10 things I wish someone had told me when I was starting my running journey

Its been more than a decade since I have been a runner – specifically put, being ‘into’ running all sorts of distances from 5K to Ultra Marathons and ocassional triathlons too. And, that has given me opportunities to meet, train and run with runners of different types – wannabe, on the fence, beginners, intermediate, experts and so on. I love interacting with my fellow runners and I get intrigued by the type and varities of queries, doubts, notion the folks who are about to begin their running journey have. This got me thinking about my own running journey and what I wish I had known when I kick started my running journey. Had I known a few of these early enough, I would surely have been a much better runner than what I am today.

So, here goes the list of 10 things I wish someone had told me when I was starting my running journey.

1. Running journey is like a tide; there are lows and there are highs

Running journey is like a tide or like a sine curve. There will be highs and there will be lows and the cycle will repeat several times over. The highs, you will get on the back on hard work and the lows are simply unavoidable no matter how hard you try to prevent them.

All you have to remember is to be patient and persistent during the lows and be modest and happy during the highs. Find a support system of family and friends, who will have your back all the time – to buoy you up in the good times and yank you out of the bad times.

2. Injuries are inevitable but so is recovery

Know that you will get injured not matter how hard you try not to. Running is a tough sport which relies on repetitive motion for an abnormal period of time and/or abnormal amount of intensity.

Your body will be injured every once in a while. Those knees, ankles, calves, shins, glutes, tendons, ligaments etc will be sore, they will hurt and cry for rest. This is completely normal. But, remember that as long as things aren’t serious, you will recover from each one of those injuries. All it needs is some serious focus, patience, hard work and at times expert advice to recover. Give it some time and it will heal.

3. Enjoy the process, results may or may not come

You will set goals, you will set-up training blocks to achieve them and then slog your backside off in the training runs. After all this as well, at times you will fail on the race day and you would be dejected. But, remember that results will not always be as expected. There are a hundred things which can go wrong on the race day or pre race day – unexpected injury, last minute office work, no pre race sleep, upset tummy, bloating, cramps and what not. You cannot do anything about it – you just have to deal with it.

Remember that world’s best marathoner Eluid Kipchoge finished 8th in London 2020; his first defeat after 2013. He endured last 15km of the race with a blocked ear! The very best in the world, at the top of their game can fail on any given Sunday. We are mere mortals. And hence, learn to enjoy the process irrespective of the results.

4. Practice, perseverance and process trumps talent & skill everytime

All humans are born to run. Running does not require any fancy skills and each one of them can be cultivated with practice, perseverance and process. The simple equation is that if you work hard, if you work smart and if you persist long enough you will beat the supposed ‘natural, gifted’ runners.

Running is a great leveler. Anyone can run and anyone can run well. Give running enough time and effort and you will be at a place you wouldn’t have imagined; you would be better than folks you wouldn’t have imagined!

5. Join a group; there is no fun in running alone

You wouldn’t know how much fun running is unless you a join a group of like minded runners. There is no joy in running solo. Make an effort to reach out to the group and join them. Runners are one of the most welcoming people in the world so no one is going to shoo you away.

The energy you get from the group is invaluable. You will feed off that energy and be a better runner. There will always be someone to push you when you are lazy, there will always be someone to support you when you are down and there will always be someone to celebrate with you when you are at the top of the game.

6. Compete hard, but only with yourself

Running is a journey of self discovery and self improvement. But, it is competitive too. Be wary of getting lured into the needless rut of doing better than your fellow runners – a few seconds faster, a few kms more. The needless comparison leads to jealousy which invariably leads to heart burn.

Always remember that we (well 99.99% of us) are not in the game to be elite runners gunning for the olympics glory. We are here to embrace the beautiful sport of running. So, compete hard but with yourself. Your single minded objective should be to become a better runner that what you were a day/week/year ago. That is what matters; everything else is vanity.

7. The more you give, the more you get

In the pursuit of self improvement, you may get lured into being exceessively focused on your personal goals. You may be part of a running group but you are lone runner, someone who rarely shares and cares about others, someone who always takes but rarely gives back. Do NOT be that runner.

Running is a community sport. Give back to the community in whichever way you can – pace fellow runner(s), cheer for others, volunteer in some runs, support runs with good causes, throw in a suprise treat & more. The good karma adds up all the time, just like the balance in your wallet. You will eventually cash-in in the time of need.

8. Never let running take you away from your family and friends

Running as a sport takes a lot of time – time before the run, during the run, after the run, training blocks etc. In pursuit of lofty goals, you will be spending a lot of your time running. Do not let this come at the cost of quality time with your family & friends.

Plan your race calendar in advance and just like you allocate time for your training blocks, allocate quality time for your friends and family. Even better, and if you can pull this off, get your family and friends also into running.

9. Do not hesitate to spend on running – shoes, gadgets, apparel etc; get ’em & flaunt ’em

A few years down the line, every run that you worked hard for, achieved the most at and celebrated the hardest will just turn into a memory – mostly captured in a few pictures and videos and one out of hundreds of statistics. So, its doesn’t harm us to look good in those pictures. To do better times with good quality shoes and gadgets.

It is okay to spend on stuff which you think will help you become better. So, go after that running watch you like the most or the shoes which you always wanted to run in. Set yourselves small milestones every now and then, and reward yourself with these when you achieve them. It’s a virtuous loop you wouldn’t want to end.

10. Set goals but be mindful of what you want to chase

You will never be short of challenges in running. Its a pursuit with no logical upper limit. So, there will always be a few kms or a few minutes you want to improve, week on week, month on month & year on year. Its an endless hamster wheel.

You have to draw a line mindfully about what you want to chase. The currency you are spending for your goals is your time and your sweat. So, it is good to have a measure of how much of these two you can spend and that will help moderate the goals you want to chase.