A Running Start

Where Do I Start?

This is a very good question for the newby runner.  If you are asking yourself "I have never ran a lot of distances in my life" or "I have run distances, but a very long time ago", then perhaps looking at a starter running program, such as a "Learn to Run" clinic, may be perfect for you.  I started with this type of clinic that I took through an organization called Running Room here in Calgary that was extremely helpful.  

Learn to Run

Here are a few details on what that type of clinic will help you with in achieving your goal (I have taken the info from the clinic site itself):

• Teach you all you need to know about running in different types of climate
• Teach you about biomechanics
• Teach you about nutritional needs for you as a runner
• Teach you how to set realistic goals
• Teach you about injury prevention and how to deal with injuries when you get them
• Keep you motivated and on track for the goals you have set for yourself
• Teach you about "pacing" and how important it is for your running development

Each clinic starts out with a short talk for approximately 10 minutes or more on a variety of interesting topics and then you go outside for a group run.  The run portion starts out quite slow with run and walk breaks of short times (for instance, you will start out with a run of 1 minute and a walk of 1 minute and these are in sets of, say, 5 sets, to start out with) and you will slowly progress to longer sets of running and walking until you hit a distance of between 2.5km and for a period of 20 minutes (with the run/walk breaks incorporated).  

You also join the running group on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings as part of the public portion of the running clubs, where anyone can join in that is not part of a registered clinic.  You may wonder and think that perhaps just going out for the public runs twice a week will get you to your goals.  Normally, I would agree, but, within the registered clinics themselves, you have the opportunity to participate and have your questions answered about weekly topics, have access to an online member portal whereby you can input and track your own training logs and download the training schedule for your clinic (this will tell you how many kilometres you should be running both with the clinic and public run groups AND on your own.

This is a GREAT first clinic to take if you are just starting out or you are looking to get back in to running to make sure you are able to run a full 5km race.

I signed up for this clinic after I walked/ran the 5km Resolution Race in Calgary on December 31st and realized, after the race, that I could finish this type of clinic without any problem.

So, with my official registration in this clinic not only made sure I was honest and true to my goals (which at this point was to simply finish a 5km race and not finish in last place), I took my first step "toward the finish line".