A Running Habit

Running for me is a habit: one that is key to how well I function, how effective I am in the world, and the quality of my relationships.

It is a habit that has been formed over twenty-five years: from a twelve-year old jogging up and down his street in the picturesque Highland village of Carr-bridge, to a thirty-seven year old running a 2.47 marathon in Edinburgh in 2024.

This series of blog posts looks at the benefits of building a running habit, before exploring how to build your own running habit.

The Tortoise and the Hare 

I’m fairly sure most readers will be familiar with Aesop’s fable, ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’. It tells the story of an arrogant hare and a plucky Tortoise.  At the start of the tale, our boastful hare challenges the tortoise to a race. So confident in his abilities, the Hare takes a significant lead in the run before deciding to take a nap. Our friend the Tortoise then ambles slowly past him to a glorious victory. 

The message, of course, is that there is much value in slowness – and to rush through something is to run the risk of making mistakes or burning out. 

It is a message that resonates in our fast paced modern society. It has also been popularised over the past ten years: from everything from slow cooking to Cal Newport’s latest book ‘Slow Productivity.’

I’ll also confess to taking this slow agenda into education, publishing my first book after my own experience of burn-out, ‘Slow Teaching’  in 2018.

So, how might this slow philosophy help us to build a running habit?

The Hare Runner 

If you will indulge me for a last paragraph on the fable. People who want to start running often do so in some variation of the Hare style. They go for a first run and set off at a pace that is far too fast, and are soon gasping for air, their inner critic telling them in the voice of an army major that they “NEED TO KEEP RUNNING,’ before collapsing in an exhausted heap by the end of the run. 

They then wake up the next day feeling like they have been steamrollered and vow never to attempt the foolish sport of running ever again. 

I say this without judgement, I did exactly the same thing and for my own first few months of running I thought it was deeply unpleasant. To be a ‘runner’ it feels like this is what you have to do: run to the point of exhaustion. 

To do so, however, is to take the enjoyment out of running – and doesn’t allow for the opportunity to build any sustainable habit. Why, of course, would we want to do anything again and again that makes us feel utterly miserable? 

Conversational Pace 

One way to prevent this is to try and start off running or jogging with a pace that is conversational. By that, I mean you should be able to hold a conversation with someone while you run. If you are breathing heavily, and struggling to form a coherent sentence while you run, you are working far too hard.  Even if you are not running with any company, you can do this by just trying to speak a couple of sentences to yourself while you run (without looking like you have gone completely mad of course)

If you do start to feel like your breathing is becoming more intense and you are struggling, there is absolutely no harm whatsoever in breaking up your run. 

Break it up 

Here is a golden sentence that I wish someone had told me when I started running: you don’t need to run the whole time. It sounds ridiculously simplistic, but it can be the key to keeping someone motivated when they start running. 

You can approach a run in any way that feels comfortable to you: you can run for one minute, then walk for one minute. You can run for three minutes then stop completely for two minutes. Any variation that helps to make it feel sustainable will really help to keep you motivated. 

You can then track this as the weeks go on: perhaps building up to running for three minutes then walking for two. You will then find that really important aspect of building any habit: achieving micro successes. By that, I mean tracking your development and appreciating when you can run further, or run faster. 

Sometimes doing this on your own can be challenging. I’ve been very fortunate that ace running coach Carol Sharp is supporting the Run With Company group on a Thursday evening in Cramond. She will be supporting any beginner runners who come to the group, and helping them to pace themselves in those first few runs. If you can, come along!

So, if you want to build up a running habit – go for a slow run today!

Thank you for reading. 

Read: Carl Honore ‘In Praise of Slow’. 
Listen: ‘How to Accomplish more by doing less.’ Feel Better, live more’ podcast with Cal Newport.