatedly. Running is largely about repetition and enjoying the process. Running is truly an endless process. There's no need to risk injuries and pitfalls by wanting too much too soon. Take it easy. Enjoy it. Be patient.
If you need a good training plan to safely and efficiently reach 5 km, 10 km, half-marathon, or marathon, you can find it here: Running training programs
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