OK, new runner. Get started. Take the first step

Humans have been running ever since we evolved from fish. Ever since sprinting from saber tooth tigers or Genghis Khan, our ancestors have enjoyed great capacity to run.

So it occurs that this dissertation on marathoning should include an introductory instruction manual on how to start running.

As you can guess, not only do we no longer run from predators or chase after wooly mammoths, we modern humans do very little running at all. That is, at least most of us. There are those jocks who play sports and kick sand in my face, but honestly, most humans – especially Americans! – prefer our sports on the couch.

So, believe it or not, many beginning runners need a primer. In fact, I wish I had one when I started out. I had to learn the old fashioned way of trial and error, with emphasis on the error.

Take the First Step

Getting started is probably the most important part of marathon training and pursuing a big goal. Really, the most achievable part of reaching your goal – that is, getting started – is likely the hardest, and it is so important because nothing else matters if you do not start.

Getting started is sometimes a daunting task in itself, especially when the goal is a Big Thing like running 26.2 miles. It is easy to stand at the starting line of your journey and behold the magnitude of it all and ask yourself, “How am I going to do this?!”

Perhaps runners see the marathon as the whole 26.2 mile journey when they get started. In other words, they may wake up on day one and imagine today’s workout as the beginning of a daily ritual that will last for several months, maybe even a year. And while it is important to keep the goal in mind, to have strategized and plotted out the journey it is only necessary to focus on the steps to get you there, which on day one means walking a mile or jogging an easy mile... whatever first step you’ve given yourself to begin. And tomorrow’s next step may be to take a day off or to jog an easy 1 to 2 miles.

Remember, a collection of small, attainable goals strung together is what gets you to the ultimate goal. Like eating an elephant, which is done how? By eating one bite at a time.

Every thousand-mile journey, we are told, begins with one step. So it is true with marathons and life. And the only way to accomplish something BIG is to accomplish something small, which in this case means getting started.

In the case of a physical endurance test like marathon training, it is wise to take the steps below before lacing up shoes for the first run.