'Race' - sounds soooooo scary

As a beginner to this lark all the talk of racing sounds very scary - I have taken part in 'race for life' which was fantastic - the atmosphere was electric - is this usual or are most races more 'serious' - what would you recommend for a first timer who is fairly slow but dreams of running a marathon one day?

Do a 10k
you could still do this training on the treadmill, i did
But get outside if you can
There are a lot of fun ones coming up ari=ound Xmas
Sure there are serious runners aiming for times i can only dream about
But there are always new runners, like yourself
it takes me over an hour to do a 10k, and Ive never been last
Good luck

I'm a relative newcomer to running (4 months). What I've learned so far is not to try to do too much too quickly. I joined a running club and was trying to keep up with more experienced runners - it made me feel despondent as I couldn't. I was also pushed into a 10K quite early on in which I didn't do that well. I have now stepped back a bit and am running with less experienced runners at a more suitable pace and I'm really enjoying it and, more importantly, I can feel the improvement week by week. I now feel I could soon do a 10K with more gusto as I know I'll feel (and do) better.

Do a 10k in your own time
You CAN:)

mucky

Find a local 10k, have a look at last year's results on their website & you'll see that there's all sorts of times & ages (that said just done the same for a 5m race I've entered & found that almost everyone last year was a club runner & the one person I know came in the last 10% and he's faster than me - but at least I'm now prepared).

I enter races, not because I'm racing against the other runners but because I enjoy racing against myself - at least I'm always first then :-)

Don't be scared, like every new experience it will feel a bit strange because you'll think that everyone there knows what they are doing and you're the only one that doesn't - you won't be. As you found with the race for life there is a great buzz to running in an organised event, well worth keeping up

Good luck

Nick

Thanks for all the positive encouragement, I am so pleased to have found this site as you guys all seem so motivated. I'm now on the lookout for a 10k near Peterborough - any ideas?

Mucky Running - welcome to the mad world of runners!! First of all, well done for actually getting out there and running in the first place. Everyone has to start somewhere, and the 5K Race For Life's are a fantastic starter.. I've done them for years myself! I only started doing 10K's this year (although I am doing my first 10 Mile race on Sunday!!). I know I can do the distance, because I've done it myself on my own. In a 'race' situation, you can usually run further than on your own training runs, because of the atmosphere and the encouragement of the crowd. I would suggest that you 'up' your own training so that you know you're quite capable of running 10K (do not worry about times!), and then find a race local to you - (if you like, you can find out how many entrants there are, the more entrants the more non-elite runners!) - and then go and do your best and enjoy it - whatever time you do it in, will be a PB anyway! Good Luck!!!

Mucky - Ely New Year's Eve 10K. On, er, 31st Dec. Not done it, so don't know what it's like.
Or better still, search for one in the Events section.

i'd only ever run 5K when I ran my first 10K. It was a fantastic experience. I wanted to enter everything available.I made the mistake of running a 6K with loads of club runners, and I was lonely!!!!I think maybe the words "fun run" are the things to look for. As soon as money prizes are involved, serious runners join in.

Michelle, I'm doing my first 10 mile on sunday, too.I've never run that far and I'm very nervous. Let me know how you get on.

The thing I enjoy about being slow is that I get more applause when I finish because most people have got there before me!!!

hi there,

i know what you mean...'race' does sound scary!

i've only been running 2 yrs (which i can't quite believe). i've lost over 2 stone and kept it off, and that is a big motivation for me.

however the odd race does help. my 1st race was a local 10K, my next race was london marathon.

i promise you can do it! i followed one of the simple training guides in runners world mag, and put the dates in my diary like an appointment!

i trained mostly on my own, and finished the marathon in 5hrs 18mins. its slow but i ran all the way and raised loads of money. looking back the training was the hard part!

i'm certainly no expert, if you see me pootling long with my dogs you'll know what i mean - but races are fun!

also as a new runner you'll improve really quickly and that will spur you on too.

i like 10K, and there seems to be lots of them about that have a 'fun run' element to them as well. i'm not saying that you should dress up as womble or something, but if there are lots of fun runners as well as club runners i found i felt comfortable. saying that i did worry when the wombles over-took me!

what ever you decide - good luck!

sian

I think the trick is to go for a local run. If it has the words regional or championship in it avoid it.

Oh and wear your number on the front, nearly got me on my first race :-)

No one tells you these things.