Things I'd Go Back and Tell Myself as a Beginner Runner Beginning Running
We all start from somewhere. For those of you who don’t know me, I started running from absolute zero after being inspired by thousands of runners at the 2022 Chicago Marathon. I had never voluntarily run any distance. I had no idea what I was doing. I laced up some shoes I chose after taking an online quiz, tried to sprint through a mile, and promptly 1) learned to hate running and 2) developed persistent knee pain any time I ran over ten miles.
At the time, I didn’t have a lot of guidance. I didn’t have a formal training plan until I started training for the marathon, six months later. And I made a ton of mistakes along the way.
With the new year, I’d hazard a guess that quite a few people are trying out running for the first time. Whether you’ve signed up for a race or are out running miles for the fun of it, starting from zero is a scary place, and it’s especially scary going through it alone.
If I could go back to that day in October 2022 when I got on the treadmill, here are the things I’d tell myself, to save myself a lot of angst (and knee pain).
Invest in yourself. When I first started running, I didn’t invest in myself. And by that I don’t mean that I didn’t buy all the best gear, but I held back from doing things because I thought they were only for “real runners.” I didn’t strength train because I thought that was only for “serious” runners looking to PR. I didn’t buy the training books because I felt like a fraud, like I was pretending to be something I wasn’t. Invest in what you need to enjoy running and stay in the game. If that’s a GPS watch, great. If it’s springing for a coach, do it. But don’t be afraid to invest in yourself even when you’re just starting.
Be prepared to hate it. I hated running before I started, and I hated it for months after I started. All I saw online were people talking about how much they loved running. How much it cleared their head, how crazy they went if they didn’t get their run in. And I just knew something was wrong with me because I freaking hated it. Running is uncomfortable. It hurts. So it’s completely reasonable that you won’t love it right away. Don’t let that turn you off from it immediately.
Fuel, fuel, fuel. When you first start running, you may feel like you don’t need to fuel. You aren’t running that long, or that far. You might be like me, who started running to lose weight, and so fueling felt counterintuitive to that goal. You might be worried about GI upset. But at the end of the day, fueled is always better. I wondered why I always felt so crappy on my long runs at the beginning. Never occurred to me it was because I walked out the door and started running WITHOUT EATING ANYTHING. You will learn to enjoy running infinitely more if you take care of your body - and don’t punish it.
Get professionally fitted for shoes. Running can get very expensive very quickly, but if I had to recommend one pair of gear for a new runner, it would be shoes. Don’t do an online quiz (like I did), don’t just take an influencer’s recommendation, go to a store and get professional fitted. It will make a significant difference in the long run.
Do your research. There are a ton of free training plans and resources online. Take the time to look at these resources, and even if you aren’t actively training for something, you can usually find a “couch to 5K” or beginning runner guide. You don’t have to figure it out all on your own, and having a plan to follow will make it a lot less overwhelming - and hopefully reduce the risk of injury.
I made a lot of mistakes when I started running, and luckily, I didn’t severely injure myself or burn out. I ended up falling in love with the sport and the meditation of long miles. But if I could do it all differently, if I was a beginner runner all over again, I would start with the list above to make that first year slightly more fun….
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