r/UKRunners

Hi! I want to run the London marathon next year but I don’t run or really work out at all and I don’t know anything about running. Any advice?

Hi all,

Went into a local shop for a running trainer fitting, he had me on the treadmill and gave me a few to try. He landed that the best option for me would be the New Balance 860 Fresh Foam (Wide), which were comfortable but I wasn’t mad on the colour.

He said that the cushioning would suit me and that I need a shoe that supports me.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any trainers that are similar in cushion and support, that I could potentially look at?

Alternatively, if you think I should ignore the colour and just get what’s recommended, then let me know!

Really appreciate all of the help you have given me on the forum so far!

I will be visiting London for the very first time soon for a concert at Wembley Stadium (I know, big shame I've never been before).

Instead of dealing with the massive post-concert crowds on the Tube, I am thinking about running from Wembley Stadium all the way to central London (using Hyde Park as a general reference point). I think a night urban run would be a super nice experience!

Since I don't know the city at all, I wanted to ask you:

1. Is this actually doable late at night after a concert?
2. Which areas/streets are safe to cross during the night?
3. Are there any specific areas or neighborhoods I should absolutely avoid along that route at that time?

I am a regular runner but safety is my top priority, especially being unfamiliar with the city. Any advice on route planning or logistics would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Hey all, heading to Egham (near Windsor/Surrey) for a week and looking to get some serious miles in — happy to do 10+ mile hikes or trail runs each day.

I've done a bit of research and have a shortlist:

- Box Hill (seems train-accessible via Box Hill & Westhumble station?)

- Leith Hill (highest point in SE England, apparently views to London + South Downs on a clear day)

- Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead (looks dramatic but possibly car-only?)

A few questions:

1. Which of these gives the best views for the effort? I'm prioritising scenery over difficulty.
2. Is renting a car worth it for the week, or can I get by on trains/buses for most of these?
3. Any hidden gems in the Surrey Hills / North Downs I'm missing that are worth a long day out?

I'm comfortable on trails and happy to piece together my own routes — just want to make sure I'm not missing something obvious. Any route suggestions (or AllTrails links!) very welcome.

Also, won't mind the company if someone wants to join.

Thanks!

During marathon training earlier this year, I developed pain along the inside of my left shin/tibia. It would settle if I rested, but every time I started running again it came back.

My races are now finished, so I've been trying to get it to heal properly, but it's been lingering for around 4–5 months.

I've been seeing a physio who advised me to keep running, just at low mileage and an easy pace. It's improved slightly but still hasn't gone away.

I've also tried cycling instead of running, but that doesn't seem to make much difference. I've had one acupuncture session so far with another booked, but I haven't noticed any improvement yet.

At this point I'm running out of ideas. Has anyone dealt with something similar? What finally worked for you? Would you keep running through it, stop completely, or push for further investigation such as an MRI?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

I (early 30s M) am a fairly recent runner, starting last Spring, falling off of it after Summer 2025, and getting back into it in May 2026. I'm doing pretty well at building up a base at the moment, slowly adding an extra running day every 4 weeks with the goal of getting to 6 days a week, and I'm currently at 50km at week.

But I want to prepare for Autumn and Winter come around again with the less pleasant conditions. I was thinking adding in club training and the social aspect (I run alone atm) could help to keep me "on the wagon" of training through the colder, darker months.

My problem is that there are multiple affiliated running clubs in my area, but it's really hard to tell what might suit me. The two that are in the most ideal nearby location seems like a club that seems to skew older (40+) and doesn't seem particularly competitive, and another that seems _incredibly_ competitive with the majority of regulars running at least sub-19 5ks.

For context, I'm fairly close to my goal of a sub-20 5k. I feel like this leaves me in a bit of a no-mans land of being fast enough to be in the top 20-30 at most park runs, faster than most people at more casual running clubs, but far slower than those at competitive run clubs.

I'm looking for both people to socialise with (so ideally not a massive age difference) and people to train with. I don't want to be at very front with few peers, or trailing at the back of the pack.

There are other slightly less competitive seeming teams that are not so casual, but they are either also skewing older or on the other side of the city that getting to training would be a bit of a chore.

Anyone been in a similar situation, or have any advice?

As the title says really. I'm a vm50 and not run in 3 yrs (2023) approx 13st 5lb. In 2023 I trained for approx 5 months and before that it was another 3 yr gap back to 2020. I ran my first time trial 6 weeks ago and managed 26.12 for the 5k. But would like to go sub 17 by Christmas. I am aiming for 6 week blocks between time trials with a little leeway built in incase of emergencies. The first week I ran 20miles and have been increasing by 10% a week so am up to mid 30s currently.

Am I dreaming here? 9mins + seems a big ask.

Any pointers, things to avoid?

I am doing my second time trial tonight.

I hate running. I've always hated running.

I was very fit in my 20s and early 30s (until I had a work accident) but even at my fittest, running was a chore and I couldn't understand why people did it for fun. I turned 40 last year and have been working hard to make sure I'm physically in good health. I started running a couple of months ago (triggered by yet another weight loss plateau). The first few runs were awful, thought I might die, hated every second, ached for almost a week after, regretted all of my life choices etc, etc.

I was speaking to a friend at work, and he said 'you're trying to run too fast. Slow it down so it's almost painfully slow, keep your heartrate in zone 2/3 and see how you feel then'.

Well. It turns out I have been wrong about running for the past 25 years of my life. I don't hate running, I actually really enjoy it, I've just been trying to run too hard/fast too soon, and then giving up because it's hard and it hurts.

I'm not fast, but I've comfortably ran 10k twice now (and shorter distances several times a week, with one treadmill interval training session a week), sang along to my music the whole way (well, mimed), and got home a little tired but not out of breath even after an hour plus of running.

Apparently I never hated running, I just didn't understand what I was doing 😂

Tl;dr - is it true that slow running (zone 2) helps faster speeds and just general running ability?

I’d class myself as a newbie runner still. Doing it for just under a year. Completed a couple half marathons in sub 2 hours earlier this year.

But feel like I’ve just been busting my ass every run, rather than the recommended variations like easy, pace, etc. runs.

My decent effort pace is around 9 minute miles on longer runs. I can’t get my heart rate really above 160 even in this hot weather.

But after a year, I’m still at that 9 minute mile pace with very occasional drops to 8:30 on the shorter runs I do.

I’m just curious about going about how to improve that, I’ve been seeing recently after researching it online, about get a proper split going. So zone 2 maybe at 10 min mile pacing on easy days, then pushing on the faster days.
Is this a load of rubbish, or genuine? And if so, would you say dropping a minute per mile sound right?

On a 10 minute mile pace, I can easily talk, and hr is about 140. So really not feeling it at all.

Would love a bit of friendly advice :)

I'm currently training for my next marathon (York), and i've always struggled to find the time to go to the gym to strength train, when running 5 times a week. How do people find the time? I'm currently out the house running by 4am too, because of the heat!

Any tips on reducing my overall pace so I can run for longer? Just feels like I’m running way too faster than I should even with long legs, 5 min/km on a average is what I do when I start off running and I’m always fu*ked by the 25-30 min mark, My ideal goal is to complete a Half Marathon by the end of the year

I did a 10km through Greenwich tunnel tonight and it made me wonder if there are any other runs this year that are outside the box a bit. The tunnel was a different feel as a bit quirky. I am based in Essex.

Please no Runthrough events as they are boring as anything and frankly RT races lack anything special or different. (I have done enough of their races and their standards are in the toilet).

Hi guys, just looking for any last minute pointers or advice before pulling the trigger on a treadmill. Budget is about £5k.

After much research I think I’ve settled on the Spirit CT800+.

A few notes, it’s mainly for my wife coming into winter although I’ll be using it too, she’s going to be training for a marathon but regularly covers 40/50km on any given week. I’ve only just started running, coming from a bodybuilding/powerlifting background, at 115kg 6ft6 that was also a concern that it’d need to support my weight pounding down on it as well as my stride length.

Trying to keep it brief, but I don’t think I’ve missed anything. Just looking for a thumbs up/reassurance really.

Thanks in advance!

Hi All, firstly let me say it looks like you’ve got a great community here. Looking forward to hopefully being a part of it!

As a bit of background, I’m 29, overweight and looking to get myself back on the road to fitness (that’s the only pun I promise!). I have never really been into running, however recently a lot of family and friends seem to be getting into it and it seems like a great social activity, so thought I’d give it a go!

I’m a bit of an all or nothing person, so I decided last night that I want to get into running, and I probably have 2 weeks to start before my mind thinks of something else. So I have some questions below that I was hoping you all may be able to help with!

1. Running shoes - how on earth do I decide what to go with? (I have a 50% discount on a pair from Sportshoes but have no idea what is good or isn’t good for me!)

2. Running attire - I know I can run in anything, but does anyone have any good and cost effective attire that they’d recommend? Hoping for some socks that won’t give me blisters, some shorts that will stop chaffing and also hold my phone, and then maybe a stylish hat to top it off!

3. Does anyone have a stretching routine that they’d recommend, either on youtube or other sites?

4. After doing the initial run training from Nike Run Club, what would people recommend is a good amount of runs per week to do?

5. I suppose any other tips for a newbie!

I’m a relatively new runner and have been running for a year now. I’ve got into a really solid routine in terms of consistency and now run 3 days a week on the same days for a combined total of around 20KM (small numbers in this group I know).

At present I’m running a couple of 5KM runs and one longer run of around 10KM, but I’m curious of how I can increase this weekly distance, but crucially do so sustainably so I don’t end up injured or fatigued to a point of not being able to run at all.

I know that many follow the 10% rule, but in your experience what’s the best and safest way to increase weekly mileage? Should I be adding an extra day or running, or upping the distance of my current runs?

Any other tips are welcome as I’m learning as I go here.

It’s one thing running during a red heatwave warning very early in the morning or late at night. However, it’s another thing to run at the peak of the day where the sun it’s as its strongest.

This is simply dangerous. I’ve seen so many runners today running at 12pm. If you were one of those runners today, why?

I would imagine the same runners who ignore red heatwave warnings are the same ones who ignore pain and continue to run anyway, leading to injuries.

I always run in sunnies - other than the obvious, it also keeps the bugs out of my eyes. With this warm weather I’ve been running later and returning at dusk and am finding it difficult to see. And as I mostly run off road, the light conditions are very variable (woods to open fields etc).

I used to have some fab sunnies - I actually bought them for a ski trip 20 years ago. They were more of a yellowy-brown tint. The dog ate them :(

Where or what should I look for? I don’t like the sorts that look very runner-y, IYKWIM. I currently use some Izipizi which I find comfortable and like the look of. I’m female and have a big head but a small budget. Thank you for any tips!

Finished Uni and looking for a friendly run club