-Don't run the whole run. Your run might include uphills and downhills and there are no laws to say you have to run the whole thing. Yes, you are going for "a run" but do what the mega-distance, ultra-runners do- walk on the uphills and run the rest. To assauge guilt call it a "power-walk" (walk a little bent over when going up steep hills and press down on your thighs with your hands as if you are using walking poles. This is usually when I pretend I am at the Winter Olympics and I am cross-country skiing with a rifle across my back).
-Don't over-prepare. It is easy to pack all your kit when preparing for a run, easy to say "I am doing this distance today so therefore I need this rucksack, bottle, waterproof, phone holder, energy bars, Snickers and kitchen sink". Run the distance you feel you can run, not the prescribed distance you have assumed because of your gear. If you go out for 5km but want to go further, go further. Don't let your kit- or lack of it- hold you back.
-Don't under-prepare. Obviously. At the least, if you are popping out for a quick blast, remember that you might end up doing triple that distance because you feel great half way through (and have the time). But you may need a little water.
-Always choose the route that has most trees and least traffic. These are the two priorities (and not, as some would have you believe, flatness, hills, prettiest view, by the sea, etc). Always worked me for anyway.
-Statistically, injuries are common but you might never get one. Most runners have an injury every year that stops them being active for weeks at a time. But I know runners who never have them and I have only had one running-related injury in eight years. This must mean that some runners out there are having lots of injuries and yet they keep on going. Gets in the blood, you see (this isn't strictly true about my injuries. I have had two- the first was when I started running using the "NHS Couch to 5K" podcast and twisted a knee. I was told it was simply due to poor technique and being very overweight so, for the next 6 weeks, I ate next to nothing, went to the gym every day to burn off calories, read everything I could about running "form" and then returned to the podcast 20kg lighter- this was extreme, I know, but worked for me. My second injury was getting broken glass in my foot when running without shoes which got infected for weeks).
-Wear running shoes that work for you (or none), not what you are told to wear by shop workers trying to sell you something. I run either totally barefoot or, when it is very cold or when I am running off-road and need extra protection and traction, in very minimal shoes. Like many new runners I got a "gait analysis" from a specialist running shop when I started out because we are told it is what we are supposed to do. They filmed my legs on a treadmill, stating I was "over-pronating" and that the only thing that could possible help was parting with £150 to buy their special shoes for over-pronaters. I did the research myself and realised that not only did I not need £150 shoes, I needed no shoes at all. So I bought a thin pair of running sandals (basically a 4mm thin, foot-shaped sheet of rubber with a strap over the top) to protect me from the worst glass and sharp gravel around my town and I have been wearing them ever since. In eight years of running I have bought two pairs of "proper" Nike running shoes but they were so tall I couldn't feel anything through my feet (in shoe-parlance this is called "drop"- big trainers have a lot of drop ie. vertical distance between the ball of the foot and the heel) and they only lasted for 500 miles anyway- a few months. Minimal shoes/ no shoes are a more natural running style- this is how we have evolved, after all- and when we run without shoes we naturally fall into a good "form" (ie. our style of running). But it isn't for everyone. Minimal footwear encourages a form of landing on the ball of your foot which, although healthier for our bodies, takes effort and focus to learn (or "re-learn", really, as this is how we all ran as children and as we get older we forget this perfect running technique).
-Run for great memories. You very quickly build up a memory cache of local short runs. This means that, although the long-term physical and psychological benefits of your running are constantly increasing, you have few interesting memories or exciting runs to recall. Run elsewhere, vary your streets, your paths, it is valuable to try new routes. All runs have value but the ones you will remember most are either beautiful, stressful or in new surroundings. Some hints: notice your environment, get lost, don't measure, try random paths, be spontaneous.
-It is normal to get dirty, wet, messy, muddy, scratched, bruised, dusty, sticky and very smelly (or all of these on the best runs).You're running, it's all part of the fun, get used to it.
-Don't run to lose weight. Well, do run to lose weight for a while. But realise that, after the initial steep drop-off, your weight levels out pretty quick and plateaus. There are a thousand reasons to run but, to avoid dissapointment, weight-loss should not be one of the main ones.
-Have fun. This should be obvious but so much is made of the instrumental value of running in the media- how it helps our health, reduces certain cancers, reduces blood pressure and heart disease- that we are at risk of forgetting how enjoyabe it can be. OK, standing in the freezing heavy rain in a massive cow shit, lost in a field in the middle of nowhere and unable to see which way to go because the fog is so thick and icy isn't fun for everyone but it will make you laugh (I guarantee you). And cry. And you will remember it for ever. Every now and then, in the middle of a run, remind yourself how awesome you are for being able to do this amazing thing and then smile at the ridiculously simple autonomy of it all.
-No pizza tastes as good as the pizza after a long run. See also: beer and cake. See also: wild berries in season in the middle of a run.
-You don't have to spend lots of money. But, of course, you can if it works for you. The cheapest shorts and t-shirts are generally fine. I have been told that you can never spend too much on a good sports bra. You don't need fancy materials and fancy gadgets to run well. At the least I would suggest to never wear cotton and, if you wear shoes, proper socks can make a difference. For chaffing/sore bits, rub on a little Vasoline/similar before the run (a little, don't slather it all over). Sudocream/similar is good for post-run sore bits. There have been times when having expensive gear and gadgets was my norm but I found these useful only to break through a mental barrier I may have been experiencing at the time eg. wanting to increase my distance for marathon training. You will quickly find out what works well for you. Nowadays I run in very cheap t-shirts, 2-in-1 shorts (can be expensive but last forever) and have a sports watch with a phone built in so I can call for emergency back-up if I need to. On longer runs I take a drink, chocolate and headphones but not always.
-Take a phone. There is a rare possibility that your stomach will decide, mid-run, it wants to eject everything at either end of the tract. This is when you need to phone your nearest car-owning friend and get to a proper toilet ASAP. I have been running for eight years- a thousand runs or more- and this has happened to me only three times but I still carry a phone on every run. You have been warned. Regarding a phone see also: chest pains, sudden exhaustion, dehydration, getting lost, being very late.
-Look after your feet. You may not be into seaweed baths and exfoliating scrubs but your feet need TLC, they are your most valuable tool as a runner. Wash, dry, moisturise, massage, show them some love, they do a lot of work. Get checked by the podiatrist. Rest them well on the off days. Wear shoes that coset them, not squash them, when you are not running or, better yet, no shoes at all.
-You will never regret a run. On the days you don't want to run and you wonder whether you should force yourself remember that the worst part of your run is the first minute. After that you're always fine. You'll never finish a run and say "well, that was a waste of time, I wish I hadn't done that" even after runs that were a bit shit (this does ocassionally happen).
-Don't let the running industry convince you you need to compete in a race. Most runners try this at least once, most runners think they're silly, most runners will do them again because they think they are supposed to. To me, anything competitive is ridiculous, including running competitions. I don't get it. But then I don't really like running with anyone else (I have only run with other people three times- once with a friend who wanted to try it and never went back, once on a soulless "big-industry" 10k that left me feeling deflated and lastly during the Belfast Marathon in 2017 which I didn't really enjoy).
-Time running alone is never wasted time.
-You will say "bonking" without irony.
-You are going to hurt. Not a lot but you will have aches when running and aches after a run and aches the next day. But that's OK, it's normal. And the aches you have the next day are aches you have only after completing the amazing endeavour of going for a run. This is the "good ache" and is to be coveted. Advanced runners have the good ache for days (because they initially ran so hard) and then go for a run to loosen themselves up and get rid of the ache thereby perpetuating the ache for ever (proper hardcore runners actually use a run as therapy- to flex their stiffening back, say, or loosen a sore knee).
-You will be told you are not "supposed to" go for a run at certain times- after food, late at night, when you have a cold, after a glass of wine, and so on. This is all nonsense. If you want to run, run. Just use a bit of common sense (for example, know that resting is recovery, not laziness). People who tell you when you are not "supposed to" run have usually never run the length of themselves.
-Smile and/or wave at other runners. If you can run you are a runner and if you see someone running, you are in the same club. In fact, it is worth smiling even when no-one else is there. And it is worth having a motivational mantra- mine is "easy, light, smooth" and "I don't want to have diabetes".
-It doesn't get easier, you just get faster. And more capable at longer distances.
-Running is not an anti-depressant (anti-depressants are anti-depressants and nothing else is) but it really damn helps. When you are happy you run better. When you run well you get happier.
