I started running in 1997. I had no idea what I was doing, no real plan, and nobody to tell me what I was getting into.
Nearly 30 years later I can tell you exactly what I wish someone had said to me before I started running. Not training advice. Not gear recommendations. The real stuff – the things that took me years to fully understand and that a beginner could benefit from knowing on day one.
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It Is Not All About Losing Weight
Let me say this clearly because it took me longer than it should have to fully internalize it – running is not just a weight loss tool. It took me YEARS to come to terms with this fact.
Yes running burns calories. Yes it can be part of a healthy approach to weight management. But if weight loss is your only reason for running you are going to struggle to stay motivated when the scale does not move the way you expect, or when your body changes in ways that do not show up as a number. I’ve swung dozens of pounds in the nearly 30 years I’ve been running.
The women I know who have been running for decades – myself included – are not still doing it because of what it does to their bodies on the outside. They are doing it because of what it does to them on the inside. The energy, the clarity, the sense of accomplishment, the community. The weight loss conversation is the smallest part of the running story.
Start running for your health – physical and mental. Stay running for all the other good stuff!
It Will Make You Happy
I did not expect this one. I started running because I wanted to get in shape. I stayed running because it makes me genuinely happy.
There is something that happens on a good run – a shift in mood, a quieting of the mental noise, a feeling of being fully present in your body – that I have never found anywhere else. Scientists call it the runner’s high and attribute it to endorphins and endocannabinoids. I just call it the reason I keep showing up, even on the cold / dark / windy days when I don’t feel like it.
Running has been my most reliable source of mental stability for nearly 30 years. Through stress, through loss, through change, through every season of life – it has been there. Consistent and steadying in a way that is hard to put into words but impossible to overstate.
If you start running and stick with it long enough to find your rhythm I promise you will understand exactly what I mean.
It Is an Investment in Your Future Self
This is the one I wish someone had told me in 1997 in exactly these words – starting to run is one of the best investments you can make in your future self. I keep thinking about this fact lately.
I am in my 50s now. I have no blood pressure issues – something that many women my age struggle with. My cardiovascular health is strong. My bone density is good. My recovery from injury has been faster than expected. I move through daily life with energy and ease that I do not take for granted. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t hop out of bed TOO fast. Really.
I cannot attribute all of that to running but I absolutely attribute a significant part of it to running. The miles I logged in my 30s and 40s were deposits into an account that is paying dividends now. Every run you take today is a gift to the woman you will be in ten or twenty years.
That is not a small thing. That is something many people only dream of – it’s huge.
Get Good Sneakers – From the Very Beginning
I learned this one the hard way. Blisters, knee pain, shin splints – a lot of the early running misery that sends beginners back to the couch can be traced directly to bad shoes.
You do not need the most expensive shoes on the market but you do need shoes that are designed for running, fit your foot properly, and provide appropriate support for your stride. Go to a running store if you can – the staff can analyze your gait and help you find the right shoe for your foot type. It is worth the extra effort and the extra cost. At my local store, there isn’t an extra charge.
A good pair of running shoes is not an extravagance. It is the foundation of every run you will ever take. Start right.
Looking for recommendations? Check out my guide to the best running shoes for women over 50 for my current favorites.
Do Not Be So Hard on Yourself
This might be the most important thing on this list.
You are going to have bad runs. Runs where everything feels hard and nothing flows and you wonder why you are doing this. You are going to have weeks where life gets in the way and your routine falls apart. You are going to compare yourself to other runners and feel like you are not fast enough, not consistent enough, not good enough.
Stop. Please.
Running is not a performance. It is a practice. Some days are hard. Some weeks fall apart. Some runs are slow and uncomfortable and feel like they are going nowhere. That is not failure – that is running.
The only metric that matters is whether you keep showing up. Not how fast you are. Not how far you go. Not how you compare to anyone else. Just whether you keep showing up.
Be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace on the hard days. Celebrate the fact that you are out there at all – because not everyone is.
One More Thing
If I could back to 1997 and say one thing to the woman who was just starting to run it would be this – you have no idea how much this is going to mean to you.
The miles, the early mornings, the runs through every kind of weather, the years of showing up – all of it adds up to something that goes so far beyond fitness. It adds up to a life that is healthier, happier, and more grounded than it would have been otherwise.
Starting running in 1997 was one of the best decisions I ever made. I hope you get to say the same thing someday.
Now go put on your shoes.
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