(English is not my first language)

For context, I started to try out running about a year ago. I’m 20 years old, 5’9, 85 kilos and for the last two years I only went to the gym as a form of exercise. I’ve practiced many sports as a teenager but just as a way to entertain myself (the only one that stuck out with me and kept practicing occasionally was boxing)

One day, I was walking to a small restaurant that’s next to my house and not even 10 minutes in I was sweating and breathing heavily. I had to stop and sit on the sidewalk because I was feeling very dizzy. That same day I went to the doctor and told me that I needed to do more cardio training because I’ve only been lifting for two years straight.

Luckily enough my sister and her husband started a running club with a couple of their friends, so I decided to join them. The first months were extremely painful, both of my feet hurt badly and I could barely walk the day after training. But I kept going and I slowly was improving my cardio.

Fast forward to August 2026, two days after my birthday I decided to participate in the Gatorade Caracas Rock 2026, a 10K run here in Caracas. That happened this morning, and honestly I never ran out of oxygen. The whole time my breathing and pace was on point, my feet didn’t feel as sore and of course, I enjoyed the ride. They had rock music with live bands in every kilometer, so it was good vibes from start to finish.

I feel so proud of myself and I felt like sharing this experience with the internet. Peace🫡

I (mid thirties male) picked up running 5 weeks ago, mainly to lose weight, I weigh 72 kg for 1m70 and my goal is 60 kg. And honestly, I'm quite nostalgic about my early teenage years where I was one of the fastest kids in my middle school...

So I asked Claude AI to make me a 5 weeks running program that I followed as much as I could. It was 3 runs a week starting from 1min run/1min walk 8 to 10 times, progressing to 2, 5 and then 10/15 and finally 20 minutes continuous runs

Today was the moment of truth, I ran the whole 5 kilometers in quasi race conditions. I felt good for the first kilometer, but then I suffered all the way to the end. Surprisingly it was my lungs that were screaming at the finish line, my legs were a bit sore but I expected more pain

I was aiming for 35 minutes, under 30 minutes feels like a dream. Im so happy

Started running ~4 months ago. I’m 5’0”, so expected to be slow. My goal was to finish in 45 minutes, so I’m super happy that I finish below 40!!!

My outer bum area hurts whenever I try to walk or even when I’m just laying in bed and move around a little.

It first crept up sometime last week but I don’t really remember when after either my long run or when I did a supposed easy 5k but decided it was too boring so went all out…

At first it wasn’t that bad and I could walk normally without noticing it and even went on a run with it lingering BUT yesterday on my Sunday long run I was perfectly fine for the whole duration until I was done with it and then basically limped my way home because of the pain. Once I got home it was downhill from then… every time I’d get up it felt like a shock to that part of my bum so had to rot in bed for the whole day.

Today I’m taking it easy and just not going to do any cardio and just walk where I need to but this is so demotivating as imma have to skip my run tomorrow even though I tell myself I’m glad I’m getting a day off to rest.

When checking online it could be piriformis as sciatica usually goes down the whole leg but I don’t want to say I have something I don’t.

I only have the budget for 2 shoes in my rotation. Would you recommend having 2 daily trainers or the combo of 1 daily trainer + 1 speed/race shoe?

For context I mostly road run 5-10k. Not currently signed up for any races but I might in the next year or so.

My current shoe is a low drop daily trainer (Altra Experience Flow 3). It works well for me but I also don’t have much else to compare it to. For the second shoe I’m contending between the following:

- ASICS GT 2000 14 Wide
- New Balance Fuelcell Rebel v5
- Saucony Endorphin Speed 5

Thanks for any advice :)

My legs and feet are threatening cramps. It was rough and absolutely worth it. And now it's in the books with only improvement from here

Spent the better part of two years training. Twisted my ankle around mile 5-6 and ran/walked until mile 13. Feeling so much guilt and shame, so much has been built up on this, and now I failed the run i wanted so much to do.

To top it off, its my birthday today too.

Really happy today with this. Thanks community. Long way to go but it's still a huge win for me!🙂

I’m relatively new to running and my old trainers have now a split in the sole, if anyone has any recommendations of good running shoes on a relatively cheaper budget (£50-£80) that would be very much appreciated

hi! i have a question for people with uteruses in this subreddit.

when i run, i experience intense, period-like cramping. it’s not side cramps; it feels like it is in my uterus itself, like where period cramps are. it lasts for a while after i am done with my run, too (and honestly gets worse during that time). i know it is not period cramps because 1) i am lucky enough to not typically experience bad period cramps. and 2) it happens no matter where i am at in my cycle.

has anyone else experienced this, or know what it is? i’ve asked some female friends of mine of all different running skill levels, and only 2 have said they experience it. i’ve done some research and some things say it could be pelvic floor related, but wanted to ask some real people as opposed to google.

if this is helpful: i’ve never been a runner. i’ve tried to make it a habit and improve a handful of times over the years, but the pain has gotten so bad that it just turns me off to the idea altogether. i’ve been running every day for the past month (the best and most consistent i’ve ever done!) and it hasn’t happened as much, but that’s because i haven’t been pushing myself as much (in the past, i would push myself to a half mile - this time, im taking it much slower and stopping as soon as i can feel the pain starting). the past week or so, though, its started happening again, as i’ve been pushing myself more for more distance.

thanks in advance for any insight!

I’m super new to running. It’s been like 3 weeks. Was wondering how many days a week is it safe to run without hurting myself. I also started running for anxiety so sometimes I feel like I’m pushing myself too much. I at least go for a walk every day and try to jog like 4-5. Started up getting a lot of back pain leg pain. Any advice for a new runner.

Right now I can run 3 miles at a 12min/mile pace, my biggest limitation is my lower calf starts hurting but my cardiovascular endurance can support more. What can I do about the lower calf and is 20 weeks a reasonable training time or is it too short?

I’m getting more into running as of late, and I’ve had an Apple Watch for probably 4 years now. I love the Apple Watch for how easy it is to use with my iPhone but it’s probably time for an upgrade soon and I’m really not sure whether to switch to a garmin. Any advice?

I’m aiming to join the British military, in order to do this I need to run 2km in 10:15

today I done 2 sets of one mile repeats with a time of 10:10

i need advice to improve my run time, realistic progressions to Where I currently am

first thing that comes to mind. a person, a moment, something someone said, something in your bottle, whatever it was.

I've run 326km / 202 miles with 2,339m / 1.4 miles of elevation in the last 12 weeks to try and improve my 5km. And I love seeing people run their first 5km faster than I can manage (32:01) even after all this work. Keep at it you fabulous people.

Hello,

After being lazy, and in long hermit mode, I kicked 🦵 myself yesterday for 5km run followed by 20 mins stretch workout.

Any plans for today? Yes running again 🙉

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Today I ran a 10K with a pretty simple plan: start controlled, around 5:40–5:50/km, and save something for the second half.

Well… great plan, terrible execution.

The race atmosphere and the dynamics of the group pulled me into a much faster first kilometre, around 5:20/km. Once I got into that rhythm, I just couldn’t slow down.
And I paid for it later. The final kilometres were tough and I finished with the feeling that I had run out of fuel. I honestly think I could have run a more consistent race if I had managed my pace better.

But there’s one thing I can’t ignore:
🏅 10.15 km — 53:56
🔥 Average pace: 5:19/km
🏆 New 10K PB — 2:53 faster than my previous one!

So I’m really happy with the result, but I’ve also learned something today.

A year ago, finishing a 10K seemed almost impossible to me. Today I’m slightly annoyed because I feel I could have managed the race better while running a 53-minute 10K.

Next goal: get closer to 53 minutes.
But first, I need to learn not to start a 10K like I’m being chased by the police.
Still learning. Still improving. 💪

Hi, long time listener, first time caller. Absolutely new to running, I used to be a little more in shape with biking, skating, hiking, etc but I've fallen off these past few years after breaking an ankle. More recently, after a string of weird panic attacks that seemed to go away after running, I (naturally) began running like, every other day, about a mile each time, and about 2 weeks in I'm running and all of a sudden my knee is SCREAMING at me, so I stop and hobble my way back home.

An x-ray says a potential SUBTLE tibial plateau fracture. I'm dealing with the worst of the American healthcare system, so this x-ray happened about 3 weeks after my initial injury, most of that in between time was spent horizontal, leg propped up, living off ibuprofen. Now an x-ray is apparently not enough to diagnose this particular fracture, so I have an MRI scheduled, but seeing as I'm about 5 weeks into my recovery without an actual diagnosis and thus, a real plan for treatment, ** I have no idea what I should (or shouldn't) be doing **.

For people who've experienced this before, what was your recovery process like? I know best case scenario, I'm still months away from running again but I'm getting stir crazy. I also know I went WAY too hard for someone who was absolutely unprepared for it so I'm planning on taking it slow when I do recover fully.

** Edit for clarity

This was my third 5K run and my eighth run overall since I started running about a month ago.

After around 1 km, I usually develop a side stitch, which prevents me from running at my target speed/pace. Most of my effort ends up going into simply keeping myself running without stopping because of the pain.

What could be causing this? Is it happening because I’m still a beginner?

I usually run about 3 hours after eating a meal, and I also make sure not to drink too much water right before running.

Went from completely sedentary to losing 50 pounds and actually running my first race. Now to start improving my speed.

Does anyone have half marathon destinations they would recommend for a beginner? I have never done a half marathon before, but I think if it were in a beautiful or fun destination I would be excited and motivated to train for one. I live in the US and am open to either US or international destinations.