What do I need to start running?
Starting running is a big step for a lot of people, particularly if life has got in the way for a while and exercise has generally taken a back step.
Put simply, to start running you need nothing more than
a good pair of sneakers
appropriate clothes/ glasses
and a lot of patience
Shoes are always a difficult one to recommend from a blog, but ensuring they are not old and crusty is a good first step. I am always surprised at the number of people who run in 3+ year old shoes. By this time the sponge in the sole would have well and truly worn out, and any arch support is likely compressed by this stage. This is regardless of if you have regularly used them. So get yourself assessed by a qualified professional and purchase a good quality pair of shoes. Once you have that pair, these should be replaced after approximately 800km of running use.
You must remember when recommencing running after a long break is that you will not “pick it up” like you did when you were a kid. Your body goes through a lot of changes as you mature, but an important musculoskeletal change is that your tendons have a stiffer form of collagen within them, basically meaning any new activity will take longer to adapt to than when you were a child. This leaves you at a higher risk of injury to your bones and tendons.
Commencing running in a walk/run capacity is definitely the most likely to have success. You should start with a longer ratio of walking to running and slowly swap this around. I recommend only starting with 5-10 mins worth of running and building this up as your body adapts. Further to that, recovery days and weeks are an important part of allowing your body to adapt, which will enable further gains into the future. All of these changes take many months to years, but they will eventually allow you to enjoy your running and set goals that at one stage seemed unachievable. It’s a great feeling.
Go for it.