The New Year is a Great Time to Start Running
Welcome to 2025! It’s another new year, and now is the time when so many people choose to make New Year’s resolutions. Often, a New Year’s resolution can come in the form of quitting unhealthy habits (i.e. quitting cigarettes, reducing consumption of alcohol, cutting back on television binges) or activating brand new healthy habits (i.e. prayer and meditation, adding more vegetables to the diet, spending more quality time with the kids, etc.).
One of the more common New Year’s resolutions is to exercise more. That might mean you want to start running for the first time. If that’s you, this blog is for you! Even if you’re not brand new to running, but you’d like to add in more running to your weekly exercise routine, this blog is for you, too.
What Are the Benefits of Running?
When engaging in exercise activity of any kind, there are many benefits to physical and mental health. For running specifically, here are some of the awesome health benefits that often accompany a regular running routine (based on an average of thirty minutes a day three times a week):
- Helps with achieving and maintaining a healthy weight
- Helps your body fight diseases and mental health problems more effectively, including high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, and certain types of cancer
- Helps with improved sleep
- Helps boost your energy levels
- Helps build your confidence, especially when you create a consistent running routine and set achievable goals
How to Make Running Part of Your Lifestyle
We’re just a few days into the new year, and if you haven’t started running yet, don’t worry. It’s never too late to get started. Here are a few tips for you to incorporate running into your lifestyle so that it becomes a disciplined habit and not a fleeting fad that ends a few weeks after it began.
- Start By Getting a Proper Shoe Fitting – This is essential! We recommend taking this step first to make sure that you’re in the best shoes for you. Find your local running store and ask about getting a proper shoe fitting. Here at St. Pete Running Company, we take you through a free fit process called StrideSmart Shoe Fitting. Our expert staff will take you through a full body approach that includes functional movements, assessing gait and stride, and incorporating fitness goals so that you can walk out of our store with the best running shoes for you.
- Join a Running Group – One of the best ways to make a habit stick is by joining others who have the same habit. Did you know that many local running groups are free to join? If you do a search for running groups in your area, you will likely find several options to choose from, and some key factors will be finding a group that meets at a time and place that is convenient for you. At St. Pete Running Company, we host free Community Group Runs every Monday and Thursday at 6:30 PM. The group meets at our store and we start with a warm-up together before heading out with people who are at your similar pace on the Pinellas Trail (or during winter months when it’s dark at 6:30 PM we do a loop at Azalea Park where the path is lit). It’s a great way to make some running friends, and maybe even find some people who become like family!
- Hire a Running Coach – How do you make a running schedule? What’s the best way to go from couch to 5K? What if you’ve had past injuries and you’re not sure how to incorporate a strengthening routine to the area that has become weakened so that you can run properly without reinjuring the area? These are all great questions that a running coach can answer. If you hire a running coach, they can help evaluate things like past injuries while helping you learn proper running form to prevent future injuries. A coach will help you create a running schedule according to your fitness level and your goals. It’s that personalized touch that can make all the difference when it comes to making running a part of your lifestyle. (Note: Call St. Pete Running Company if you’re looking for running coach recommendations at 727-800-5043).
Meet Kasey and Be Inspired
Kasey Barber is a local runner in St. Pete who also happens to be a mother of eight, including four foster-to-adopt children. A few years ago, she decided that she wanted to get healthy not only for herself, but for her kids. She started slowly running, and then on January 8th made a resolution to remove alcohol from her life as well. It wasn’t easy, but in time, she started noticing that she was getting healthier, faster, and happier. She experienced weight loss and increased energy. She’s now celebrating three years sober.
In Kasey’s own words:
“If you’re struggling to stay motivated, the best thing to do is to join a running group. Just show up! That’s one of the best things I ever did in order to have accountability and motivation. I have people who help keep me going, and these same wonderful friends cheer me on and support me.”
Remember that it takes just one step at a time in the right direction to start seeing a positive change. Like Kasey, we want to encourage you not to give up. We’d love to find out about your running resolutions, so feel free to come in to St. Pete Running Company and share your running goals with us. We’re here to help however we can.
Do you have more questions about the beginner’s guide to running resolutions? We can help! Call or come into the store where our shoe and running experts are ready to provide the high-quality customer service you expect from a Top 50 Running Store in America.