Walking counts

"I only walked."

If you've said that after making the effort to get out, I want to challenge the word "only".

You walked. You made time for movement. You might have enjoyed some company, cleared a little space in your day, or gone somewhere you wanted to go. None of that needs an apology.

Walking belongs at Runners Gateway.

Walking can be the whole point

You don't have to treat every walk as preparation for running.

Perhaps you enjoy a walk with a friend. Perhaps you want to work towards walking for longer. Perhaps running simply doesn't interest you right now. You can build a routine around walking and keep it that way.

Give the walk a purpose that matters to you. That might be time outside after work, a regular catch-up, or learning which local paths you enjoy. A walk doesn't become more worthwhile because you turn it into a test.

If you'd like a walking goal with a schedule, Your first 30-minute walk starts from about five comfortable walking minutes. Read the first week before choosing it. If five minutes is too much today, begin with a shorter comfortable walk outside the plan. You can work towards its starting point without pretending you're already there.

Walking belongs in running too

Taking a walking break doesn't undo the running you've done.

You can plan walking and running together from the start. The walking is part of the session, so you don't need to wait until you're struggling before you're allowed to do it.

That's the approach in Walk Run Achieve. If running is something you'd like to explore and you can walk comfortably for about 15 minutes, it gives you a gradual structure: walking first, then run-walk, then building towards 5 km. Walking breaks remain welcome, including in the final 5 km.

If you're following a plan, use its session instructions. If something hurts or you feel unwell, stop; completing the schedule doesn't take priority over your health.

Say what you did

"I walked with a friend."

"I did my run-walk session."

"I went for a walk and enjoyed it."

Those are honest descriptions of something worth doing. Try one after your next walk, and notice how different it feels from dismissing the whole thing with "only".

You can explore running later. You can keep walking. Either way, you belong here.