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How to Start Running Effectively and Avoid Injury
A guide to safely starting or restarting at any age, according to scientific experts who are also runners
You might call me an expert beginner runner. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve started again over the past four decades. Through it all I’ve learned (and relearned) a vital lesson: Running is a great aerobic workout, but strengthening and stretching are critical to keeping the whole body strong, stable and balanced, reducing the risk of pain or injury.
The benefits of running are indisputable: better physical health, improved moods, a sharper mind and better sleep. Running, like any moderate or vigorous physical activity, significantly lowers the risk of death from heart attacks, cancer and all causes combined. It’s a natural human activity that’s safer than often depicted (it does not cause arthritis, for example). Yes, running injuries are unfortunately common, but the causes often involve over-ambition or stupidity.
So I reached out to three experts, each a longtime runner with relevant academic credentials, to get the latest scientific advice on how to start running, or begin again, safely and effectively, from picking the right shoes to taking that first step and then keeping the momentum going.
Go slow and steady
The quickest path to a running injury is doing too much, too soon, too fast, said George Kelley, DA, a professor at West Virginia University who studies the effects of exercise on the body. All experts agree.
When you start jogging or running for the first time or again, don’t worry about speed or pace, and don’t be embarrassed to alternate running with walking. In fact, you should be able to walk 30 minutes before you even try to jog, Kelley said by email.
“For beginners or returners, one may start by walking, and then walking and jogging or running in the same session, and then progress to jogging or running each session,” said Kelley, who ran 20–30 miles per week from his college days in 1976 until he turned 60, about five years ago. Now each week he cycles 150+ miles and walks and hikes another 15–20 miles.
