Running for beginners

Want to start running? Excellent idea, welcome to the club! But what is the best way to start and what is most important to take into account?

Decide for yourself what your running goal is. Do you want to build stamina, merely enjoy the outdoors while working out or use running as a social activity? These are all good reasons to start running, as long as you have nailed the basics.

We explain to you what your running essentials are. We also elaborate on the best tips for you to get a great start and to track your progression, with useful apps to monitor and motivate yourself.

Running for beginners: the 3 essentials

Curious what the essentials are that you should cover before you start running? At least think about:

High quality running shoes

An investment, but a very important one when you want to start running. With a good pair of running shoes, you limit the risk of injury. And more importantly, you lay the groundwork for a good running technique. Tip: get advice on the best running shoes for men or for women. The best shoes for you are not necessarily the most expensive ones, they need to fit you, your preferred running style and your goals.

Good sports clothing

Although shoes are the most important part of your running outfit, high quality clothing is very important as well. Even more so for women, by making sure to get the right sports bra.

A clear schedule

Once you have your running equipment ready, you make a plan for yourself. Decide when you want to run and preferably choose set days of the week. When doing this, also include the time of the day to make your schedule as specific as possible. Tip: Want to stick to your schedule more easily? When possible, plan your runs early in the day, to avoid feeling more and more unmotivated during the day leading up to your run.

Tips to start running

Are you excited to start running? It is important to think about where you want to run, who you are going to run with, and what your week schedule will look like:

Where?

Do you live in an area where you walk out the door and you can instantly enjoy a beautiful run? Great! But if this is not you, think about taking the bike or the car to go to more inspiring surroundings for a run.

How often?

Make yourself a training schedule. You can simply write it down or use an app. A schedule is useful as a guideline, when you want to build up to a specific distance, for example. Tip: most runners run 5k and this is a great target run to start with. However, build up your runs in small steps. Only run up to 10% more than you ran the week before.

Alone or together?

Do you love running alone or are you planning on running together with somebody? In case of the latter, decide who you want to run with. Tip: Ideally you run with somebody that is also a beginner, or somebody that has only gone running a couple of times, to keep it fun for the both of you or the entire running group.

Tracking progression: monitoring your runs

Want to track your progression? Looking for the best way to monitor your runs and stay motivated? Use a sports watch or apps like Strava.

Want to start running to build stamina or just to enjoy the outdoors while working out? By building your runs in little steps you will be able to run that 5k in no time!