Fitness increases dramatically between the first 10 and 20 weeks of training. You will probably find this to be the most rewarding period of your new running career, with each week yielding greater achievements than the week before. However, you should continue to gradually increase your training, but not too rapidly, since you will be particularly prone to injury in this time (see the Injuries section). You should still be aiming to increase distance, not speed.

After several months you will no longer be a beginner and will have to decide whether you wish to just run for fitness or to do more. A couple of miles, three of four times a week will keep you fit and healthy. 15 to 20 miles a week will give you better conditioning. Beyond that, you are running for performance.

Last updated on May 4, 2007 by David Ardley