Running for a cause: Experts offer advice for novices

Talk to Julie Reams about running and she takes off, sharing her excitement about how she’s helping herself and others by participating in charity races.

Before 2011, Reams hadn’t even considered running. Then one day a neighbor interrupted a run to suggest the then-39-year-old Reams join her in a half-marathon. In the four years since, the Andover resident has logged thousands of miles, many of them for charity races.

The proliferation of charity races has created a steady stream of people interested in tying on a pair of running shoes and raising money for a cause. In an enthusiastic rush to help their favorite causes, some novice runners – considered from the “couch to 5K” runners by those in the running industry – can end up being injured or discouraged, however.

According to a 2013 article in Runners World magazine, Running USA estimated that charity races raised more than $1.2 billion for nonprofit organizations in 2012 – more than double the amount raised a decade before.

“We’ve seen an uptick in the sport, no doubt about it,” said Joel Stansloski, the new owner of the east-side and west-side GoRun stores in Wichita. “(Charity races) are drawing a lot more folks into the sport. It’s helping people get involved (who) traditionally might not have. The one thing that a lot of people do, however, is go overboard from the start.”

Go slow

Getting involved in a charity race isn’t as simple as pulling out your athletic shoes from the closet.

“Charity races tend to be geared to a doable distance,” which is why many people choose to participate, said Raquel Stucky, a longtime runner and co-owner of First Gear Running Company, which offers free training classes for runners. But even shorter races like a 5K, which is about 3 miles, require long-term training.

Getting the right shoes, pacing oneself in training, understanding pain and the recovery time needed for muscles, and paying attention to one’s diet is important.

“Be smart about how you start,” advised Andrew Porter, a family medicine and sports medicine physician with Via Christi Health, when asked how novices should approach training. “You need to ease into it and go slow when you start.”

A good general rule of thumb is to make sure it’s safe to start a running program, he said. Anyone with a chronic medical condition such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or heart disease should talk to a physician first, and possibly even undergo a stress test, he said.

“For most people it is safe, and as physicians, we want our patients to be active so we don’t want to discourage them,” Porter said. Visiting with your physician and sharing any health concerns can help you set the right course for your training.

Give yourself ample time to train, advised Porter and Stucky, and be prepared to do a combination of more walking plus short running distances when you start training.

“The process of getting into shape is a marathon, not a sprint,” Porter said.

The best way to avoid injury is to follow the 10 percent rule, say sports medicine experts. If, for example, you are running a quarter mile four times your first week, the next week you would increase your distance by only 10 percent, Porter said.

“It’s been proven to be effective at injury prevention and easing into getting more mileage under one’s belt,” he said.

Train in packs

Many runners, from novices to experienced runners, get support, encouragement and tips from other runners.

After her neighbor’s invitation to run, Reams signed up for a training group offered through First Gear Running Company. Her overzealous start – running too hard and long, which led to an injury – caused her to doubt whether she would continue. But then she learned to ask questions and seek advice from the group. She realizes now she was trying to make up for lost ground, having waited until she had the “inspiration” of turning 40 to start running.

“You really need to listen to others,” Reams said. She initially thought a rest day meant lying around not doing anything – until she talked to other runners. They explained that it was a day to rest from running but to use the time to stretch or do what’s called rolling out muscles – using a foam roller to help sore muscles to recover.

Besides tapping into the advice of fellow runners, Reams also consults with staff at First Gear and explores the Runners World website and running blogs if she has training or other questions.

Many communities have running groups or training opportunities. Wichita running stores, First Gear and GoRun, offer training groups. Two nonprofit organizations – the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Greater Wichita YMCA – offer endurance sports training.

On the right track

Once Reams learned the do’s and don’ts of running, the sport became an important part of her life. For Reams, a development coordinator at Rainbows United, training for and participating in charity races has a dual purpose.

“I know I am helping a cause, but I’m also getting healthy, too,” Reams said.

Running has even become a family event. Two years ago her husband joined her in some charity races and last year her entire family participated in the Rainbows Run, to benefit Rainbows United, a nonprofit that helps special needs children.

Reams said she is a lot healthier than when she began running – she’s losing inches, getting more muscle tone and developing healthier eating habits to support her physical activity.

“I really believe running saved my life,” she said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Running for a cause: Experts offer advice for novices."