This extract is from The Runner's World Complete Book of Running by RW USA Editor Amby Burfoot. You can now preview it, free, for two weeks without risk or obligation. All running programmes for beginners are the same: they move you from walking

this VO2max pace. First, it’s not the same as your all-out sprint speed. It’s a pace that you could hold for an 11-minute race. If you chose to sprint for just 30 seconds, say, you could run at a much faster pace. Faster isn’t better, however. The best

, enjoyable (and effective) way to run. It’s worth a try, isn’t it? Amby Burfoot is Editor of Runner's World US.

"I'm out of shape, overweight and I've never run before."Just like the millions of couch-potatoes-turned-runners before you. "Beginners all say, 'This seems crazy. Can I do it?'" says Bob Glover, co-author of The Runner's Handbook (£9.99, Penguin