Running

Since some of the links in r/Running subreddit's FAQ are already not available, i'm keeping most of the post here for reference.

If you're getting winded, the issue is that you're going anaerobic to some degree. That is, your muscles aren't getting the oxygen that they need at the rate they are using it. They can operate for a while in a deficit, but pretty soon you'll be gasping for air and unable to continue.

So what to do? Well, the answer is easy: slow down! Yup, simply reducing your pace a bit will allow you to run until you have to stop for some other reason. When you run, you can expect to breath a bit more heavily, but you should still be able to speak a sentence without too much trouble.

"But my body can run so much faster", you might be saying. Well, sure enough, you probably have the leg muscles to move yourself at a nice pace without it feeling too hard. The problem is that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. In this case, your muscles are at one end of the chain and your lungs are at the other. In between are red blood cells that carry oxygen, a heart that moves them and capillaries that deliver those oxygen carrying cells to the muscles. In a new runner, some or all of those links aren't as well developed as the muscles. As a result, that oxygen just isn't getting there fast enough.

How do you fix this? You just have to run more and do it at slower speeds. With just a little bit of strain on the system, and your body will go to work ramping all of those parts up. You'll start building more red blood cells to deliver oxygen. Capillaries will grow to make sure it can all get where it needs to go. Your heart will get stronger and more efficient, so it can pump more blood to more places that need it with each beat.

The good news is that this happens no matter what pace you're running! By running slowly, you can run for a longer time and provide stimulus for longer. The process doesn't work faster when you run faster, so all you really accomplish there is that you have to stop sooner.

These adaptions, as well as others related to metabolism and energy production, mean that you can get a lot faster just by running more miles at an easy pace. In fact, the best thing you can do as a new runner is to run more at almost an exclusively easy pace. With each easy run, you are increasing the ability of your body to work harder for a longer duration. This translates into the potential to run faster for longer when you want to, like in a race.

So what about speed work? Well, you are building up your potential by running slowly, and in the beginning, that will yield huge gains. In fact those gains will be much more substantial and more sustainable than what you'll get from speed work. As the returns start to diminish and you have a body with the ability to run much better than it once did, you can start doing speed work. Intervals, tempos, fartleks, etc will allow you to come closer to the great potential you've built up. The base you've built will help you do speed work much more effectively and with less chance of injury. For beginners, though, it isn't all that important.

TL;DR: Slow down, trust me.

EDIT: A few people have brought up that there are workouts that should leave a person winded. Absolutely true! I hit the track and run hard when I'm 5K training. However, I don't think those workouts are appropriate for newer runners. A new runner being able to actually complete a three mile run will do much more for their 5K time than running 400 meters at top speed. As with any sport, or any skill for that matter, you get the fundamentals down first, then start getting fancy.

I started following the above advice of slowing down from this morning i.e 2026-09-02. Ran for nearly 400m today. I'm targeting to run 3kms everyday by the end of 2026.

Start standing; lean forward until you feel like you're going to fall; take a step to catch yourself; keep repeating that, and now you're running with good form.