The old Chinese proverb got it right: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Rarely is this more true than when you start a beginning-running program.
The journey might be long and it might be arduous. So many things depend on your starting point, particularly your age, your fitness, and your weight. There’s no reason to claim that this will be easy as pie, an instant makeover, or a 10-minute miracle. It probably won’t.
But here’s the big payoff: Nearly everyone who sticks with the program eventually reaches their goal. I won’t go so far as to say “Your success is guaranteed,” but I’ll say it’s about 99 percent guaranteed. That’s an important point to remember when the going gets tough. Don’t give up! Because if you stick with the plan, you’ll reach the journey’s end—your finish line.
It will take more than 1,000 steps. In fact, if you’re counting, your step total will likely reach 100,000. That may seem an impossibly big number, but it’s not—not when you break it down into small chunks. Not when you do a little at a time, and a little more, and then a little more. A step at a time, day by day.
At any rate, you’ll get there. Trust me. You won’t have to call yourself a “beginning runner” anymore. You’ll be a full-fledged runner, capable of reaching whatever goals you choose next. You could easily run a few 5-K races, for example. Or you could aim higher and choose to tackle a half-marathon, the incredibly popular race distance that has become a national sensation. You could even—yes, you could, with enough preparation—decide to enter a marathon, all 26 miles, 385 yards of it.
You are the captain of your own ship, and you get to choose what course you want to follow.
Or you could remain content running 2 or 3 miles several times a week, alone or with friends, as your personal, lifetime fitness program. Millions of runners do the same. They rarely enter races. They’re happy for the stress-relieving, health-enhancing benefits of a consistent running program.
At last count, medical experts had proven more than 30 ways that fitness running can improve your health. These range from long-established truths like the increased heart health and longevity enjoyed by consistent runners to newer and exciting exercise-health links. Sure, the high-calorie burn of running will help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. You can buck the rising tide of obesity and diabetes that is threatening the public health in sedentary societies worldwide.
Amazingly, you might also be able to ward off dementia and Alzheimer’s. A few decades ago, we runners never imagined that our happy activity would stimulate the brain as much as it does the heart and the legs. Now such discoveries seem almost obvious. Exercise pushes fresh, vibrant blood to all parts of the body, the brain included, so why shouldn’t all parts benefit?
Once runners worried that their “pounding” on the roads and trails might lead to broken bones and knee replacements. But today we realize that a modest pounding builds strong bones, while sitting (or swimming or riding on a bicycle seat) allows the bones to deteriorate. It turns out that bones are meant to support our weight, and that they grow weak and brittle when not utilized. In other words, bones are actually quite a bit like muscle. When you use them, they thrive. When you stop using them, they wither.
Similarly, while some runners develop knee arthritis, studies have shown that arthritis rates are as high or even higher among sedentary nonrunners. The knee joint and the muscles around the knee prefer activity to lack of activity. They also appreciate it when you don’t force them to carry excess weight around all day long. Most runners do a good job of controlling their body weight, and this helps them avoid knee arthritis.
But I linger too long on the physical side of running. The mental story is even more powerful and much more important. While research has shown that runners generally have low rates of depression, it’s the flip side of the coin that I find more impressive: Running gives you more energy and self-confidence. Running teaches you that you can accomplish more than you ever imagined possible.
It’s been said a million times, but never more forcefully than by Oprah Winfrey after she completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 1994. “Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it,” she said. In other words, you succeed in running when you put all your determination and self-discipline into it, and the exact same qualities will help you succeed at anything else you pursue: education, work, art, family, community, and more.
Some potential runners never make the big leap. They suffer from a crisis of confidence and an excess of excuses. These usually include: I don’t have long legs, I’m too heavy, I’m too old, I was never a good runner in grammar school, I was never even good at baseball/basketball/football/tennis/swimming, etc.
This perspective suffers from false logic. It assumes that you need certain physical traits or skills to be a runner. Nothing could be further from the truth (unless you’re trying to win the Olympics, which I doubt you are).
To succeed in running, you need only one thing: a strong mind. Yes, your legs carry you across the ground, but only after your brain tells them to. The legs are merely an appendage, and besides, they’ve been supporting you for many years, so you know they are up to the physical task.
It’s the mental task that is sometimes difficult and always crucially important. If you have the drive and determination to become a runner, you will succeed. You don’t need a big heart, a thin waist, or long legs.
You only need the will to put your body in motion and to follow a sensible plan.
This book is full of sensible plans and much more time-proven advice. It will answer all the questions that come up in your early running, everything from your shoe questions to your diet questions to the one all runners encounter at some point: What should I do when it’s too hot (or cold) to run outdoors? The answers are in the pages that follow.
But those pages can’t give you the most important factor of all: willpower. That’s where you come in. Only you can hitch your mind to a beginning-running plan and resolve to get going. And not to stop until you reach your goal.
I hope you’ll begin today. You’ll never find a better time. Good luck. Be sure to enjoy every step of the journey.