Murphy’s Lore
Sam welcomes new runners to the new year
It’s the start of a new year – you can almost hear the patter of hundreds of pairs of feet hitting the road for the first time. Maybe you are the owner of one of those pairs of newly determined feet. If not, then they’ll probably belong to someone in your life, be it a friend, family member or colleague.
Unfortunately, the stats suggest that by the beginning of next month, only a third of these newbies will be lacing up. This fallout isn’t unique to running, of course. The bulk of new year resolutions bite the dust before spring has sprung. It’s such a sure thing that it enables gyms to sign up far more people than they have capacity for, secure in the knowledge many will never visit. But are there specific considerations when it comes to helping new runners stay the course?
I believe there are. And I’m convinced that despite our passion for running, we enthusiasts can unwittingly scupper beginners’ chances by forgetting what it’s like to run in their shoes. ‘Oh, just come along to club night – you’ll be fine,’ we say. They come, hang on for dear life to the back of the ‘slow’ group, never to return. Or we offer to ‘jog round’ parkrun with them, failing to remember how far 5K can seem when you’re still finding your feet. So here are my six top tips for making a running resolution – your own or someone else’s – last a lifetime.
1) Know this: your first run will be the hardest you’ll ever do. Until your second run. That’s when you’ll realise that you succumbed to the ‘terrible toos’ on your first outing: too far, too fast, too soon. But if you can avoid the temptation, you’ll make that second run a little less painful. It’s scientifically proven* that it gets easier after your second run.
2) Run slower than you think you need to. Imagine someone’s told you that you have to run for a whole hour – no walking – and find the pace that you’d adopt to make this happen. For running coach Jason Fitzgerald (strengthrunning.com), the ‘three Cs’ epitomise the ideal pace: comfortable, controlled, conversational. Have a day off after each run you do and start with two or three running days per week.
3) Throw away the timetable. Couch to 5K in nine weeks is all very well, but so is sofa to not-so-far in 12 weeks. Everyone progresses at different rates – and that’s dependent not just on fitness level but unalterable factors, such as age and genes. Setting an arbitrary deadline can fool you into feeling you have failed. You haven’t.
4) Expect rubbish runs now and then. Not every run on the journey ahead will be a good one. There’ll be blisters, niggles and wet feet on occasions. There’ll be times when progress stalls. Sometimes the best thing about a run will be the hot shower afterwards. That’s life.**
5) Look for progress beyond the watch. Despite the typical runner’s obsession with times and distances, many of the greatest benefits of running are less tangible. You inhabit your body better. You grow more resilient. You gain confidence.
6) Take the long view. As John ‘The Penguin’ Bingham says in his book No Need for Speed (Rodale): ‘It isn’t the discipline to run three days a week that makes you a runner. It’s the dedication to run for the rest of your life that matters.’ But that doesn’t mean you won’t slip now and again. Seventy-one per cent of people who create a new habit lapse at some point, but dust themselves off and carry on. Try to do the same.
*Probably. **And it’s what hot chocolate was made for. www.sam-murphy.co.uk