Running for Beginners: The Basics
- In This Quick Guide:
- Running the Right Way
- Walk, Don’t Run
- The Talk Test
- A Stitch in Time
Who said that the journey of a lifetime begins with a single step? Whoever it was understood what it’s like to be a new runner. Before you take that first step, it is important that you know how to run properly and safely. In this guide you’ll find everything you need to know to get the most out of your run.
Running the Right Way
People worry too much about running form. The best running form for you is the one with which you feel most comfortable. As you become fitter, your running form is going to become more natural to you, and you’ll think about it less.
That’s not to say that you should ignore your running form. Here are some basic points that can help make running feel smoother and make you less susceptible to injury:
- Upright posture, with your head, shoulders, torso, and pelvis aligned and your head held up and looking ahead, not down
- Arms carried low, with your shoulders relaxed
- Hands relaxed, cupped loosely, and passing your body at about waist level
- Arms moving in sync with your legs, driving forward, rather than from side to side
- Feet landing gently under your center of gravity
Is it worth it to try to improve your form? If you notice that you’re often straining one body part, or that a certain body part, such as your shoulders, tires as you run, then it can be worth it to try to make a few adjustments.
Posture is upright and aligned, his arms are low and relaxed, and his left foot is landing under his center of gravity.
Don’t try to change your form all at once or overnight. Pick an element that you want to work on. On some runs, think about how to improve that element, and concentrate on running slightly differently for 5 minutes at a time.
Walk, Don’t Run
If you haven’t been active for the last few years or are overweight, you’re going to be sore and a little fatigued when you first begin running. You need to do what you can to minimize those inevitabilities. It might sound strange, but the best way is to start off by walking, then slowly introducing some bouts of easy running, and then gradually increasing the length of those bouts.
The Talk Test
You don’t need a battery of tests and a heart rate monitor to find your optimal training pace; you don’t even need to check how fast per mile you’re running. All you need to do is strike up a conversation. When you can do so while running, but still feel as though you’re putting in a solid effort, you’re training at the right pace. This is known as passing the talk test.
Passing the talk test means that you should be able to speak in complete sentences or hum a familiar tune to yourself for a line or two at a time while you’re running at a moderate training level. If you can only offer one-word grunts in response to another runner’s questions, then you’re going too fast for how hard you should be running during the first few months of your running program.
Another good way to gauge your effort is by judging it against a scale called rating of perceived effort. Research has shown that once runners learn the scale, they can accurately say where they are on it. Here’s one version of the scale:
- 0 = Nothing at all
- 0.5 = Very, very weak (just noticeable)
- 1 = Very weak
- 2 = Weak
- 3 = Moderate
- 4 = Somewhat strong
- 5 = Strong
- 6 = Strong
- 7 = Very strong
- 8 = Very strong
- 9 = Very strong
- 10 = Very, very strong (almost maximal)
- 10 = Maximal
When you’re gradually building your endurance, you should be in the 3 to 4 range. That’s a similar level of effort to being able to pass the talk test.
A Stitch in Time
A problem that many beginning runners encounter is side stitches—a sharp, sudden pain just below your rib cage that can double you over and make continuing to run a chore.
These are most likely caused by your diaphragm muscles cramping, either because those muscles, which help with breathing, aren’t used to working hard or because someone has started a run too quickly. Sharp stomach pains might also be from something as simple as eating too soon before a run.
Side stitches aren’t a serious sort of problem. If you get a side stitch, stop and walk. Concentrate on taking deep breaths. Exhale forcibly with your lips pursed. The stitch will usually go away in a minute or two. Then review how long ago you ate before your run and what you ate. Also, assess whether you began your run at an easy pace and increased your speed gradually only after you felt warmed up.
Now that you know the basics for running, it’s time to hit the road! For a handy workout schedule, see our Quick Guide, Running Basics: A Workout Schedule for Beginners. Have a great run!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running, Second Edition by Bill Rodgers and Scott Douglas
