How to improve running??

Does your running club have a group that does intervals? If you’re in London, there is bound to be somewhere that has a track that does intervals. Get yourself along there one night a week, do a long slow run for yourself or keep going along to your current club night. Weekly parkrun and maybe add some strength training. Easier said than done, but even if you lose half a stone it helps you run faster. Not that you have loads to lose by the sounds of your BMI.

Look at the 80/20 principle, running at zone 2 for most of the time ( you need a watch that can do this) and doing strength training.
transformative! Enjoy running, not knackered ☺️

I also find running really hard. I'm just not built to keep going over longer distances. But I would still consider myself fit - I play a team sport at a decent level and competed in a fitness competition this year. I'm much better at mixing up my training with a short quick run, some weights or burpees, press ups, squats then another run. I do this style of training at a paid class but you could replicate it in the park. And when I have made myself run 5k I'm now faster because my overall fitness is better. I just didn't get there by doing lots of long runs!

There is already lots of really good advice on this thread and it sounds like you are willing to adapt so well done.

Every sport (any human activity I suppose) is made up of different aspects; to be a good runner you need cardio fitness, flexibility, strength in legs and hips, stability and balance, technique. From your posts I would guess that your weakest building block is cardio fitness (but if you are running 2 times a week it might not be). You don't need to run to work on that, interval training, burpees, swimming could help. I track my V02max on my apple watch and i find it quite motivational to see improvements - if you don't have one I'd recommend it.
Once your fitness has improved you will be limited by something else and you can work on it in isolation, that's basically what training is all about.

Good luck

and buy the lightest trainers you can find, it makes a difference

I think I’m sort of the opposite of Magpie - I rarely find running a chore, I absolutely love it, although I find pretty much every run hard!

I had always wanted to run but could never actually achieve it, because I didn’t know how. C25K got me over the initial hump, and every little achievement (run for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes etc) was like magic, just got me hooked. I like the places where I run, I like the people I run with, and I like the feeling after I’ve finished a run.

Don’t get me wrong, some days it’s hard to drag my butt out of the door because I’m tired, it’s cold etc, but once I’m out it’s my quiet headspace; I sometimes listen to the radio or a playlist, haven’t found a podcast but I know that works for some. I far prefer running on reasonably flat routes, and I’m lucky to live reasonably close to a canal network which is such a nice run.

I think it is quite hard to MAKE yourself enjoy running if you don't already; just ask me! I've been running on and off for about 25 years and I ran a half marathon this weekend.
I think you have to focus on why you are doing it and treat it like any other dull but necessary chore, like housework or having dental checkups. For me, it is a (relatively) cheap and convenient way of keeping fit and healthy, it gets me out into the fresh air, it provides a challenge and I do enjoy running and chatting with friends but they tend to be even slower than me so it doesn't feel like I've put any effort in.

You know what OP, I’ve been running for about 4 years now and I didn’t really enjoy it for probably the first 3. It was hard, I was tried and out of breath. My speed and times all stayed the same and I’d just plod my way around 5k willing it to be over.

but I stuck at it because I’ve always wanted to be good at running. Since I was a child I’ve always wanted to run the London marathon, but I’ve never been fit enough to even contemplate it before.

just over a year ago I decided to try and get good at running. I tried adding in more hills, rather than avoiding them, I started doing interval sections of my runs and trying to increase my distance by a little each time. It was hard at first but it did start to become easier, my pace increased and as it was easier it was more enjoyable.

I started entering races this year and have tracked my improvement. I can now run a 45 min 10k and I’m usually first few ladies at park run. I enjoy running with the club and I’m now in one of the faster groups we run for 6-8 miles at a reasonable pace chatting all the way. I’m also doing my first marathon next month. If you’d have said to me 2 years ago this is where I would o get to I wouldn’t have believed you. I love running now and struggle to go a day without it. Just stick at it, in time it will get easier and once it’s easier it’s definitely more fun!

Strength/weight training will help. You don’t even need any equipment. Search YouTube for workout videos.

If you don’t enjoy it maybe try walkifng and lift some weights in another day and swim on another Running is t for everyone and it sounds like you’ve given it a good try. DH does park run every week, I used to run but I hated it I walk, do weights at home and I’m far happier.

First off, don’t be too hard on yourself, just sticking with running for 6+ months is a huge achievement.

If you want to see more progress:

• Try running 2–3 times a week instead of just once.

• Mix things up: do one easy run, one run with short faster bursts, and one longer run.

• Focus on endurance first and speed will come later.

• Add a bit of strength work like squats, lunges, core to make running feel easier.

• Celebrate the small wins, like recovering quicker or lasting longer at the same pace.

It may help to improve your fitness by crosstraining, such as swimming, for example. And some strength training would help too. Try doing some squats each day to strengthen your leg muscles and core. It will all help with the running.

From a bit of a different perspective, maybe it’s something that needs to change psychologically? I noticed you said that you really hate running and always find it hard - do you have good enough and meaningful reasons for wanting to continue? I think it’s amazing you are still going despite being so fed up with it, but perhaps running being better than nothing isn’t giving you enough morale to head into a run with. And then it’s hard to enjoy it if you’re focusing on how tired you are and how hard it is from 30 mins in. Perhaps focusing on getting some enjoyment from it rather than improving would help motivation and from there you can set more improvement-related goals.

Maybe add some fun runs into your schedule? Very easy 5 min ones just to focus on enjoying it? Or go to a beautiful place so you can look at the views as you run? Experiment with music/podcasts/audiobooks to see which ones you can get lost it and distract you from thinking about how tired you are? Experiment with different routes to see if circular, there and back or whatever suits you better?

I felt the same as you and got through the couch to 5k program hating every minute, always finding all of it hard and feeling rubbish and knackered afterwards. Couldn’t understand the ‘runners high’ T all! I gradually built up to 6k but always v slow, took me about an hour every time and I was much younger than now! Then I gave up for a bit and periodically tried to pick it up again but never really did more than the beginning bits of couch to 5k.

Then 2.5 years into having my first child I needed a way to get out of the house (!) and suddenly I started enjoying it. Leapt up the couch to k5 program (still running v slowly but wasn’t repeating runs like before) and managed to get into a totally different frame of mind mentally where I just jogged along stuck into something on my headphones and not paying much attention to what I was doing/how far I’d gone or how much time or distance was left. It suddenly felt much easier even though I wasn’t any fitter (probably less so even) than when I’d tried previously. I honestly think my change in mindset helped massively - getting out of my head with it helped me to find it easier, which helped me push myself to longer or faster runs.

Just a thought - look up symptoms for hypothyroidism and if you have them get tested.

Some really good advice about improving pace- but honestly if you still can’t run 30 mins I think you should seriously consider going ‘down’ a group. You’ll probably find you push yourself less hard and you find running 30 mins easier. Just accept running doesn’t come easy for you (I do!!) but you will still improve over time

I'd improve stamina with a gradually increasing longer run/ walk, like early days of C25k. Have a look at "Jeffing" (Jeff Galloway method)

Make one session shorter with some faster intervals. "Strides" are a good place to start. I sometimes do them at parkrun with running most at my comfort pace, with a short burst pushing hard (20-30s is enough) and return back to comfort pace to recover. They can also be done in bursts at the end of a run.

Do you record your times etc? It’s nice seeing a slow (!) improvement over time. For me running is about me vs me. There’s zero shame in being in the slowest 10% group. Just by running I’m sure you’re in the fittest x% of the population. Feel proud of that and keep going

Which area are you in, roughly?

Does your running club have coaches, do they have suggestions?

When you are new to running, to get better you need to simply run more! If you do park run, a club run, then your third session could be nice and easy, maybe even running/walking. Could you leave the watch at home and try new runs? This time of year is great for getting out in nature and enjoying the changing seasons.

You are doing great, you will have improved your fitness and health already.

I'm probably not much help as I don't like distance running and have accepted I probably never will even though I can comfortably hike about 10 miles. Intervals are more my thing.

What I would say is that you're doing really, really well in keeping at it even though you hate it. Is it worth getting some individual coaching either at run club or possibly having a few sessions with a PT if you can afford it? I really enjoyed PT and wish I could still afford it.

OP I am a fellow slow runner.

I started out maybe 15 years ago doing a 35 min parkrun, in the first year I managed to get down to 32 minutes, but since then I have become slower and slower, particularly now as menopause appears to have struck. I play a game where I try not to be in the last 10, but quite often I don’t succeed. Sometimes- humiliatingly - I have been over taken by walkers.

However I try to comfort myself with the fact that I am faster than the people who have decided not to do parkrun at all. I focus on achieving my milestone numbers - 250 next ! - and doing parkrun in different locations.

Keep going OP - oh and slower you are, more calories you burn !