Tips for Beginner Runners

So you’re interested in becoming a runner and want to know how to take the next step?

Firstly, congratulations on making the decision to get outdoors and get fit. This is half the battle to beginning your new journey into running, hopefully the following tips and pointers will help you along the way.

To help get you started we spoke with Andy Almond from Moreton Bay Road Runners and asked him for his top tips and tricks for beginner runners.

Training Tips

Begin slowly

Andy said his best advice for people new to running is to take it slow at the beginning. Work on building up your distances over several weeks and months and don’t put too much pressure on yourself at the start.

Have fun

Running and exercise is all about enjoyment so try and enjoy it as best you can. If it becomes a chore it will make the accomplishment of goals from losing weight to running your first 5/10km much harder.

How to Stay Motivated

Join a running club and train with others

If you commit to meeting up with a group of like-minded runners at least once a week, it will help you stay on track to achieving your fitness goals. There will be some days that you don’t feel like training so committing to regular sessions can help you get out the door on the tough days. After the session you will be so glad you persevered.

Set short and long term realistic goals

It is important to have an outlook on what you want to achieve from running.

Sign up for a race

Take the plunge and commit to a future race or local fun run. This will give you something to aim for and you can build your running up towards your race day.

Things to Remember

• Make sure to have rest days. Rest is key to improving your running and staying injury free.

• Stretch after each running session. Stretching is also very important to staying injury free and looking after your body.

• Running is about having fun. We are not professional athletes and do this as a hobby so enjoy it as best you can. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a training session or don’t try and come back to quickly if you get ill or pick up an injury.

Getting Started

The best way to get into the groove of things is to start with a training plan. Not only will a training plan help keep you on track to your end goal, but it is a great way to make sure you are doing the right amount and type of training.

Here are some easy to follow training plans for you to try:

J2J Training Plans

https://www.j2j.com.au/news/5km-training-plan

https://www.j2j.com.au/news/10km-training-plan

It's also important to stick to your goals and be consistent. Check out our 5 ways to stick to your goals - and nail them blog!

Tools for Beginner Runners

When you first start to run you will notice there are so many tools out there to make your running experience more efficient.

Here are Andy's top running tools for beginners:

1. Invest in a good pair of running shoes. Ask for advice in a sports store as a running shoe that suits your foot type is important for running in comfort and injury prevention.

2. If you have a bit extra to spend pick up a running smart watch. Garmin are usually the best and these watches can also be worn outside of running so are multi-functional.

3. You can also use a variety of apps on your phone to track your run, pace, distance and overall time such as Strava, Runtastic, RunKeeper, Running Heroes and many more. These apps often include challenges that you can sign up to and give yourself little goals and milestones to tick off throughout your training.

Goodluck and remember to have fun!