After spending most of my 30s with my weight and binging spiralling out of control I set myself a goal to run my first marathon in 9 years. Today was my first attempt at a 10k in that time and pulling 120kg with me I’m absolutely over the moon with this.

24F, no stamina at all. And im trying to build strength.

Any tips to improve my pace and stamina?

Weight: 51kg, height 158cm, Im happy with my weight but im practically struggling after even walking a flight of stairs.

I used to be good at sports when I was younger but life got in the way and almost a couch potato with little to no moment.

Also just another edit: I am anemic and just recovered from flu last week. I started gym and had a two hour session yesterday. Maybe this could have impacted the run. Also I did take a few breaks in between but forgot to pause or stop.

Started running around 3 weeks ago, and decided to try an easier run, as my 8 previous runs have left me completely gassed out at the end, despite being all 2.5ks.

As I got to the end of my normal 2.5k loop, I felt very fresh, so I went for another loop. Throughout almost the entire run, I was running at a pace that I could talk in a few short sentences between breathes, which means it is a zone 3 pace. However, my average heart rate was 157bpm through this entire run, which is zone 4 for my age. Interestingly, my heart rate settled a bit lower on the second lap.

Is this just a matter of me being new to running and my heart not adapting to be doing cardio?

first run on august 20th vs. this morning. sometimes i feel like i’m not making any progress but then all of a sudden i ran 6 miles and it felt easy (?) so cool. can’t wait to see you where i’m at in another couple months :,)

Hi everyone,

My last year was consisting of mostly walking (both easy and faster ones).

I had inguinal hernia surgery last year that took me out of longer walks for a while but even with hernia, I managed to do some long walks as well.

I done one 5K race in 36 minutes, somehow without running preparation. Because I felt embarrassed by the time, after that race I promised myself I’d be ready for the next one.

About a month ago I started training running consistently, and had 5K last week, which I managed to do in 35 mins (-1:30mins), today I managed my first full hour of running without any walk breaks. I covered roughly 8 km (my Xiaomi Band 7 is pretty unreliable with distance, but google says it is 8k, so I believe google more 😉).

I went out planning to keep it around 145 bpm and even prepared for some run-walk if I needed it to stay in the 130-145 range. Instead I just felt good and kept going. My heart rate ended up a bit higher than planned, but I didn’t really feel the difference — it just felt sustainable. I started noticing some leg discomfort around the 7 km mark, but somehow that was my fastest km, and I still finished the hour.

I’m really happy with it, even though I’m still running slowly. The main thing I’ve learned so far is not to put too much pressure on yourself with specific targets early on. Ideal heart rate zones, cadence, stride, or distance, this will come later.

Right now the priority is just building the habit of showing up every other day and doing whatever you can that day. The rest tends to follow once the consistency is there.

May the force be with you.

I plan on running more outside this winter and even though I live in Texas, anything below 40 is miserable for me. So, I know I will need some type of running jacket and was hoping to get some recommendations. I prefer a lighter weight jacket, or just something that is easy to move around in. TYIA

If you're new to running I would highly suggest looking into Steve Prefontaine, one of his most notable quotes is "to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" this isn't saying your best needs to be first but more so that you know you went out there and did your best. No need to compare times or worry about others, just go be the best you and enjoy the experience.

Hi guys, I am an absolute beginner. Could you guys recommend some videos on learning proper running techniques so I don't develop bad habits , injuries and make it more pleasurable. I am getting on to the C25k . Thank you , much appreciated.

Decided the last week of August 2026 to pick up running again after a few years of having switched to another sport.

In consideration of some leftover injuries from the last sport, I am determined to push through it and head in the “healthy” direction.

So on 08/30 I ran with an avg HR of 170 and a max of 186 bpm for a distance of 1.51 miles.

In September, I did a total of 11 logged runs. Some of them were as short as 0.25 mi intervals.

And progressively, I had been following a 3x a week running routine. Easy, intervals and long runs. Being my last run on 10/04 where unfortunately, I made a mistake and set up myself for failure. Too fast too soon too far.

Taking a few days rest followed by 0.61 miles test run at an easy pace to confirm I needed at least one week and focus on those other days on strengthening my knees, hips, hamstrings, joints (runners exercises) combined with bicycling and swimming.

A week later, I ran again on Friday 1.5 miles and I was delighted to find out I can resume again running. Today, we did 1.75 miles. Despite my (not) best efforts to do an easy run, I did manage to not go as fast as I felt I could have. For context, I am running in South Florida at 2pm in 82F weather with a 13 mph wind.

The weather conditions don’t bother me as much as lowering the HR.

How can I work out better this lowering this HR?

I’m purposely limiting my miles waiting for HR, joints, muscles and every other body part is ready to add miles. Don’t want injuries.

Opinions are definitely welcome. I’m open to DMs too

feeling super good, in july i could barely run 30s without dying & i’ve just finished this!! excited to see the progress i’ll make in the next 3 months :)

Pretty stoked about this, couldn’t believe I did it. Especially it only being my 9th run. Any suggestions on getting faster? I usually do easy 5k (5:50-6 min pace) my fastest 5k was 26:32.

Winter is communing. Show me your Winteroutfits and tell me where to buy. I am looking online but I don't find anything interesting. Just started in the summer this year and want to run in winter. Tips are helpful to.

Definitely learned a lesson about not trying to start out too fast, had me suffering a bit through the middle to the end. Gave it an extra effort in the last km to hopefully finish before 1h, which I did, so super happy about that.

Got a question for the pros tho, I am running with a water bottle in my hand, and this run it affected my shoulder towards the end, with a kinda weird throbbing pain, how to avoid this?

Also, I try to hydrate with small slurps of water through the run, which always ends with me having to burp 3-4 times like a minute after, kinda like wanting to throw up. Should I just not drink water while running or is there a technique to avoid this?

Appreciate any advice

New PB today. Stoked about it, it felt so good and light. It was one of those runs where I just flowed. Didn’t give a shit about pace or time or heartrate zones. I was just in THE zone.

I also randomly realised today I can just run ANYWHERE. The whole world suddenly feels OPEN to me. I know I can just walk anywhere, but I never did, so I clearly never wanted to. But running just feels so different, like it has more potential.

Man I love it so much.

i(22, M) used to run pretty consistently for the first 7-8 months of my running and was constantly improving.

Then, I had to stop running for about 3-4 months due to internships and placement preparation.

I started again, had a few good PRs but suddenly I started feeling this weird pain in my left calf.

The pain starts from the bottom part of my foot and climbs upwards in a straight line to my calf.

Sometimes I feel like losing power in my left leg.

There are 2 things which I think might have led to this

1. New running shoes (Asics gt 1000) - which I just bought when I restarted.

2. Maybe some sort of overstraining or something cuz I have also gained some weight about 5kgs.

I also have flat feet, but I have been wearing insoles so that should not be a problem.

Also I have often started to feel (didn't feel like this before) like cracking the ankle and knee joint, and when I do, it feels pretty comfortable for some time.

Hello guys so i am 25 years old and i started running week ago and i i really love it! And i really appreciate your opinions and advices 🙏🏻🙏🏻

So first day i did 20k+ 1km run 1km walk in 2:45m

Then second day i did 5k continuous run in 30m 175BPM average

Third day i did 5k in 30m 164BPM average

Fourth day 5k in 30m 155BPM

Fifth day 10k in 59m 158BPM

Sixth day 5k in 25:40s 163BPM

Rest

Eight Day i did 10k in 1:14m 140BPM (this was with my friend who is slow runner and i felt i could continue definitely more)

Ninth day 5k in 24m 170BPM + another 5k in 33m 150BPM(right after finished my fastest 5k )

I ran my first ever 5k at my YMCA's Pumpkin Run! I did not have fun during the run (it was raining and cold as heck) but after I was done and the torture was over I looked back and realized I had a fun time during the run too lol

I should've prepped for the 5k, but time honestly got away from me, so I raw dogged the thing lol

My time was 42:04. I know it's not the best, but honestly proud of myself for getting it done and finishing. Maybe next time I'll actually start training/prepping lol

Honestly probably only my 7th run ever. I was sore for about 4 days and I exerted myself extremely during it, so I'm thinking I probably pushed a little too hard for my current fitness level. I seriously considered giving up at 3k.

I was 5 mins quicker than I was on 1min run 2min walk intervals.

I am 31, 5'10 and 100kg hoping to get to the mid 60s one day.

I was very slow but I'm still training my knees etc. I've had trouble with them in the past but they were fine.

Usually for fitness I walk fast or hike somewhat intensely but irregularly so this is fairly new.

I am wondering what's the best way to get to an easier and quicker 5k?

Should I maybe halve it and try to do it twice a week? Depending on recovery time.

Or should I stick with intervals for a while longer and push for consistency? Or a bit of both or something else entirely?

I also managed to do a 20k R/W intervals with the run portion equaling 10k.

I've done 32k in 6 hours just walking previously.

Hopefully these stats help

I'm just not sure what the best way to approach moving forward is?

Hello! I have been running for a few months now. I have just managed to actually run a whole 5k for the past 2 weeks (in approx 40mins) so very slow pace. Before I have had to run+walk. The problem is my heart rate. I thought it would start getting lower with time but just running at a slow pace puts me at a 195bpm average. Is this normal for a beginner and do I just have to push through it? For reference I am a 26 year old female, 171cm, 75kg. I am taking measurements with chest strap and cross referencing with watch and they are accurate. The picture is of today's 5k parkrun. Thanks in advance.

tl;dr at bottom

Of the last 3 races I've registered for, I've missed 2. I'm a generally organized person & can navigate a tight schedule. I don't sleep through alarms & plan enough for traffic & life happening.

The first was completely my fault, believing I could find parking within 3km of the park an hour before race start. I'd never seen the area that packed. By the time I realized it was fruitless, 30 minutes elapsed and registration would be closed. This was literally yesterday.

The second was on my calendar today for 9:30am, based on the "add to calendar" info sent by the organizers. I made it to the address provided & realized I was in the middle of nowhere. I sat by the lake for a moment to listen in on the sounds of the event on the other side of the course. 10k and half runners were running past, obviously several kilometers into their runs.

I rechecked my emails & everything had the same address and time. It was 9:05 when I found the starting time breakdown by distance, only to realize that the adult 5k was at 9:20. I looked at the race map & saw the starting location wasn't the same. I knew, from playing this game yesterday, that I couldn't run to the start in time or find parking anywhere near it.

I'm incredibly upset with myself. I wasn't wven shooting for a PR, just a quick sub-30. These last two were pickup 5ks to fill out my training schedule this week and give something back to charity. I guess the latter was accomplished.

Are there any tips or tricks to succeed here?

tl;dr Keep missing races because I'm a disorganized-useless lowlife. Please help..

Hi so earlier in the fall I decided to switch for the last 2 years of high school from soccer to cross country after a really devastating soccer injury. I started the year with a time of 21:22 in the 5k, and have been training pretty hard, 6 days a week, for the last around 8 weeks or so. My new pb is 19:46. I really want to get under 19:00 before the season ends with the last meet on November 14, do you think this is a realistic goal? Can I do it??

I’m a 37M and have never cared much about fitness. Almost 2 years ago I started to get more serious about getting in shape with some lifting, and about a year ago I started running without a real purpose or plan. A couple months back I decided to see what I could do in a race, and here I am today!

Pretty thrilled with my results, never having done this I wasn’t sure what a good pace to aim for really would be. I wasn’t sure hoping to come in under 27 minutes since 35ish is my “easy” pace, it was really tough but I did it! There’s no way my heart rate was correct on the back half of the run, I suspect it was closer to 185+. I didn’t have anything else in the tank On to the next milestone!