Q&A: What’s the Best Way to Start Running?

Start early in the morning with walking for a few weeks and gradually increase to running short intervals. Stay hydrated and have fun! Go for it!

I’m 60 and been running for years, for me it’s the very first thing on my list like 4:45 am because then it’s done. Then everything else falls into place, but you and you alone can only motivate yourself. It must come within I’m always challenging myself I do 7 miles but it didn’t happen overnight it takes time but I’m in the best shape ever I also cycle. Once you start you will end up loving it, I love running and look forward to it everyday.

Start walking first. After I could walk 30 min easily, I started C25K. Take it slow and don’t try to run every day. Our bodies need time to recover and rest. I’m 58, never ran a step until I was 53 and have now done 2 half marathons.

Check with a local running store to see if they have a program. Fleet Feet Sports has an awesome program if there is a store near you. It is better than a couch to 5k app because you have coaches and mentors there to help/support/motivate you and they have informational session on things such as nutrition and hydration.

I have a simple pedometer and I challenge myself to do so many “steps” a day. Some days I don’t make goal other days I blow past my own goal. It works for me.

check hal higdon’s training programs on line. they are free to download and he has everything from 5k to marathon. also 5 and 10k and half marathons for walkers. very easy to follow and gradual increases, even if you are just starting. i used it for a half marathon and survived (both the training and the race). good luck!

Walk the perimeter of a store, or walk the mall. Many of the malls near me have a Mall Walkers program where you walk inside the mall before the stores open

Couch to 5k program is awesome. Start by walking a little each day and build up. Very hot (and humid) where I live too and I don’t like it but I love running. I will be 58 in10 days so I’m in your age group. You can do this!!

I started running in my fifties. I was walking regularly and slowly added running in short intervals. I live in Texas so also battle the heat. I wear a hat, carry water, and slow my pace in the summer. You can buy hats made to help keep you cool. I think mine makes a difference.

I am from the south. HOT and HUMID every day. My husband and I were in the same position… couch potatoes and gaining weight. We started walking about 18 months ago and we progressed to jogging and then running. We enter for local races to keep us on track. Just this past weekend my husband hit his goal weight loss of 50 lbs. I had already hit my goal weight loss of 35 lbs about two months ago. it’s not easy but you have to be willing to work at it. (my husband is 50) but to me age is just a number.

I started out just walking, so slow that I celebrated blocks not miles! Then I just kept adding distance, eating right, taking supplements and About 8 weeks later walked my first half marathon. That inspired me to step up my game and start running. Lost 25 pounds and have lost a few more since then! Looking forward now to my 4th half. Oh and by the way I started all this at the age of 48 and 4 back surgeries from 2005-2012 and two knee scopes

Lots of good advice here. As a runner from central Florida, I suggest starting your training early in the morning, or just before dusk. Bring water with you, run when you can, walk when you have to. Slowly increase your distance and pace….baby steps. Sign up for a 5k and that will motivate you to keep training.

I would suggest a couch to 5k. You should start by walking and then gradually move up to running. Everything takes time but when you put your mind to it, you can do it! Every little movement counts!

My husband is 62 and I’m 56. We run about 3 times a week. He just ran his first 5k with me. Check out Hal Higdon’s running schedules. He is awesome with lots of good advice. We live in Texas where it’s very hot so normally we run in the morning around 6. I encourage you to start walking and just begin to run a few minutes at a time. YOU can do this!!

I’m your age nearly! Just start walking then you’ll get the urge to run. I’ve lost over 40 lbs without trying. Have now done over 14/20 half marathons. It gets in your blood. lol! Just one step at a time. Start small and work up to it! Enjoy. Oh yeah, I live where temps are at 100 right now and feels more like 105

I strongly recommend the free Couch to 5k app. I never ran and that app helped me do my first 5k. I started at age 42. You can do it!! Baby steps at first but don’t give up. You can do it!!

Start with walking! Do get properly fitted for running shoes — if you’re in the Portland, OR, area, I recommend Portland Running Company, either downtown or Beaverton. If not, find some other people who run, and ask for recommendations for running shoe store.

Start early in the morning, and start by walking. Then, little by little, add running — just run from *this* driveway to *that* one at first, and then each time, run a little farther. That’s how I started; it took me several months to run a mile without stopping. Take your time! I turn 60 six months from tomorrow, so you are NOT TOO OLD. Just take your time and keep track of how much better you do each time you go out. (Oh, and I recommend about three times a week — more than that and you risk injury, less than that and you don’t build up quickly enough.) Best of luck!

Start slow, listen to your body, and do your work out either early am or later on when it not hot. Running is a slow hard road, but one day, one time out, you realize how far you’ve come and it drives you during the hard workouts

Couch 2 5k is where I started. The app is sooooo helpful. You start the app at the beginning of your run/walk and it will give you verbal prompts when to change from walking to running or vice versa. It includes a warmup and a cool down.

FL here. I am in the same boat but I am back to walking. I know once I can walk a distance then I can start doing run-walk. If you have someone to go w you, it helps. Everyone I had quit.

I can’t give you any advice you haven’t already received but I just wanted to speak up and encourage you to start. It’s not easy. It hurts for a while. But it is very therapeutic and worth the patience.

I live in AZ and we get up very early in the morning to run. It helps to have a friend to train with as well. Good luck and always remember that you can do anything you put your mind to.

Couch 2 5k. I started it two years ago. I’ve done a lot of 5k but never really considered myself a running cause it was just a 5k. After ready everyone’s stories I’m now working towards my first 10k and I am a runner. Slow is still faster than sitting on the couch.

I live in Arkansas where 90-100% humidity and temps in the same range are the norm. When I first started my journey towards running, I joined our local rec center which had a small track (seven times around was a mile). That way there was never a weather excuse I could use. Set short obtainable goals. My first goal was to make two miles in under thirty minutes. As I accomplished that goal, I set a new one. When the weather was suitable, I walked outside. When I first started running, I would run from light post to light post. Then every other light post. Then run without stopping for five minutes. Ten minutes. Just set goals that can be reached in a fairly short amount of time. Don’t start out saying that you will run for thirty minutes or you will hit a 9 minute pace. Have fun with it. Get some good music. (I like the RockMyRun app.) Find/Make some workout buddies that will keep you accountable for getting out there. I think early morning is the best time to go. Temperature is lower, traffic is less, and you get it over with early. It also will raise your metabolism for the rest of the day. I am a teacher; during the school year, I run between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. Practically no traffic, and I get to run down the middle of the road.

If you are coming from no exercise base at all, start walking. Get up to about 3 miles a day, then start running as long as you can, then walk until you catch your breath. Repeat as often as you feel necessary. Before you know it, you’ll be running 5k’s!

Go early morning or late at night. I like night but it depends on your location with safety. Drink more water then you ever thought possible. Do walk, run, walk, etc to get started. There are couch to 5k training but there are also couch to 1 mile. My mom is in her 60s and I training to run her first mile. It’s not easy, and the first mile sucks for all of us. Good luck and have fun!!!

Everyone has already said c25k. But just start. Anywhere. A slow walk. Then walk briskly. Jog slowly if you want to. It doesn’t matter how long, how fast, or how far. Just start. In a year you will be amazed at how far you were able to go. Good luck!!

I would start out by walking! increase it as you start to feel like you can handle more! i lost 112 pounds in 2006-2007 and currebntly am a runner matter of fact i just got back from a “sauna like” run and i stopped a million times! when you start to run you can’t do alot at once! no one shold just get out there and do thaat! ease your way into it. when i lost my weight i did it by cutting back and did not exercise the first 72 pounds loss! then i incorporated walking! i finally got into running but i would run a little bit for a while until your body adjusts and don’t forget if you have not been exercising you WILL feel sore! this is due to you using muscles you have not used. just be causious not to over do! take it one day at a time and you will find yourself doing more than you ever thought possible! hope this helps and congratulations on your decision to run!

Start by walking , further and faster as you get practice. When you start running, only run for a minute and walk for a minute or something like that until you get more comfortable with it. Age and over weight are excuses for not doing it, not explanations of why you cant. I started running at age 65 or 66, as did many others. I have done many 5K, 10K and 12K as well as several half marathons. Remember, you are doing it for you, not anyone else, so you are the only one you have to satisfy. Keep at it and you will be astonished at what you can accomplish. By the way, very early morning is the time to beat the heat.

Walk before you run then slowly run /walk. Early morning or late at night when cooler. Be safe take water with you stay hydrated. Great way to stay motivated is a group or do a 5k (3.1miles) volunteer if not confident enough just to soak in the excitement😀. Good luck you can do it !!!

SURE, START AT A TRACK AND TRY ONE LAP RUN AND ONE WALK, REPEAT…OVER TIME RUN LONGER BETWEEN WALKS…YOU WILL BE SUPRISED HOW YOUR DISTANCE WILL GROW…ALSO, RUN EARLY OR LATE WHEN IT IS A BIT COOLER…MOST OF ALL, HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE…

Just get up off the couch and start walking. Pretty soon you can throw in a few quicker steps, or just increase your pace altogether. Once you have built up a little stamina, jog a little bit. Try not to quit moving for 30 minutes, at the very least.