7-ish helpful, comforting tips if you want to try running

Walking is welcome, and other great advice from The Fat Athlete, Marci Braithwaite

Running coach Marci Braithwaite. Photo by Cristiana Cacciato of The Green Photograph

Kind of like yoga, I have a real love-hate relationship with running.

How a yoga instructor with mixed feelings about yoga found her flow

My humiliating experiences “running” the mile in gym class (curse you, Presidential Fitness Test) left me determined never to run again, but then I did have a couple of bouts of running as an adult — one round of Couch to 5K in my twenties because I simply wanted to see if it was possible for me to run; another round in my thirties because there was a global pandemic and I don’t have a car or ride a bike and I was scared of public transportation but also so tired of the very limited area I could explore on foot at a walking pace.

I hate to tell you this but it does actually feel kind of great to run, if you can approach it in a smart and supportive manner. The endorphins are second to none, and sometimes you hit a little stretch where you’re going slightly downhill and the wind is in your hair and you actually feel like you’re flying. Ugh! But also, wow.

I haven’t stuck with running long-term, but after a recent interview I did for the Times New Year’s resolutions piece, I’m considering bringing it back again?? I spoke to Marci Braithwaite, who goes by The Fat Athlete: Marci is a Washington State–based running coach who works mostly with people in larger bodies, and facilitates an online running group called Rear View Runners. Her tag line is “Every body can be a runner’s body” (love), and I adore how she described her work to me: “I coach people who struggle with feeling like they fit into the traditional fitness world. I coach for inclusion, to help people feel like they belong, and help adjust expectations so people know running is accessible for them.”

When I first reached out to Marci, I had a loose idea for a running-related goal in mind for the article: something like, learn to run a mile without stopping. Marci was so gracious and gentle in the way that she helped me adjust my thinking to be more inclusive. “Let’s make sure people know that it is okay to continue with run-walk intervals if it feels good for your body. You can run a mile while still doing run-walk intervals,” she said. Um, YES. Thank you! New goal: simply experiment with running.

I also want to acknowledge that for many folks with a history of disordered relationships with exercise, running may not feel like the safest activity — it can be so fraught and tied up with IWL. I’m definitely not suggesting you need to just push past any of that. You know yourself and your body best: Trust your gut on whether experimenting with running is a good idea for you. (And if you’re not sure, speak with a mental health professional you trust.) Same goes for any physical conditions that may mean running isn’t a great idea: Trust yourself, trust (trustworthy) medical professionals.

More from Marci, including the running secret I’m convinced could actually make me stick with running, ahead.