A MUST Read for new runners!

Here is what I call the abandon-all-reason-and-do-it-now approach to your first run ever. Explained simply, what you have to do is this: Abandon all reason and do it now. Put down whatever you are holding, tell anyone in the immediate vicinity to hang on a second, walk calmly through the nearest exit, and when you hear the door close behind you, take off. Three rules: Go only about as fast as a 2-year-old at top speed; stop when you feel tired, no matter how short the distance; and then walk back.

It's okay if you want to wave and point ahead like you need to catch a bus in order to disguise the rather personal fact that you are running for no other reason than to begin the long, slow journey to a healthier mind and a happier body. I know how embarrassing it is to suddenly care about your health when it looks as though you've ignored it for so long. I've been there. So put a few bills in one hand and, if anyone looks at you suspiciously, wave them over your head and shout, "Pizza guy–forgot your tip!"

The abandon-all-reason run is good not only for the first run ever, but also for the first run in years or the first run after a potentially run-ending hiatus, or really any run when you just don't feel like running. The point is to not think too deeply about it. If you've never run in your life, or you haven't run in a long time, well, partner, this is one of the most dangerous paragraphs you'll ever read. You can either put this off until you get the perfect shoes/weather/outfit/opportunity, or you can start calling me names and head out the door now. You have a few minutes, you have an able body, there is a bill in your pocket for the pizza guy–he forgot his tip. See if you can catch him and change your life in the process.