Aching legs

hello,

I have just started running again after a break from running and i am running in the great south run and i am thinking of entering the new forest marathon. I do suffer from painfull legs right from my first strides of running, is it because i haven't warmed up enough? As they do get better after a  couple of miles or would you suggest i try stretching before i go out? Im a bit stuck with this one!!

Apparenlty you shouldn't stretch cold muscles and should only stretch after you have warmed up and at the end of your run.  I used to get painful legs (shins) all the time when I first started out.  The main thing that stopped mine was finding the correct running footwear.  Have you had a gait test and got yourself a suitable pair of trainers?  I also try to walk a bit before I start running, or at least do a very slow jog, that seems to help my legs and also helps keep me running longer before getting tired.