Any runners who were not good runners before?

I'm not a real "distance" runner ... longest I've ever run was about 10 miles, but I run between 3-6+ miles about three times a week.

Up until two years ago, I hated running and never ran at all. The most I could go was about 10th of a mile. I started with Couch to 5k and kept going.

I agree with most people starting out not being very successful. I was active before I started running, but it took me a long time to actually like it, and that is what I would credit for my success (I ran my first half marathon this year). For me, one day I just liked it, the farther I went I liked it more and more, and now I can honestly say "I LOVE RUNNING!"

I used to run..about 15 years ago. then I started smoking and hadn't run to the corner until I quit smoking about 3 months ago. I started with a terrible, labored breathing mile, which I had to stop to walk during. Mind you, this was not what one would call "running" it was a jog at best. Over the course of 3 months I have bumped it up to about 4 miles on my longest run. I expect I could go further but...i don't have the time or desire after that.

The fitter you get, the stronger your lungs get, the more you will progress. and yes, you WILL progress. I haven't yet mastered the "running faster" thing, but run longer, i can do. and you will, too.

Thanks for the posts. I am also looking to start running. I am thinking of signing up for a 5K in March, but want to wait until the end of January just make sure I'm alive by then! It's a bit scary but exciting at the same time.

When I was 42 lbs over weight I decided "I'll be a runner" and off to the high school track I went. I could barely do one lap without gasping for air, with a beet red face and wanting to unzip my chest so I could breathe!
It sucked, I hated it and to top it off, I got shin splints the next day.
I figured, that's that, I can't run.
However, my daughter told me with the Vibram Five Finger shoes, I wouldn't get shin splints. OH I doubted this of course, but she had a pair so I borrowed them and she was right. No more shin splints so I started running and trying to slowly increase my distances. About 4 months into really trying to build up my stamina, I ran my first 5K. I didn't get to totally run the whole thing, I tried, I did, but I admit, I had to walk "some"... but I did finish it in about 37 mins.
Now I can run 14 laps, that is 3.5 miles so it will come to you, if you persist.

Dalen

I ran in my 20s. Til my knees started aching all the time.

Now, at 47 I started running, slowly, short distances, on a lark last year.

I now run 3-6 miles a few times a week. Usually around 20 miles a week.

Outside in good enough weather, inside when the weather stinks, or my time is short (ie, I'll run on the treadmill at work).

Not sure why I started running again. It just felt right.
I did a lot of HiiT training in the beginning. That seemed to help.

I was never a runner before. I avoided physical activity like a disease when I was in high school. I only started seriously running about a half ago. By the end of this year, I will have done 26 races, in 2012 alone, including several halfs, a 14 and a 16 mile trail run. I'm not fast, but I run, and I get faster. You have to start out somewhere!! Good luck!! You will become a runner!!

I was in ICU with congestive heart failure. I started to walk and it took me a year to do C25K. I have run a few 10ks and a 1/2 marathon. You can do it. I suggest joining a running club if there is one locally. At the very least get GOOD shoes fitted by a running store.

I went from not being able to run a mile (actually, not even being able to run around a city block without stopping to walk) to running a semi-respectable marathon (just under 4:30) in the period of 1 year. If I can do it, anyone can. My advice to anyone who says they "can't run" is to slow down.

I recommend John Bingham's books. I used Marathoning for Mortals to train.

Almost no one was a good runner fresh out of the gate. If you want to run, go run. You'll get better at it, I promise. Not only am I a terrible runner, I hate it. It's boring to me and works in opposition to my fitness goals. But I can run 10 miles without stopping right now at a decent pace. How? Because I started running. I couldn't run to the end of the block without stopping a few months ago. But time, determination and persistence are the ingredients that all accomplishments are made from. I have a race coming up in February, and I don't let lack of ability get in the way of my goals.

So if you want to be a runner, go run. If you don't, don't blame it on some mystical ability to run that you weren't born with.

Happened to me, too. I couldn't run the mile in High School, but I can happily bust out 3-4 now at a moderate pace - and I don't run more than once a week. It really is something you have to build up to, but your body really does adapt.

The trick for me was to be forgiving enough that I didn't dread doing it. Even if I could only do three minutes at a time, I was going to do those three minutes and be proud of the accomplishment. And then I'd try to hold on just a little longer next time. When I realized I didn't have to [read: couldn't] just jump in and run ten miles in a stretch, it was easier to build up and start enjoying my progress.

I was never really a runner (it always bothered my knees). I was active and have friends who'd run 5ks so I had done a bunch of them but never figured myself for a distance runner. I started getting into triathlons and decided to do an olympic distance last year - this required that I run a 10K. I figured the one and only 10K i'd ever run would be for that triathlon. As I trained, I built up my distance and actually ended up running 10k a couple of times. Then this fall, I decided I wanted to do a half marathon so I signed up for one in February. My knees are not great but I find with lots of stretching, lots of foam rollering and some strength training they are actually feeling ok. I'm not fast but every week I go a bit further. You can do it!

Good shoes..go to a running store and get fitted...run/walk method if you are just starting out or try Couch or 5k (C25K)

Never increase running distance by more than 10% a week and listen to your body.

Yes, I used to hate running. Now I hate injuries that prevent me from running.

I wouldn't call myself a long distance runner but I can now run 5 miles - most days without a walk break. I'm not fast either; I usually run somewhere between 10 and 11 minute miles. When I started in July I could run maybe 200 feet or so before my first walk break-and I would be so sore after 2 miles that it would be 4 or 5 days before I could run again. Somewhere in those early days I had to take a break for almost two weeks due to soreness.

My training plan was pretty simple - I tried to run 2 or 3 times a week depending on how I felt. I started with 2 miles as my distance and ran for as long as I could, then walked to catch my breath etc., run again...repeat. So, it's taken about 6 months but I would now consider myself a runner. I've completed two 5 k events and have a 5 mile trail run coming up this Spring. Thinking about a 10k too!

I ran track, if you can call it that, in middle school. I was a hurdler--only ever had to run 60 or 100 yards at a time. (Yards--that should give you some idea of how old I am!)

I've been physically active for a while--I cycle, I snow ski, I swim, I walk, I do the elliptical. Never running.

In the spring my son had a parents/kids lacrosse game and I thought I was going to die from the running. Right then and there I set a goal to run a 2 mile race over the summer with my son.

I started out with a Couch 2 5K program that I found online, but found it a little bit easy, so I embellished on my own. I started out running pretty slow on the treadmill at the gym and at the high school track, usually about 6 mph. I actually fell off the treadmill at the gym once--luckily it was late so not many people were there to see it.

I ran my race over the July Fourth holiday--2 miles in 19:06 in 85 degree heat. But I finished!

I haven't looked back since then. I ran a 5k in October--finished in a bit over 26 minutes.

I love running now--it's made my weight loss so easy. It gives me time to clear my mind. I get crabby if I don't run! I've actually just returned from the gym where I ran 4 miles in 32 minutes. Yep, 7.5 mph. I figure if I can get to a steady 8 mph I can win a gold medal in my age group in the July Fourth race next summer--that's one of my goals. The other is to participate in a sprint triathlon!

Keep with it--it should become easier with time!