Walking & Running
Starting Running After 40
Walk-run intervals, rest days and two strength sessions a week: a sensible route into running for adults starting in middle age.
General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or notice chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness, speak to a GP or health professional before you start or carry on.
Starting running in your 40s or 50s is a sensible way to boost your health, as long as you start small, recover well and build up gradually. A walk-run plan such as the NHS Couch to 5K is the easiest way in.
If you have a health condition, heart or joint problems, are pregnant, or are worried about your health, talk to your GP before starting out. Whatever your age, stop and get advice if you feel pain, chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness while running.
Start With Walk-Run, Not Run
Take the NHS Couch to 5K programme as a guide. It is free, covers nine weeks and gives you three runs a week, alternating walking and running, so that by the end you can run for 30 minutes.
| Stage | What the NHS plan sets |
|---|---|
| Every run | Starts with a 5-minute warm-up walk and ends with a 5-minute cool-down walk |
| Week 1 | Run for 1 minute, walk for 1 minute 30 seconds, repeated 7 times, plus a final 1-minute run |
| Weeks 2 to 8 | Runs get gradually longer and walks shorter |
| Week 9 | Three 30-minute runs |
The programme says to take a rest day between each run. It says this gives your body time to recover and helps prevent injury, and that rest days are just as important as the runs themselves. If a week feels too hard, repeat it before moving on.
Avoid Too Much, Too Soon
Injuries are common when new runners do too much too soon. A 2023 UK study of a modified Couch to 5K programme, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, followed 110 beginners with an average age of 47: 19% reported an injury during the nine weeks, and people with a previous injury were far more likely to be hurt again.
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust advises runners not to increase their weekly distance by more than about 10% at a time, because overload can lead to problems such as shin splints, hip and knee pain and Achilles tendinopathy. Calf strains and heel pain from plantar fasciitis are other common complaints. Pain that is constant even at rest, comes with significant swelling, or stops you putting weight on the leg needs medical advice.
The NHS plan recommends running shoes that support your feet. A specialist running shop can look at how you run and suggest suitable shoes; you do not need expensive clothing beyond that.
Add Strength and Find Company
The UK Chief Medical Officers say adults should do muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days a week, working all the major muscle groups. For runners, simple moves such as squats, lunges, step-ups, calf raises and bridges help the knees, hips and calves cope with the load, and upper-body work keeps the rest of you balanced.
Running with others helps motivation and gives you tips from people who have done it before. In Scotland, jogscotland runs free-to-join recreational groups for beginners, including walking sessions for people getting ready to jog. Local running clubs across the UK welcome newcomers, and parkrun is free every Saturday morning with no time limit. Walking part of the 5k is completely normal.
