Your heart is pounding, your breath becomes a rhythmic chant, your feet stroke the ground one step at a time… it’s just you and the surface beneath, nothing else matters.

That’s what everyone experiences when they run, right?

No, and no again. Running may be considered a moving meditation for some but for non-runners the very idea of going out for a jog may be about as exciting as a leg wax.

Truth be told, getting started is not easy and you’ll probably hate it at first, but getting into a running routine may give you so much more than merely an exercise regime.

All runners started somewhere…

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.”— Oprah Winfrey.

Samantha Kelly, a 34-year-old mom of three, shares her story, one that sounds remarkably similar to so many of others.

“I was in a bad place and read an article that exercise is more effective than antidepressants, so I decided to try running to uplift my mood. The first time I went out on the road, it felt like childbirth, it was so hard. But once I found my inner strength to keep going, that’s when the transformation began and everything in my life seemed to get better”.      

As a bonus, besides improving her moods and relationships, Samantha also found that running helped her to lose weight and sleep better, which were areas of her life that she had struggled with for a very long time.

Graham, a 36-year-old engagement specialist, had a very different journey with running.

“Our genes are a bit like the lottery, some win, some don’t. In my late 20s, my doctor informed me I had inherited high blood pressure and high cholesterol from my parents.

Due to my tender age, he advised that I manage these conditions with lifestyle choices for as long as possible. But since I wasn’t overweight, a smoker or a heavy drinker, one of the few options left was to start exercising. Regularly.

So I started running. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t love at first sight. It was a chore… one I did badly. But slowly… slowly… things changed. Now, ten years later, I run 6.5kms in 30 minutes and my blood pressure is normal. No matter where I am, locally or aboard, I lace up and run.”

On your marks, get set, go! 

If you’re serious about starting a running routine, here’s what you need to do:

1. Get fitted for proper running shoes. Forget style, find out what best suits your stride by going for an assessment at a reputable sports shoe outlet that has trained professionals. While foot pronation and impact forces are two of the most common predictors of running injuries, according to a study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, one’s “preferred movement path”, based on an individual’s movement pattern in relation to bone structure, as well as subjective “comfort filters” are even more important factors to consider when buying shoes.

• Warm up properly to avoid stiffness or injury. “Muscle elasticity decreases with age and warming up properly expands your range of motion to help counteract those deficits,” explains Katie Dundas, a physiotherapist reporting for Runners World. Important areas to target when you’re stretching include the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves.

• Become a morning runner. Lisa Reichmann, a US-based running coach and Runners World adviser, says “people who run early in the morning get hooked on that feeling of having accomplished so much before others are even awake.” Make sure you get to bed at a reasonable time, set your clothes and shoes out the night before and put your alarm across the room – “jumping out of bed to turn it off makes it harder to hit the snooze button,” Reichman says.

• Give it time. All habits feel awkward at first. “Since it requires resetting your body clock, morning running may require a little longer than most – at least three or four weeks – to sink in,” says Reichman. Start with going out one or two days per week, and don’t run for too long, you’re not training for a marathon. Even a 15-minute run is better than none.

References:

Dunham. J (2018) The 5-minute warm up routine you should be doing before every run. Available at Runners World [online] https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20865088/pre-run-warmup/ (Accessed 22 February 2019)

Johnson. E (2018) Morning Running: Therapy for anxiety. Available at Health Journal [online] http://www.thehealthjournals.com/morning-run-therapy/

Kuzma. C. (2018) Get inspired and stay motivated to run. Available at Runners World [online] https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20814665/12-habits-to-keep-up-your-running-motivation/ (Accessed 22 February 2019)

Nigg. BM (ND) Running shoes and running injuries: mythbusting and a proposal for two new paradigms: ‘preferred movement path’ and ‘comfort filter. Available at British Journal of Sports Medicine [online] https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/20/1290 (Accessed 25 February 2019)