After having helped over 150,000 people make the change into the energetic lifestyle of a runner, it’s clear to me that almost anyone can do this—and it doesn’t have to be painful or extremely tiring. All you need to start this process is desire. Not just the desire to run, but the desire to become part of a positive process of improvement, bringing together the body, mind, and spirit.

There are few experiences in life that bestow the satisfaction we get from running and walking for an extra mile when we didn’t think we could do it. According to the experts, running brings us back to our most primitive roots. It was during the long migrations of walking and running in small groups that primitive man defined and nurtured traits that are uniquely “human.”

As we huff and puff up a hill toward home, we’re probably experiencing the same feelings felt by ancestors more than one million years ago.

One of the big surprises about running is that it is pleasurable. Surely, all of us have met those who tried to run too far or too fast and had a bad experience. But, if you choose to take control over your schedule, slow down the pace, take walk breaks before you need them, and stay on the conservative side, you can avoid the negatives. It may take a few weeks to get it right, but once this happens you’ll receive a treasure trove of rewards from almost every run.

The bonding and friendships that are forged on your runs are another special joy. On long runs the more appropriate term is “relationships.” Practically every runner you’ll meet will welcome you and help you. This can become a problem because you’ll get many different points of view on just about every topic. Again, you are the captain of your ship, and can choose which of these paths to take. The information inside this book can steer you more directly to the advice that works.

Most of you start to run because something inside pushed or pulled. One of the effects of personal growth is a yearning of the psyche to search for a little challenge.

Running requires a unique mobilization of resources that we all have inside. As we confront the small struggles, we find that there is much more strength than we thought was there.

I want to invite you into the wonderful world of running, but you don’t even need an invitation. When you run, you leave the rules behind, and enter a world where you can feel quite free. You can choose how you define running and how you proceed. I hope that you will, on occasion, pass the torch and invite others to join you. Speaking from experience, this provides an enhanced level of growth and satisfaction.

Even if you have your doubts, I ask you to believe that you will do this, and to get out on the roads, trails or treadmills of your world, and try. If you do this regularly, in a short time you will glow inside as you realize that you are connecting up with all these benefits and more. After 50 years of putting one foot in front of the other, I’m still discovering the benefits, and enjoying just about every step along the way.

This book is offered as advice to you, from one runner to another. It is not meant to be medical consultation or scientific fact. For more information in these areas, see a physician or research the medical journals. But above all, laugh and enjoy your runs.

Jeff Galloway