7 Beginner Running Mistakes that Everyone Makes (and How to Avoid Them)

Running is one of the most accessible cardio workouts around. It’s good for your heart, lungs, and circulatory system and also strengthens and tones your legs.

Additionally, a meta-analysis published on PubMed suggests that habitual running can improve many aspects of health, including body fat percentage, resting heart rate, VO2 max, blood glucose level, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol levels (1).

Consequently, whether you run for fitness, fat loss, or fun, running is an excellent way to get and stay in shape.

I’ve been running almost all my exercising life – that’s more than 40 years. I’ve run competitively over distances from 5k to half-marathons and used running to get fit for numerous sports. Nowadays, I just run for enjoyment, especially beach running.

All those years of running have taught me a lot, not least that beginners often struggle to get into and stick with running.

As a veteran personal trainer, I’ve helped many of my clients start running and achieve their running-related goals. Some have gone on to achieve impressive performances in races, while others have scored another kind of victory – running regularly for many years without injury.

In this article, I share the seven most common beginner running mistakes and how to avoid them.

7 Beginner Running Mistakes that Everyone Makes

Whether you are thinking of starting running or have already begun, these are the mistakes you need to avoid if you want to get the most from your running workouts.

1. Too Much Running Too Soon

While wanting to run far and often is an indicator of your dedication and enthusiasm, doing too much too soon can quickly derail all your good intentions. Running is a demanding, high-impact activity, and overdoing it can cause fatigue and injury.

As such, beginners should always start conservatively. I encourage my clients to begin with three runs a week, keeping their training sessions relatively short, e.g., 20 minutes at a slow pace. Then, as they become accustomed to the demands of running, they can gradually increase the length and frequency of their workouts.

For some, this means adopting a walk-run program, which is an excellent option for less fit and overweight individuals.

For example:

	Run	Walk	Repeats
Do each workout three times, e.g., Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Week 1	1 minute	4 minutes	6
Week 2	2 minutes	3 minutes	6
Week 3	3 minutes	2 minutes	6
Week 4	4 minutes	1 minute	6
Week 5	6 minutes	4 minutes	4
Week 6	7 minutes	3 minutes	4
Week 7	8 minutes	2 minutes	4
Week 8	9 minutes	1 minute	4

Once you’ve got the “running bug” and start getting noticeably fitter, you can start working on increasing your speed. Until then, just focus on getting miles in the bank.  

Solution: Do not push yourself too hard too soon. Instead, aim to finish each run feeling like you could have done more. Start by doing three runs per week, e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Avoid increasing the length of your runs or your weekly mileage by more than ten percent.

2. Not Paying Attention to Running Form

Running is a natural activity that your body is designed to do. In fact, humans evolved to run, and early hunter/gatherers ran huge distances in search of food and during persistence hunts. This involved running after prey until it literally dropped down dead of exhaustion (2).

Persistence hunting allows hunters and gatherers to capture large, fast, and potentially dangerous game with minimal risk. It still occurs in several parts of the world, including the Kalahari Desert, Mexico’s Copper Canyon, Australia, and Tanzania’s Rift Valley.

Despite our hardwired running genes, many beginners struggle to run smoothly and efficiently. Poor running form wastes energy and increases your risk of chronic running-related injuries.

Solution: It’s beyond the scope of this article to teach you the intricacies of good running form, but here is a checklist of the main things you must focus on:

• Keep your head up
• Relax your shoulders, neck, and jaw
• Take slow, regular breaths using your diaphragm
• Bend your arms to around 90 degrees
• Avoid swinging your arms across your midline
• Keep your hands relaxed
• Engage your core
• Lift your chest
• Maintain around 160-170 steps per minute
• Land with your foot directly under your body to prevent overstriding
• Avoid heavy heel-striking
• Keep your footfalls light and quiet

Think about these things as you run to improve your form, making your workouts safer and more efficient.

3. Not Wearing the Right Shoes

Running shoes come in various colors and styles and with features designed to help you run faster. With so many makes and models to choose from, beginners often find it hard to pick the right shoes for their running style and goals.

In my experience, the best running shoes are the ones you forget you are wearing. If you are aware of how your shoes feel, they probably aren’t right for your feet or running style.

Consequently, beginners should avoid buying running shoes without trying them on first. Things like size, width, support, and shape vary enormously between makes and models. So, just because you like the look of a shoe does not guarantee that it will be comfortable.

Note also that running shoes typically wear out after 300-500 miles. After that, cushioning and support start to break down, and the shoe needs to be replaced.

Solution: Buy your first few pairs of running shoes from a specialist running shoe store. The salespeople will advise you on the best shoes for your gait, foot shape, weekly mileage, running style, etc. Replace your shoes every 350-500 miles or once they start to lose cushioning and support.

4. Not Stretching and Strength Training Enough

Runners love to run and often resent spending time and energy on any other type of training. However, while running is a great workout, doing lots of it can cause muscle imbalances and tightness, increasing your risk of running-related injuries.

Consequently, all runners should include stretching and strengthening exercises in their training. While most of your time and effort should be spent on running, supplementary flexibility and strength training will enhance your performance while reducing your risk of injury.

That doesn’t mean you need to start bulking like a bodybuilder. After all, running with all that extra muscle mass will slow you down and tire you out. That said, a solid foundation of strength will help stabilize your joints and increase running power.

Solution: Include two full-body strength workouts in your weekly schedule and stretch before and after each run. The following articles contain all the information you need to shape your training program:

• The 12 Best Strength Training Exercises for Runners
• The 15 Best Pre-Run Stretches to Optimize Performance and Prevent Injury
• 12 Best Post-Run Stretches to Optimize Your Recovery

5. Not Varying Your Runs

Beginner runners often fall into the trap of running the same routes at the same speed. While the familiarity can be comforting, lack of variety means your fitness and running performance will soon plateau.

While there are numerous benefits to just going out for an easy run, if you want to get fitter, you need to vary your workouts from run to run. Invariably, this means altering your routes, speed, the terrain, and the length of your runs.

For example:

	Workout	Purpose
Monday	Day off	Recovery
Tuesday	4 x 1-mile intervals	Speed
Wednesday	Gym workout	Strength and flexibility
Thursday	5 miles Fartlek	Mixed endurance
Friday	200m hill sprints x 12	Speed
Saturday	Gym workout	Strength and flexibility
Sunday	8 miles	Long endurance

Needless to say, you should build your schedule around your current level of fitness and your running goals. However, if you want to continue improving your fitness, your training program must also evolve.

Solution: Once you have mastered the basics of running, look for ways to inject some variety into your training schedule. Run varying distances and speeds and experiment across different routes to avoid boredom and maximize your progress. Consider switching terrain from time to time, e.g., alternating between roads and trails.

6. Neglecting Rest and Recovery

Some runners pride themselves on running every day. They train through illness and injury and do everything they can to avoid taking a break, even if their performance suffers. Needless to say, this is a mistake that most runners must avoid!

Running takes a lot out of your body, and you only get fitter and stronger as your body recovers. Invariably, this means including rest days in your schedule and taking additional steps to enhance recovery between workouts.

Neglecting your need for rest and recovery will undermine your progress, increase your risk of injury, and could even lead to overtraining.

Solution: Look for ways to enhance recovery. Effective recovery solutions include:  

• Getting plenty of sleep
• Programming rest days into your schedule
• Paying attention to nutrition and hydration
• Minimizing stress
• Getting regular massages
• Building deloads into your training plan

Additionally, learn to recognize when you might need an unplanned day off. Symptoms to look for include elevated resting heart rate, difficulty sleeping, mood swings, unexplained aches and pains, and a temporary dip in motivation levels. These signs suggest you may benefit from an extra rest day.

7. Ignoring Aches and Pains  

According to research published on PubMed, as many as 40% of runners experience injuries at one time or another (3). Many of these injuries are unique to runners and even have the word “running” in their names, such as runner’s knee and runner’s hip.

While some running injuries are the result of muscle weakness and muscle tightness, others are caused by ignoring the minor aches and pains that are often part and parcel of running.

Pain is your body’s way of warning you that something is wrong, and it’s generally best not to disregard these signals. Instead of running through pain, it’s usually best to identify the cause and seek a solution. Those pesky minor aches and pains have a nasty habit of turning into serious problems when you ignore them.

Solution: Pay attention to how your body feels, and don’t allow minor aches and pains to turn into major injuries. A few extra rest days may be all you need to avoid small problems turning into more significant issues. Seek medical attention sooner rather than later if you suspect you have an injury.

Closing Thoughts

Running is an ideal workout for beginners. It’s simple and accessible, and getting started won’t break the bank. You don’t need to join a gym to go running, and all you really need is a suitable pair of shoes and somewhere safe to work out, like a quiet neighborhood or park.

However, despite its simplicity, getting into running doesn’t always go smoothly, and some people never really get to grips with it. Consequently, their running journey ends almost as soon as it starts.

In contrast, get things right, and running can become the sort of workout you can do forever. After all, once a runner, always a runner!

So, don’t make running harder than it needs to be by making unnecessary mistakes. Use the information in this article to make your first few runs as easy and enjoyable as possible.

References:

1. Hespanhol Junior LC, Pillay JD, van Mechelen W, Verhagen E. Meta-Analyses of the Effects of Habitual Running on Indices of Health in Physically Inactive Adults. Sports Med. 2015 Oct;45(10):1455-68. doi: 10.1007/s40279-015-0359-y. PMID: 26178328; PMCID: PMC4579257.
2. Hora M, Pontzer H, Struška M, Entin P, Sládek V. Comparing walking and running in persistence hunting. J Hum Evol. 2022 Nov;172:103247. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103247. Epub 2022 Sep 21. PMID: 36152433.
3. Kakouris N, Yener N, Fong DTP. A systematic review of running-related musculoskeletal injuries in runners. J Sport Health Sci. 2021 Sep;10(5):513-522. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2021.04.001. Epub 2021 Apr 20. PMID: 33862272; PMCID: PMC8500811.

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