I'm not a natural runner, have been biking for ten years so legs are used to circles.

I'd quite like to start running (xc, not competitively) as I think it'd be good not only for my fitness, but also my mental wellbeing. But don't know where to start. Looking for ideas on shoes (guessing Innovates or similar but theres numerious models) and anything else that can help.

Oh, and I will try some shoes on- but no idea what i'm looking for so don't want to be a victim of Tisos mixed staff!

salomon speedcross,awesome,comfy, grippy an hardwearin. tops!!!

Whatever suits your feet. I like Adidas Swoops.

If your serious then get yourself to a proper running shop and take a pair of well worn shoes with you so they can tell if you pronate or supinate(favour the outside or inside of your foot). That way they will be able to advise you of the correct shoes.

If you're heavy then try to stick to soft surfaces until your running style improves , approximately 2.5 times your body weight shocks through your ankles/knee's/hips/back everytime your foot lands when running.

if you do a search on here you learn that you absolutely must run barefoot and never ever footstrike with the heel apparently most people have been doing it all wrong..

whatever you decide, break yourself in gently to avoid injury, buy the best shoes you can afford and get them fitted correctly in a decent running shop, their advice is worth paying for over internet prices.
avoid hills to begin with and enjoy.

avoid hills to begin with and enjoy.

Why? I live in a hilly place (no huge height gain but its there)

Also, appears Tiso have a Run 4 It place inside.. will visit there and Achillies Heel (Glasgow)

Startfitness have some Inov8 shoes knocked down to £30.

IME both whilst running last year and in my job as a podiatrist, beginners and hills seem to cause lots of tendon over use injuries. if you live in a hilly place then just take it easy and gradually, let your body become accustomed to the strain running puts on them.

1. Put on some trainers
2. Go for a run

Sometimes I think we overthink things.

Take it easy to start with and be sensible; alternating running and walking works. Google C25k if you need a plan.

get properly fitted for shoes, and start slow and short. when I say slow, I mean slow so it doesn't really feel like its exercise. then add to this, no more than 10% of total mileage a week every week. so for example, if you do 3 1 mile runs a week next week do 3 3.1 mile runs the next week. build it up like that and before long you'll be loving it.

I did 6 miles after work tonight and it was lovely. 40 minutes, nice pace and i feel great now. Running is good!

Running shoes is a biggie. Had adidas climacool, A3's etc but never got on with my insoles, had Nike's but they constantly blistered my feet, so have found Asics have been the best for me.

Trying to run forefoot nowadays though taking some used to. Always been a not bad runner from schooldays though if i dont do it for long periods then shin splints could be an issue.

Never been able to run since i crashed the bike beginning of December. Hoping another few months off and ibuprofen will cure it

There's also a Run 4 It on Bothwell Street in Glasgow. Go along to any of these proper running shops during the week (i.e. when it's a bit quieter) and they'll watch you walk and judge if/how you pronate, choose the few shoes suited to that, then you'll get time to try them all for comfort. Definitely recommend that approach.

After that, as said, just take your time to build up distance.

Actually, it's running down the hills that is most likely to cause injury. I think running up them is fine.

Army Fitness is quite good for a training plan – also has stretching and strength training techniques that require no extra equipment

army

Miketually has it. I'm a great believer in just going for a run. We're designed to do it you know? Start slow and easy, and let your body get used to it.

Doing hill reps up hills can be beneficial in teaching you to fore/mid foot strike rather than heal strike. An often overlooked point but if your not a natural runner then do a bit of research on correct form when running and concentrate on your technique as it will make a big difference to how hard/enjoyable running is.

Iain

Stretch
cant do enough calf and hamstring stretches, as a cyclist these will have shortened and you will get a lot of injuries if you start bashing out too much too soon, ease into it and walk too.

Found that Greaves in Glasgow also do a good biometrics test and heard alot of good things about the guys in Tiso aswell. I was about £70 for a descent beginner shoe but well worth it knowing that you wont wreck your legs or get shin splints. Have a look through a couple of running magazines aswell as they are full of good tips to improve your running.

My local sports shop made me stand on a plate thing & from that, & looking at my shoes he showed me the best shoes for my feet. And its made running enjoyable, hated it till I got these new shoes. I know its just a case of pulling on some trainers & running, but I'm carrying extra weight, my bones & joints arent what they used to be, just figured it might be a good move.

Inov8s I've found narrow and torturous fit so I'd go a little careful before mail ordering some of those.
Go easy to begin with. Warm-up. Read-up a little, there's plenty of literature on running technique, stretching or not and training routines. Find out what works for you. Enjoy and then come back and start threads about barefoot running or stretching vs. flexibility or forefoot vs. heel strike. 🙂

Inov8s r the only shoes i have had problems with ! They blister my feet after a short run ! I can run in any other brand with no problems ! Dont try 2 run 2 fast until your body get used 2 it ! If u know other people that run, go out with them ! You will probably b suprised how slow they run most of the time !

I started for the same reason as you a few years back. I spent a long time worrying about the gear but the running is about running not the stuff.

My advice would be don't run too often 2/3 times a week, set goals but if you want to stop and walk a bit do it and stretch before and after.

If I had to recommend gear it would be nike pegasus and the nike + system and anything by ronhill.
Also a book called "what I think about when I'm running" by a japanese chap.

Good luck

Read a book called Born to Run by Christopher Mcdougall and then throw on a pair of shoes and go for a run. Advice regarding shoe fit is relevant but get outside and get running however you choose

and dont think cause you can run 10k no bother heel strike that you can run 10k fore/mid foot and be ok …..its like learning to run all over again – but it does proove that less impact as – no sore knees , no sore quads….. just tight calves

anyway i digress. Unless you have no trainers – get out and run in what you have for a bit , will give the shop more to work with to get you the right pair next time !

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (Paperback) by Haruki Murakami – http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0099526158/ – will make you want to run a long way.

take it s-l-o-w…

for your first run, i'd suggest something very short; about 5 mins (i'm serious), and see how you feel the next day. 5 mins is about 1km.

build up the time and distance slowly, if anything hurts, walk home and rest.

i can't run listening to music, it's a meditative experience for me.

learn to stretch.

That Murakami book is ace, check out is fiction as well, bonkers in a surreal Japanese way…

Whats the verdict on Gortex linings- waste of time/sweaty or a good investment if I'm only buying one pair of shoes?

your feet will get wet regardless. id tend to go on the no to goretex lining sides.

When you turn up to a running shop, is just jeans OK or are they expecting you to do a lot of running on a treadmill? And with gait analysis is that done barefoot, if so presumably most if not all people would naturally forefoot strike anyway? I've not run (as exercise) for about 15 years but figure may as well do the fitting thing properly from the start as I need new trainers regardless.

For a quick test, standing on a hard floor with wet feet can show whether you are flat-footed and likely to over-pronate apparently.

If you are starting out having had no background in running but have a reasonable level of fitness from other things, is do a little regularly. The will help your body ajust to the new stress placed on it. This can be as little as 10mins a you build up. Get started this way will prevent injury and is also a good way to recover from injury.

I started running in December, got a pair of adidas kanadia tr as they were a good price -£40. Light weight and with a decent tread so good for mud and stuff. I have pretty much only used them on the road/pavement and they seem good and comfy. I started off with 2-3km runs once a week for 2 weeks, then 6km for one week and then up to 10km the next week. I then kept the distance at 10km and do it multiple times a week. I don’t bother stretching as I would not have a clue what to do, I figured I would just hurt myself!

Whats the verdict on Gortex linings- waste of time/sweaty or a good investment if I'm only buying one pair of shoes?

They keep water out …. but they also keep water in.

When you turn up to a running shop, is just jeans OK or are they expecting you to do a lot of running on a treadmill? And with gait analysis is that done barefoot, if so presumably most if not all people would naturally forefoot strike anyway? I've not run (as exercise) for about 15 years but figure may as well do the fitting thing properly from the start as I need new trainers regardless.

You won't be running much but they will want to see what's going on with your lower leg so you'll need to roll your jeans up. Last time I didn't do any barefoot running.

Whats the verdict on Gortex linings- waste of time/sweaty or a good investment if I'm only buying one pair of shoes?

Waste of time in running shoes IMHO- if it's wet enough that it'd be useful then it's wet enough that it'll come in at the top anyway, and then it won't get out.

I am with the "just pull on some trainers and run" brigade (although "proper" well-fitting trainers are of course a good idea in the medium to long term).

I am not really a fan of running tbh and haven't run much for about 5 yrs (since training for an adventure race) but I started up again a few weeks ago, pulled on my 10 yr old Ron Hills, 5 year old road trainers and hit the muddy footpaths in the Chiltern hills on my doorstep. I suspect my technique was terrible, I was definitely in the "wrong" shoes and I ran too far (about 45 mins) but guess what, it was great and I survived.

Will I get properly fitting, off-road shoes at some point, yes. But for now I am just happy to be doing some exercise.

Whats the verdict on Gortex linings- waste of time/sweaty or a good investment if I'm only buying one pair of shoes?

You do not need them. Once you get running your feet will stay warm regardless of whether they get wet or not. More important is whether they drain well.

yup pooling water = soft skin = blisters !

Hal Higdon has lots of good advice on his site.