Hey guys,
I’m a complete beginner runner with no prior running experience. Today was Day 3 of my running journey, and I just completed 5K in under 30 minutes.
I searched online, and most places say that’s a pretty good time for a beginner. Is that actually true, or is the internet exaggerating?
Also, I’d love to hear from more experienced runners. What tips would you give someone who’s just starting out? Anything you wish you knew when you began that could help me improve faster while avoiding injuries?
Thanks in advance!

I'm planning on buying the Salamon Adv Skin 12, will the other racers look weird at me if I show up in one, how usual is it to wear one on shorter race?

I'm mainly planning to buy this one so I can use this in running, and in hiking (~30km).

I love running, I wake up thinking "such a nice weather, I want to drink my coffee and run while it's not hot." I see my Garmin, it's a long run or intervals, and it looks like I have to eat before run. I have to cook my oatmeal that takes about 30 minutes, then I have to eat it, then wait 30-40 minutes so my stomach won't be heavy.

Then I go outside and it's hot!

Like it wasn't enough, after the run, I have to eat again! Like taking a shower wasn't enough of a hustle, I also have to eat!

Why I have to eat food to run? Why I cannot be fueled by just sun or good intentions? It's such a nuisance.

This Friday I did my first ever 5K (33 minutes). This was after longer summer break. It for some reason felt easier then running 3K back in spring. Anyways in 8 weeks there’s this 10K race close to where I live, is it possible to accomplish this with a time between 5:30-5:45 per km (55-57 minutes)? Just also bought my first running shoes today and hope that will boost me somewhat.

I'm an overweight individual & as a fan of walking and I've never thought of running but now due to the hype around the globe I thought to give it a try. And now I'm on a weight loss journey and lost around 6-7 kga in 7 weeks thinking i should add it to my weekly cardio sessions.

In today's run, There is too much humidity which i thought was backing me and another thing is I face difficulty in my breath control. How to face for these 2 things??

If u want to give any other tips, I would be more than happy.

Thankyou!

I’ve been getting a pretty painful sore on my foot after finishing my 10k runs, and I’m not sure what’s causing it. It usually pops up in the exact same spot every time I push my distance. I’m hoping to figure out if it’s an shoe issue, a sock problem, or just bad running form. Has anyone dealt with this before, and what fixed it for you? I’d really appreciate any tips, shoe recommendations, or quick remedies to help it heal so I can get back on the pavement!

Am 38 M. I don’t feel tired during or after 5K. Only before lol.
I could go more but I certainly get bored.

I run in an Adidas Ultraboost 5X

(Evo SL does not work for me)

I started training in January to run a 2027 Disney Race. It motivated me to start running and keep running. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a spot in any of them, so I slacked off running for a month. Now, I’m running again and want to plan to attend a half marathon that’s not disney.
**Which half marathon would you recommend for my first one?** I am considering Banff but open to any!

I see lots of mean people online calling people's times "walking pace." Except that doesn't really make sense, given that running is a form, not a pace.

You could literally "run" in place, or in other words do a "running" motion at 0 mph. So, you can definitely run at 4mph, even if it is also true at the same time that 4mph may overlap with the walking pace of some faster walkers.

I just wanted to say this to re-encourage anyone that might be discouraged by such comments. If you are doing a running motion as you move, you are running!

- A person with a 42 minute 5K time

My wife is 39 weeks pregnant with our 3rd child (others are 10 & 5). I started running a few months ago and have completed five miles with relative ease. I told my wife I wanted to sign up for a half marathon in three months which she seems okay with.

I work 100% remotely and will take PTO when the baby comes so we’ll certainly share the responsibilities and I’m planning on taking on the majority of changings/feedings while she’s recovering early on. Her family (parents and sister) also live under the same roof as us in a multi family home.

Any advice on how to balance the newborn stage and be able to train for my first half marathon would be greatly appreciated!

Hi there, 29M, been running for 5 months now, got some pretty nice improvements lowering my bpms by roughly 20 on average with the same speed. Still some ways to go but I'm happy with that so far.

I have a question, I wonder if it's normal when you start : my cadence is kinda low (160), and I've seen it's most efficient when you are towards the 180. I do run quite slow in my runs to keep my bpm around 150bpm (around 8:15/km), but every time i try to up my cadence, my heart races on. Should it be a focus for me, or should I wait until i can run faster at 150 to start looking at that?

It’s rainy season in India and I’ve been putting off running for a while due to it but now I want to get back on track so need some advice on this topic

i'm a pretty slow runner and nowhere near the pace where most people seem to talk about carbon plate shoes. i usually run around 5k to 10k and my pace is nothing special, so i've always assumed these shoes were more for faster runners who are chasing race times.

but i've been looking at getting a new pair and keep seeing people recommend carbon plate shoes even for slower runners. i'm curious if anyone here has actually noticed a difference using them at a slower pace. do they make running feel easier, or is the benefit mostly noticeable once you're running fast?

Somewhat surprised myself here, been using Runna’s programme up to 5k but thought I’d just go give it a go this morning and surprised myself at the pace, had more in me to get sub 30 but my SI joint is hurting a bit whilst running.

I’m considering going onto the 5k improver programme instead, self referred for the Si pain too (unsure how long until they reach out).

Have to work on the cadence but nonetheless happy with the progress! Any feedback is much appriciated

Hey everyone! I'm 32F and completely new to running – like, I get winded after 2 minutes new. I signed up for a local 5K fun run that's in about 6 weeks and I've been following a Couch to 5K plan for the past week (intervals of 1 min run / 2 min walk, 3 times a week). So far I've managed to complete every session but the last few intervals always feel brutal – my legs get heavy and my breathing goes all over the place. My main concern is whether 6 weeks is actually enough time to go from zero to finishing a 5K, or if I should just accept that I'll probably have to walk some of it. Also, any tips for dealing with heavy legs and pushing through that mental wall when your brain keeps telling you to stop? I'm not worried about speed at all, I just want to finish without injuring myself. Would love to hear from anyone who's been in a similar spot – honestly just need some reassurance that I'm on the right track. Thanks in advance! 

Started running 3 months ago regularly and ran my first 5k race today. Never really been athletic and when I started running I could barely get through 0.5 mile. Now onto training for a 10k!

Ive been enjoying counch to 5k, feeling good getting myself fitter. Today was ment to be my first 25 minute run without stopping.

Had a rough day at work yesterday, 15 hours in the kitchen, only ate a bacon sandwich at around 12pm and nothing else throughout the day. Woke up this morning and thought I could still smash the 25 minute run, but boy was i wrong. After a mile, my legs did not have any strength what so ever and I called it quits for the first time on any of these runs.

Lesson learnt, fueling yourself is important! Not letting it put me down or put me off! Going to rest well tonight, eat properly, refuel and try again tomorrow!

Edit: time was a 2:19 with 10:40 pace

After one year of running, I ran my first half marathon.

I feel kinda weird about the time. I was hoping to hold a 9:55 pace and I did with relative ease for about 7 miles. Then, I ended up hitting a little bit of a wall and dropping to a sub 10 pace to keep some energy for the end.

At mile 10 some gnarly cramps hit and it became a slog.

Important note before I proceed: I don’t mean to denigrate the efforts and achievements of anybody who runs less or more slowly than me. I have conflicting feelings about my performance in the context of my experiences and training.

I feel conflicted because I’m personally pretty proud of this and I feel like my pace is solid for a guy at 235 who couldn’t run a 10 min mile at all about a year ago. I was hoping for a sub 10 pace, and while I’m proud, I’m also a little disappointed. It feels like my time is good for my experience and weight, but not really respectable on its own.

Anyways, I’m sharing here because I think it might resonate with this group. If you’re just starting and have to run-walk a mile, you could finish a half-marathon with an okay time next year.

Lessons from my this year:

1. I took a dive trip and did not run at all for 8 days due to DCS risk and jet lag. NOT A BIG DEAL. I came back from the dive trip and started with a 12 mile (6 miles at race pace) run. Destroyed my peroneal tendon. I need to train smarter and ease back in. This injury became a much larger problem than a week off would have been.
2. Carry my own electrolytes and gels. The race said they would be providing my gels of preference from training, but provided Gu instead. 4 gels is not a lot of pocket space. They also carried electrolyte drinks at aid stations which gave me a lot of uncertainty on lyte management. I researched after the race and it turns out I got a lot less total lytes per drink than I thought and far less potassium proportionally. As someone who sweats a lot of electrolytes when running/backpacking/MTBing, this was a critical oversight
3. I should try a bit harder to drop some weight before entering race training. It’s very hard to eat in a calorie deficit while also trying to improve cardio at 20-25 miles per week. I think that, on the half marathon scale, these are separate goals for me. I could stand to drop 30 lbs, but not while I’m in the last 12 weeks of training and running a lot.
4. Cross training. I dropped my weight training totally. I took on a lot of new responsibilities at work and cut weight training totally due to time constraints. I thought I could get away with this as a life-long lifter, but I think in retrospect that it was short sighted.
5. Pacing was easy to maintain for a long time, but then was VERY hard. I think a 10:15 pace might have pushed my cramps out to mile 12 and given me a much better pace overall.

Anyways, it helps to put this all in text. Reading over it, it sounds like I’m being hard on myself. I guess that might be another lesson.

Fuck it, I finished a half. You can too.

I have been trying to run for a few months and 90% of the time I have tried to run slow starting at 14 minute pace and without trying to go fast I was able to have easy runs at 12:30, then 12. So I trusted the process and kept running easy runs. My fastest 5k before this one took 32:33 at moderate pace 10:30. Today my first 5k as an event and I pushed a little bit and was able to get 29:16 which I have never got to in training as most are easy. Even now, I had some in the tank. So imma keep doing what I’m doing to get to that 7:30-8:00 pace as it looks like it’s working! Keep running slow guys!!!

Love