[Answer] What Should Beginner Runners Pay Attention To?

[Answer] What Should Beginner Runners Pay Attention To?

To maintain good physical function, doing aerobic exercise several times a week is indispensable, especially for office workers who have been sedentary for a long time. In recent years, jogging has gradually become popular as a healthy and beneficial form of exercise, and that is no accident.

Compared with other aerobic activities, jogging has relatively low requirements. It does not require specialized equipment or dedicated sports facilities; as long as you have a basic running surface and a pair of running shoes, you can get started. In terms of efficiency, among aerobic exercises performed for the same amount of time, running burns the most calories and delivers the best training effect per unit of time. From a safety perspective, running is one of humanity’s most natural instincts, and with good habits, the risk of injury and danger is much lower than in many other sports. In addition, moderate exercise can help release negative emotions and regulate one’s mental state. Physical decline—especially changes in body shape and appearance—can also reduce self-acceptance and confidence. In that sense, exercise not only promotes physical health, but also improves self-esteem and confidence. One could say it has countless benefits and virtually no drawbacks.

For ordinary people, the thought of starting to run may pop up from time to time, only to be immediately dismissed by the uncertainty of not knowing how to begin. Starting to run often happens because of some accidental trigger, but once it becomes a habit, it can become an indispensable part of life. Back in college, my school followed the motto of “strive to work in good health for the motherland for at least fifty years,” and every year we had to take a 3,000-meter fitness test. My original motivation for running was simply to deal with that exam. But after running on and off for 18 years, “breaking into a long run at the drop of a hat” has gradually become one of the few enduring pleasures in my life.

At 17 or 18, the body is basically at its peak. At that age, you can run brilliantly without much technique and in almost any pair of shoes. But if you start running 10, 20, or even more years later than that, then before you begin, you really do need to prepare thoroughly if you want to turn it into a long-lasting habit. In my experience, the single most important secret to sticking with running is not determination or willpower, but this: don’t get injured. All preparation and all technique ultimately serve this one goal. The purpose of exercise is health, not pain. Injury not only defeats the original purpose, but can also interrupt your running for days, weeks, months, or even stop it completely, rendering all your previous effort pointless. Only by keeping “don’t get injured” as your goal can you make this habit last longer.

With injury prevention as the guiding principle, the three most important factors in running are pace, training volume, and form. Most running injuries are caused by one or more of these. Gear and road conditions are often the main culprits behind the rest.

1. Pace

How fast should you run when you are just starting out? This is usually the first question many people have. If you have never run before, or haven’t run in a long time, the answer should be: as slow as possible. In fact, at almost any stage of running, if your goal is not to become a competitive athlete, I would recommend running slow enough for your current fitness level. Running too fast is bad for your health, increases the risk of injury, and if you are not training for competition, simply is not worth it. If your BMI is over 30 or higher, then before you start running, you can begin with brisk walking, letting your body gradually adapt to the rhythm of aerobic exercise before transitioning into running.

For new runners, if conditions allow, it is best to add a heart rate monitor to your gear. In the earliest stage, if your heart rate stays below 70% of your maximum heart rate while running, that pace is generally appropriate. As for your maximum heart rate, you can measure it through a short all-out effort—for example, run as fast as you can for six minutes and then check your heart rate. But honestly, I think this method is a little too brutal for most people who are just preparing to start running, and it might extinguish their newly sparked enthusiasm. So using one of the common online formulas to estimate your age-based maximum heart rate is good enough.

If you do not have a heart rate monitor, or even if you do have one but still feel like you cannot handle the pace, then simply slow down as much as possible. Basically, if while running you can still breathe comfortably and talk naturally, without gasping for air or turning red in the face, then that can serve as your starting pace. From the perspective of aerobic training, most sessions can be run at this rhythm. As your fitness improves, the pace that feels easy to you will also gradually increase until it stabilizes at a certain level.

2. Training Volume

In terms of frequency, running 3–5 times a week is fairly appropriate. Too little will not produce much training effect, while too much prevents the muscles from resting and recovering and also increases the chance of injury. During the first few months, to help your body adapt to the rhythm of running, you can gradually increase each run starting from 20 minutes. This progression can be as slow as you want—you can take half a year to a full year to gradually build up to 30–40 minutes per run. If your schedule allows, you can spend even more time building up to one hour or a little more. But it is best not to exceed 90 minutes for a single session.

The process of increasing volume can be as slow as you like. If you feel discomfort after increasing your mileage, you can always return to the previous stage in time. For example, if you were previously running 20 minutes each time and then increase each run by just 2 minutes, over 10 days that increase only amounts to the equivalent of one extra day’s worth of your old training volume. But if you get injured because you increased too quickly and have to rest for a month, the loss is far greater. So when it comes to training volume, it really is a case of less is more. Only if you stay injury-free can you keep running, and as long as you can keep running, the volume will eventually increase.

3. Form

Professional running form—the kind you see on TV—generally involves a slight forward lean, keeping the feet low, and moving the body forward with the shift of the center of gravity rather than pushing forward with leg spring alone. But for beginners, that is a bit too specialized and not all that useful as a model. For someone just starting out, the two most important aspects of running form are foot strike and stride length. Different running books aimed at runners of different levels disagree about exactly which part of the foot should land first, but one relatively consistent observation is that elite runners basically land on the forefoot. This is also considered the most efficient method.

However, if your feet and ankles do not yet have enough strength, landing that way may feel uncomfortable and may also lead to injury. For beginners, a rearfoot-leaning strike or a full-foot landing is a safer option. The key is that the landing should be smooth—you should not be jarring your whole body with each step. A considerable part of the human joint structure is designed for shock absorption, so you must not land in a “hard impact” way.

If your stride is too long and your foot lands far in front of your center of gravity, then to some extent you are braking against yourself with each step. That is uncomfortable and also lowers running efficiency. The correct approach is to shorten your stride, keep your steps small, and keep your feet low. If you want to run faster, increase your cadence rather than lengthening your stride.

4. Gear and Road Conditions

Choosing the right gear can make a big difference. Among all equipment, the most important is shoes. Professional athletes choose running shoes based on factors such as traction and lightness and pay less attention to cushioning, because when running technique is highly developed, the body’s own structure—muscle strength, joints, posture, and so on—can already provide these functions, while lightness and durability help improve performance.

But for beginner runners, a good pair of running shoes can compensate for deficiencies in technique through better foot protection and cushioning. Brands like Adidas or Nike are not especially recommended. By contrast, at stores like Decathlon, whether you are looking at their entry-level lines or at Asics shoes, the products are usually labeled with reference factors such as suitable body weight, road conditions, and training volume, which makes them very suitable for beginners choosing according to their own situation. I myself have long run in shoes from Decathlon or Asics.

Moisture-wicking running clothes are not essential, but they can reduce the risk of catching a cold from staying in sweaty clothes after exercise, so I still recommend them. You can also buy windbreakers or fleece-lined clothing for running in cold weather, but if you are starting in a warm season, it may be better to wait until the weather turns cool and use buying thicker clothes as a reward for sticking with it.

A heart rate monitor and mobile running apps such as Codoon are also worth considering if circumstances allow. If your heart rate monitor can work together with your running app, even better—for example, with an Apple Watch. Using software to record your workouts is very helpful for reviewing and tracking your progress. However, I do not recommend blindly chasing PBs (personal bests) or mileage targets just because the app encourages it, because these are often exactly what trigger the next injury. Less is more, and slower is faster—over the long run, these principles really do apply to running.

Although running does not demand much from the environment, you still need a basically even running surface. If possible, having access to a rubberized track nearby is ideal. If you run on roads, you should avoid peak traffic hours. If you run early in the morning or at night, choose running clothes with clear reflective markings. And when visibility is poor, be especially careful to avoid twisting an ankle.

Finally, even if you have all the theory and ideas in the world, in running there is one rule even more important than the principle of “don’t get injured”: you have to put on your shoes, open the door, move your legs, and run out there.