Ultimate Guide for Beginner Runners

Curated resources to help you start running faster right away!

Getting started as a new or beginner runner is a huge challenge. So, first congrats on taking the first big step to learn. We are excited to help you grow as a runner, help you stay healthy and achieve your goals!

Now, before we get started, this is some of our guiding principles at RunnersConnect

1. There are no secret workouts, magic pills, or patented systems in running. Improving takes time, patience, and intelligent training.

2. Everything we write is supported by current science and research. We don’t publish fluff pieces. Any advice we give is proven by research or our coaching experience. We are always learning, evolving, and teaching you the knowledge we’ve gained.

3. We welcome all types of runners. We work with young, old, fast, slow and everyone in between. As long as you have a passion for running or transforming yourself into a better runner, you’ll fit right in.

RunnersConnect is a place where you can connect with and learn from like-minded runners who share in your passion for running, getting faster, improving themselves, and who have fun doing it.

To get started, check out some of most popular and helpful articles for the most commonly run race distances.

How Can We Help You?

LETS GET STARTED WITH THE BASICS

We feel it’s important you understand the “why” behind any training you do or any advice you get.

You don’t need a degree in exercise science, but understanding the why behind what you do help you implement more effectively and stick to it.

In this section, we’ll look at some of the most important and underlying principles of training for newer runners.

How To Breathe While Running

How exactly do you breathe properly while running? It may seem like a simple question, but there is a right and wrong way to do

A FEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKOUTS TO GET YOU STARTED

There’s a lot of nuance to running workouts. Not only are there a lot of different physiological systems you want to target (speed, endurance, long runs, strength, etc) but there’s a lot of different ways you can attack them.

In this section, we’ve done our best to highlight some of the more important workouts and concepts to help you develop a solid training foundation.

There are certainly more workouts you can add to your repertoire, and we hope we can continue to educate and help you as you grow as a runner.

If you are interested in a custom plan or coaching where we give you day-by-day instructions with specific paces and exact workouts and distances, check out our custom training plans here.

What is Lactate Threshold

Lactate threshold is a term than is commonly used in training vernacular, but has most runners more confused than a high school kid in calculus

Run Walk Method

The run walk method has shown to be great for beginners and experienced runners alike. Hear what Coach Dylan has to say about it on

What is the Optimal Long Run Pace

The long run is a staple in almost every runners weekly training schedule. It doesn’t matter if you’re training for the 5k or the marathon,

Tempo Intervals

Tempo intervals are simply tempo runs that are broken into bite-size intervals to help you run longer at your threshold pace, or as an opportunity

HOW TO STAY HEALTHY FOR THE LONG RUN

Hands down, the fastest way to become a better runner is consistency. The more days, weeks and months you can string together without significant time off, the faster you will improve.

One of the most common (and sucky) ways to lose consistency is getting injured. And, unfortunately, getting injured is also very common. Recent research estimates that 82% of runners will get injured at some point in their running career.

It’s no secret then that getting to the bottom of your running injuries – and preventing them in the future – is critical if you want to continue to improve long-term.

By implementing injury-prevention knowledge early in your journey as a runner you can stave off many injuries and improve much faster!

Why Runners Get Hurt

Recent research has shown that as many as 79% of runners get injured at least once during the year. Stop. Think about that number for

OTHER RESOURCES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

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Guest post by Coach Claire Bartholic.  The original version of this article can be found on her website, www.theplantedrunner.com   There are some runners...

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Seasoned runners make it look easy, but the truth of the matter is that starting a running routine is hard work. Beginning runners have...

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What Makes Us Different

RunnersConnect Coaches

We love running and want to spread our expertise and passion to inspire, motivate, and help you achieve your running goals.

We’re not here to sell you the latest “run faster without trying” scheme and we don’t claim to have the “super-secret, hidden formula that will transform you into a running god or goddess”.

We also believe you’re an experiment of one and that there is no one-size-fits-all way to train. We hate template plans and simple answers to complex questions.

Our team is now over 600 members strong and we’ve helped 867 runners in the last 2 years record new personal bests from 5k to the marathon.

We’re excited to help you improve as a runner and achieve your goals!