What you'll need
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The beauty of running is its accessibility; we don’t need very much kit to get started! To get going, all we need to do is step outside our front door, so it’s much more time efficient than having to get in the car and travel to the gym. Besides this, there is no pricy membership fee or equipment required! This blog will give you a steer on what running kit would be useful to have before you begin your 5k journey. It’s ideal to think about this in advance so you can have your gear set out the night before your first run and you know you’re good to go.
Trainers
Think about your footwear. Trainers don’t need to be branded or expensive, but they do need to fit you comfortably and provide support for your feet. We’re not going to be running marathons so you won’t be out ‘pounding the pavements’ for hours but lots of running in the wrong footwear can cause injury. It’s something to be aware of and if you are unsure on the trainers you have, it is worth asking advice at a good sports shop. Sports socks (rather than trainer liners) are also a good idea to maximise comfort.
Women, you’ll need a supportive bra
Running is a high impact form of training, and therefore a suitable bra is necessary to give the right support irrespective of your cup size.
Our App
To guide you through your timed intervals of running and walking you’ll need to take our app with you as you run. You might like to set this up with earbuds / headphones so you can clearly hear the instructions as you’re exercising. An armband for your phone might come in handy (check out this video for an easy tip on how to make one). However, you might be just as happy holding your phone or putting it in a secure pocket.
Take some time to familiarise yourself with the App and how to navigate through a workout.
When you go into a session and click ‘Start Now’ you’ll see a 5 minute warm up video. We strongly recommend you follow our functional warm up routines in real time with the video in order to prepare all of the muscle groups you’ll be working during the session. (Once you have familiarised yourself with the warm up routines you may prefer to do this without the video, simply using the 5 minute timer).
Once you have watched the video, tap the ‘play’ button and do a gentle jog to your starting point for the session. If you get to your starting point sooner, you can tap Fast Forward to take you straight into your first running interval.
If you are a stats person and you’d like to measure the time, distance and maximum speed of each of your intervals, you have the option to do this. At the end of your workout you should rate the session in terms of it's intensity. This can be helpful in assessing how you are performing over the course of the programme.
Comfortable clothing
Ideally wear loose fitting clothing which isn’t going to rub when you run. Also, dress for the weather. Layers are often a good option so you can add / remove clothes as you go through your sessions in order to maintain a comfortable temperature. You’ll probably find yourself getting warm quite quickly during the running phases but be aware that you will also have periods of walking and if the temperature is cold outside, you’ll cool down quickly.
Water
It’s very important to stay hydrated when exercising. You might like to take a bottle of water out with you so that you can take on liquid between running intervals, especially if the weather is warm. This is totally down to preference but if you are going to take a bottle with you, it’s a good idea to find one which is comfortable to hold. It’s also important to note that hydration isn’t limited to when you’re exercising, taking on water should be part of your daily routine whether it’s a running day or not. This is something we’ll remind you of through the programme.
As we said above, running is accessible to everyone. As your intervals increase monitor how you’re feeling and change anything which could make your sessions more comfortable.