There's something about seeing a race, isn't there? When you have a clear goal in mind and then you achieve it, you can see just how much your hard work has paid off, even if you don’t win the race or even compete. If you're looking to get in shape and to try a race, a 5K run is the best place to begin. At just over 3 miles in length, nearly anyone can ready themselves for this race in just a few months – even if you've never run before. Here's what you need to do:

Learn to Run

If you've never run before, you want to start out with the basics of running – form. While running looks simple (and it is natural to do when faced with danger), there are ways to make running even easier on your body. And when you create a running style that is easier on your body, you can begin to conserve energy and to run for longer periods of time.

• Posture – When you are running, it's essential that you stand up straight, trying to keep your hips in line with your shoulders. When you have your shoulders too far forward, that can cause your back to be overextended, causing energy loss. When you tip too far back, then you will put too much strain on your legs. Try to find a comfortable posture where you are as straight up and down as possible.


• Stride – Many people think that the bigger your stride (or step), the faster you will go. This does work when you are already in possession of long legs, but when you try to make your strides too big you can cause shin splints and other painful injuries. Instead, aim to take more steps per minute, helping you cover more distance with less stress. Your strides should not be further out than your body when you are running. Try to keep your feet beneath you at all times.

• Arms – Bend your arms so that you're forming a 90 degree angle with your elbow. This will help to conserve energy at your shoulders. Then make sure your elbows don't go beyond your hips in the front and that your wrists don’t go past your body when moving backward.

• Gaze – Keep your gaze ahead of you, trying to focus on something in the distance to help you keep your shoulders relaxed and facing forward.

Learning how to run will take some time, but once you get these basics down, all you need to do is to practice.

Use Walking and Running Intervals

If you've never run before, you probably won't be able to go out right now and run a 5K. But what you can do is walk. The easiest way to train for a 5K is to start off by running just a little bit at a time while interspersing walking intervals. For example, today you might go out and walk for 5 minutes to warm up, then run for 1 minute, then walk until you feel normal again, then try another 1 minute run, repeat. When you are doing this sort of workout, you are increasing your stamina and endurance while also helping to prepare your body for longer running distances. You can find a number of great interval programs online or in running books, or you can simply and slowly try out different time intervals of running, slowing increasing the time you run to around 20 to 25 minutes straight. While a 5K might take you longer to run, getting to this time interval of running nearly guarantees you can make it the entire distance – without stopping.

Slow and Easy Wins the Race

Of course, you might be eager to race when you're at the first 5K, but when you're new, the goal should be to have fun and to simply finish with a smile on your face. So, try to keep your running pace slow enough that you can talk to others when you are running. You should not be out of breath and you should not be feeling exhausted when you are done. Every few minutes, stop to see how your breathing is by talking to someone else. If you can talk, then you're at a good pace. If you can't talk, then you need to slow things down.

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