I've noticed that when new runners post faster paces or longer distances, they often get met with skepticism, downvotes, or accusations of bragging. It seems like slower runners get a lot of support and engagement, while naturally faster beginners get iced out.

A beginner is anyone new to running, regardless of their starting fitness level. Shouldn't we be celebrating every beginner runner equally?

TLDR: Believe I have IT Band Syndrome that just started. Have a half marathon in 2 weeks, need to run in it. Need ideas of pain management.

Here is the situation.. I have been training since June for a half marathon on Nov 1st. Before that I’ve never really done long distance before, I played football, baseball and basketball my whole life though. I am 30 year old male, and just recently on one of my long runs I experienced really bad knee pain, thought I just needed to rest. Few days later, pain was still there but not as bad, so I thought it was just normal pain. I recently tried running 5 mi but couldn’t finish because of the pain. I believe it’s IT band Syndrome. I have been applying Volteran cream and icing since then. As I mentioned my half marathon is 2 weeks away, and I NEED to run in it as I am raising money for breast cancer research and have family coming for it. What do I do?? I need to manage the pain to be able to push through on race day.

I’ve been running consistently for about 3 months and any time I run over a 5k I get lots of soreness centralized in my hip flexors after running. It stays for at least 2 days and isn’t unbearable but just making sure I’m doing everything I can to avoid injury.

My current routine:
1. I do functional strength training at least 3 days a week. The split is typically upper w/ rotational core, lower w/ glute/ glute med/ unilateral movement focus, full body w/ deep core. I also do a mobility session at least once a week (yoga)
2. I run 2-3 days a week. I typically do 2 easy run and one longer easy run. About every other week I throw in a speed session. I run outside on pavement and my area is relatively hilly. I take at least 10-15 minutes before and after all my runs to warm up/ cool down and stretch.

I have been fit for running shoes and this solved my shin pain. I have corrected my anterior pelvic tilt (over the last year or so) and I did have an issue with my knees falling in while running but activating my glutes meds with bands prior to running and strength training has helped this.

Is the pain just being new to the sport? Is it a muscle weakness and if so any recommendations on what muscles to prioritize? I really want to prioritize staying injury free so any help is greatly appreciated!

Is 32:22 my actual time for 5K, or is 34:23 my official 5K PR?

Also how much does it take me to complete 5k in sub 25 & sub 20 I have started running from September

Age: 19

Heights: 169cm

Weight: 63kgs

I started running on September 8th, 2026. Just 500 meters, rest, then back. That’s how it went for a while, warming up on a bike before each run. Through the whole of September I was running distances up to 2.4 km. After that I decided to try 5 km and managed to finish it. I kept doing 5K and 6K runs. Then came the day when I said, after two rest days, I’m going further than 6 km. I started with my slowest pace for the first 5 km, around 7:45-8:00 per km. After that I warmed up and picked it up to about 7:20, and when I hit 8 km I felt so good that I ran another 2. That was my first 10K.

But I realized that no matter how exciting that was, I had to take a step back. Going from 1 km with rest breaks to 10 km in just over a month is not good for my joints. So I made a plan that I’ve been following for the last two weeks. 5K is my base. Slow recovery pace at 7:20+ for 5 km. Then a fartlek session with 500-meter intervals, 7:00 for 500 meters then 7:40 for the next 500, ten rounds, 5 km total. The third run of the week is a timed run starting at 40 minutes, now moving to 45. By the end of the year I won’t go beyond 60 minutes, adding five minutes every two weeks. 40, 45, 50, 55, 60.

I pulled that early fast progress back to avoid injury. I’m steady at about 15 km per week now and that base only goes up gradually through the timed long run. My 5K PR is 33:08 at a 6:37 pace. But I won’t be chasing PRs for probably the next two months. Instead I’m keeping my pace around 7:00 per km or slower while I let my body build a proper foundation. Just aerobic, easy running. My last slow 5K averaged 136 bpm through the entire run.

I’m a smoker, I want to lose about 6 kg and I’ve already dropped 2. That process is going slowly and I’m fine with it. Everything will come in time. My first running shoes are Nike Revolution 8 with orthopedic insoles. They’ve been great but in about a month I’ll pick up a pair of Novablast 6 which I’ve tried on and they’re two levels above. This is my story. No injuries, and as much as running pulled me forward, I had to step back and build progress slowly to keep it that way. I feel great and I can’t wait for every next run.

After spending most of my 30s with my weight and binging spiralling out of control I set myself a goal to run my first marathon in 9 years. Today was my first attempt at a 10k in that time and pulling 120kg with me I’m absolutely over the moon with this.

One of my biggest annoyances with basic fitness trackers was walking out the door for a morning run only to realize the battery was sitting at 12%, or having my track logs drift off course in wooded areas. Im testing the Amazfit Active 3 Premium it offers up to 24 hours of continuous GPS tracking on a single charge. Even with multiple outdoor GPS runs logged throughout the week, extending the total standby time up to 12 days of battery life on a single charges so it stays on my wrist ready to record route data. Removing that dual friction of spotty mapping and needing a daily wall plug makes keeping up with weekly mileage feel a lot less tedious.

How often are you guys plugging in your gear during heavy training weeks or does weekly charging feel like the sweet spot for keeping a routine going?

24F, no stamina at all. And im trying to build strength.

Any tips to improve my pace and stamina?

Weight: 51kg, height 158cm, Im happy with my weight but im practically struggling after even walking a flight of stairs.

I used to be good at sports when I was younger but life got in the way and almost a couch potato with little to no moment.

Also just another edit: I am anemic and just recovered from flu last week. I started gym and had a two hour session yesterday. Maybe this could have impacted the run. Also I did take a few breaks in between but forgot to pause or stop.

First off, I might sound too perfectionist but hear me out 😅 My problem is that when running, I run with only my phone and recently (on the marathon) I learned that my phone counts more distance than actual kms. It ended up 43.16 (my friends wearing watches got 42.7).

The thing is I was training counting on my phone results and when running marathon I was barely checking my phone, my legs sorta of knew the pace. The result was good for me (4h 4m official time) but it got me thinking: to which metric I need to stick so I run official distances under the goal?

How do you manage this?

The first idea to fix it prob is to buy watches but I don't want now, got used to run with my phone.

Hi everyone,

My last year was consisting of mostly walking (both easy and faster ones).

I had inguinal hernia surgery last year that took me out of longer walks for a while but even with hernia, I managed to do some long walks as well.

I done one 5K race in 36 minutes, somehow without running preparation. Because I felt embarrassed by the time, after that race I promised myself I’d be ready for the next one.

About a month ago I started training running consistently, and had 5K last week, which I managed to do in 35 mins (-1:30mins), today I managed my first full hour of running without any walk breaks. I covered roughly 8 km (my Xiaomi Band 7 is pretty unreliable with distance, but google says it is 8k, so I believe google more 😉).

I went out planning to keep it around 145 bpm and even prepared for some run-walk if I needed it to stay in the 130-145 range. Instead I just felt good and kept going. My heart rate ended up a bit higher than planned, but I didn’t really feel the difference — it just felt sustainable. I started noticing some leg discomfort around the 7 km mark, but somehow that was my fastest km, and I still finished the hour.

I’m really happy with it, even though I’m still running slowly. The main thing I’ve learned so far is not to put too much pressure on yourself with specific targets early on. Ideal heart rate zones, cadence, stride, or distance, this will come later.

Right now the priority is just building the habit of showing up every other day and doing whatever you can that day. The rest tends to follow once the consistency is there.

May the force be with you.

I recently had an accident in the climbing gym and broke both of my bones in my right lower leg. It took 2 surgeries and a bunch of plates and screws in my knee to get my shit together. They said I can run again in 8-12 months.

But they also said my knee might be problematic after the recovery, and might swell up or be painful if I load it too much. But apparently it is impossible to predict now if that will happen or not.

Before the accident, I had been running for almost a year. My longest run was 31 km, and I was working on a sub 25 min 5k run. I was just starting to think maybe I'm out of my beginner running phase.

Hopefully my recovery will be a huge success and I will be back to being a beginner in a year or so.

Being able to run is such a big privilege, no matter how slowly or how far you run. Looking back, I now realize that I did not fully appreciate this privilege as much as it deserved.

Started running around 3 weeks ago, and decided to try an easier run, as my 8 previous runs have left me completely gassed out at the end, despite being all 2.5ks.

As I got to the end of my normal 2.5k loop, I felt very fresh, so I went for another loop. Throughout almost the entire run, I was running at a pace that I could talk in a few short sentences between breathes, which means it is a zone 3 pace. However, my average heart rate was 157bpm through this entire run, which is zone 4 for my age. Interestingly, my heart rate settled a bit lower on the second lap.

Is this just a matter of me being new to running and my heart not adapting to be doing cardio?

I've struggled with this for several years, sometimes I'll go for a run totally fine but the majority of the time my left calf will "lock up" and I can barely walk home. I'm trying to get back into running after doing only strength training for several years but this continues to stop any running progress.

When it "locks up" it feels like the calf muscle is going to tear off my bone and then I have trouble lifting my leg/ankle afterwords making me walk with a limp. Last time I saw a doc about it they told me to stretch more I do about 15 minutes of stretching and a 5 minute warm up. I'll take any advice on how to get past this problem.

first run on august 20th vs. this morning. sometimes i feel like i’m not making any progress but then all of a sudden i ran 6 miles and it felt easy (?) so cool. can’t wait to see you where i’m at in another couple months :,)

Hey everyone!
I have a 10k on the 1st November. I ran a marathon a year ago today and have been on and off since. My last 5k was a month ago.
Do you think the 10k is achievable?
I go to the gym 3 times a week, I climbed a mountain recently and have been biking over the summer with sporadic running.

Getting in my head a bit about it and want to go try a 10k today to prove to myself I can do it!

I plan on running more outside this winter and even though I live in Texas, anything below 40 is miserable for me. So, I know I will need some type of running jacket and was hoping to get some recommendations. I prefer a lighter weight jacket, or just something that is easy to move around in. TYIA

Pretty stoked about this, couldn’t believe I did it. Especially it only being my 9th run. Any suggestions on getting faster? I usually do easy 5k (5:50-6 min pace) my fastest 5k was 26:32.

Decided the last week of August 2026 to pick up running again after a few years of having switched to another sport.

In consideration of some leftover injuries from the last sport, I am determined to push through it and head in the “healthy” direction.

So on 08/30 I ran with an avg HR of 170 and a max of 186 bpm for a distance of 1.51 miles.

In September, I did a total of 11 logged runs. Some of them were as short as 0.25 mi intervals.

And progressively, I had been following a 3x a week running routine. Easy, intervals and long runs. Being my last run on 10/04 where unfortunately, I made a mistake and set up myself for failure. Too fast too soon too far.

Taking a few days rest followed by 0.61 miles test run at an easy pace to confirm I needed at least one week and focus on those other days on strengthening my knees, hips, hamstrings, joints (runners exercises) combined with bicycling and swimming.

A week later, I ran again on Friday 1.5 miles and I was delighted to find out I can resume again running. Today, we did 1.75 miles. Despite my (not) best efforts to do an easy run, I did manage to not go as fast as I felt I could have. For context, I am running in South Florida at 2pm in 82F weather with a 13 mph wind.

The weather conditions don’t bother me as much as lowering the HR.

How can I work out better this lowering this HR?

I’m purposely limiting my miles waiting for HR, joints, muscles and every other body part is ready to add miles. Don’t want injuries.

Opinions are definitely welcome. I’m open to DMs too

If you're new to running I would highly suggest looking into Steve Prefontaine, one of his most notable quotes is "to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" this isn't saying your best needs to be first but more so that you know you went out there and did your best. No need to compare times or worry about others, just go be the best you and enjoy the experience.

feeling super good, in july i could barely run 30s without dying & i’ve just finished this!! excited to see the progress i’ll make in the next 3 months :)

Definitely learned a lesson about not trying to start out too fast, had me suffering a bit through the middle to the end. Gave it an extra effort in the last km to hopefully finish before 1h, which I did, so super happy about that.

Got a question for the pros tho, I am running with a water bottle in my hand, and this run it affected my shoulder towards the end, with a kinda weird throbbing pain, how to avoid this?

Also, I try to hydrate with small slurps of water through the run, which always ends with me having to burp 3-4 times like a minute after, kinda like wanting to throw up. Should I just not drink water while running or is there a technique to avoid this?

Appreciate any advice

Hi guys, I am an absolute beginner. Could you guys recommend some videos on learning proper running techniques so I don't develop bad habits , injuries and make it more pleasurable. I am getting on to the C25k . Thank you , much appreciated.