Choosing a Beginners Running Program

by Kathy
(Grant, Nebraska)

I have been running / walking for a bit over a month. I currently go around a mile or a little over, running 1 minute and then walking 1 minute. I do the mile in around 17 minutes. I would like to increase my mileage, looking ahead to a marathon some day (sigh). Which program should I start with?



Answer by Dominique:

Hi Kathy,
Thanks for your question about the beginner running programs. Great to hear that you have started running and are already doing a mile! Good work.

It is really up to you which beginners running program you pick.

Suppose you start with Beginners Running Program 1. After finishing it, you can quite easily pick up Beginners Running Program 2 at, say, week 7 or 8.

Once finished with Beginners Running Program 2, you can transition to Beginners Running Program 3, starting in week 7 or so.

After that, you can continue with the 10K Running Program, get used to that distance, and then, the Half Marathon Running Program.

And by the time you have worked your way through all of those, a marathon running program would be the next logical step. All in all, that sequence could last 12 - 18 months or so.

Of course Beginners Running Program 3 will get you there the quickest. But you will get there via the other running programs as well, it will just take a few weeks longer. And what's a few weeks on a 18- or 24-months plan to conquer the marathon?

Just see whichever program you think suits you best and start that one. The most important thing is that you start / continue running, not which program you choose.

By the way, keep in mind that these Beginner Running Programs are not absolute law. They are templates. Feel free to skip a week if it is really too easy, repeat a week if it was too tough etc. Just follow the methodology of gradually adding running /exercise time.

Best of luck.
I hope my website will serve you all the way from beginning to run to your ultimate goal of running a marathon! That would be great.

Kind regards,
Dominique