Running experts and coaches share their best advice for avoiding these common pitfalls.
Running can be remarkably simple and impressively complex.
It’s perhaps the most intuitive form of exercise, but taking the first step can be intimidating. The pandemic birthed a running boom that is still going strong: Run clubs are becoming more popular, and many major road races are setting registration records. If you’re thinking about joining the crowd, there’s a lot you can learn from the missteps of runners who came before you.
The Times asked running experts and coaches about the most common mistakes they see in new runners and their advice for combating them to build a sustainable running routine.
Pace yourself, don’t race yourself.
Becs Gentry, a Peloton running instructor, has seen the glow of beginner runners time and time again. That newfound energy can be infectious and addicting.
Beginner runners, she said, can “get really enamored by this buzz and the high that running gives them, and they jump into it and they want to get that feeling every day,” Ms. Gentry said. (She gets it. In November, she’ll attempt to run seven marathons in seven days across seven continents.)
But training too often at the start of a running habit can be a recipe for burnout or injury.
Instead, exercise patience as you build your endurance and adapt to a running routine. A good guideline for new runners is two to three days a week of walk/jog intervals — for example, three minutes of jogging followed by one minute of walking — which can be adjusted based on your current fitness level.
Many beginners also start out by running too fast, Ms. Gentry said. Work on finding your conversational pace (a speed at which you could chat with a friend) and do most of your runs around that pace. If you find yourself gasping for breath on a run, challenge yourself to hold back.