Anyone else a useless runner?

PollyCreo · 2025-02-05T22:56:33+00:00

I run but hate it, every step kills me. I don't enjoy it, don't get a 'runners high' You know when you're driving and you see a woman lumbering along and you feel sorry for her because she looks awkward, that's me! I've been fit all my life (gym goer and martial arts) but have never mastered running, I read that some people (5%) lack a gene that sends enough oxygen to their muscles, I believe I'm one of them.

WellsAndThistles · 05/02/2025 22:59

Me, no matter how fit I was (pre-covid 🙄), I hated running. 6K was my max and I hated every step. I suspect partly it was due to me having short dumpy legs and I had to run twice as many 'steps' to cover the same distance as long legged folks!

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:06

😅 Some of us aren't streamlined! I saw a girl running the other day and she was so graceful and bouncy. I'm like a bloody walrus 😞

I know I'm getting better as my times are improving but every step kills me 🙄

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Yellowsubmarineunderthesea · 05/02/2025 23:07

Most common reason why people can't run is they try to run too fast too soon. I tried so many times to run and kept giving up until I learned to slow it down the whole time until I found a pace I could handle. Have u tried going at a much slower pace?
Edit to add : I'm not a sleek runner by any means. Short legs, bit dumpy and a low centre of gravity. I see all the sleek girls with their pony tails bopping at parkruns but hey, we're both covering the same distance.

Gliblet · 05/02/2025 23:08

Yep, useless at it. I managed 5k once and would have done a smug little happy dance if my legs still worked.

That said, I can do 90 minutes of kickboxing when people half my age are folded over wheezing after 45, and last year I did a sponsored 50k walk with no difficulty at all. Bodies are weird.

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:12

Yellowsubmarineunderthesea · 05/02/2025 23:07

Most common reason why people can't run is they try to run too fast too soon. I tried so many times to run and kept giving up until I learned to slow it down the whole time until I found a pace I could handle. Have u tried going at a much slower pace?
Edit to add : I'm not a sleek runner by any means. Short legs, bit dumpy and a low centre of gravity. I see all the sleek girls with their pony tails bopping at parkruns but hey, we're both covering the same distance.

Edited

I run really slowly! I'm not overweight and really fit, just can't run. Never have been able to, my body's just not built for it.

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NotbloodyGivingupYet · 05/02/2025 23:13

Yellowsubmarineunderthesea · 05/02/2025 23:07

Most common reason why people can't run is they try to run too fast too soon. I tried so many times to run and kept giving up until I learned to slow it down the whole time until I found a pace I could handle. Have u tried going at a much slower pace?
Edit to add : I'm not a sleek runner by any means. Short legs, bit dumpy and a low centre of gravity. I see all the sleek girls with their pony tails bopping at parkruns but hey, we're both covering the same distance.

Edited

This.
If it's too hard, slow down. You're supposed to be able to have a conversation at the pace you are running. (I mean, I say running, but gentle plodding might be more accurate)

Yellowsubmarineunderthesea · 05/02/2025 23:14

@PollyCreo why are you running if u hate it so much? There are plenty of other forms of exercise you might prefer. Life doesn't have to have this kind of torture in it

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:17

Gliblet · 05/02/2025 23:08

Yep, useless at it. I managed 5k once and would have done a smug little happy dance if my legs still worked.

That said, I can do 90 minutes of kickboxing when people half my age are folded over wheezing after 45, and last year I did a sponsored 50k walk with no difficulty at all. Bodies are weird.

I'm the same. I'm a brown belt in kick boxing and really strong, great at short bursts of energy but running...... 😭

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AnnaAkhmatova · 05/02/2025 23:19

You need running shoes that fit well and give proper support. A decent sports bra. And somewhere nice to run. The surface you run on can make a lot of difference. To state the obvious going downhill is easier.

ThatsNotMyTeen · 05/02/2025 23:21

Last time I tried I got a stress fracture and it then triggered a gout attack 😭

WyrdyGrob · 05/02/2025 23:24

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:12

I run really slowly! I'm not overweight and really fit, just can't run. Never have been able to, my body's just not built for it.

Show quote history

Humans are persistence predators. We are designed to keep going at a fast walk /very very slow trot for hours.

biomechanically speaking (if that’s the right word) you are doing it correctly,!

i say this as a slow plodder who has come near last in a few 10ks,and has also done ultramarathon distances within strict cutoff times when actually objectively less fit.

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:25

Yellowsubmarineunderthesea · 05/02/2025 23:14

@PollyCreo why are you running if u hate it so much? There are plenty of other forms of exercise you might prefer. Life doesn't have to have this kind of torture in it

I used to do pilates and swimming but due to a long illness and recovery I'm restricted in what exercise I can do now. I put on a lot of weight during my treatment so I'm only just starting to feel like myself again.

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user2848502016 · 05/02/2025 23:26

Yes! Always have been even as a child. I'm slightly overweight now (40s) but never was as a child or in my teens/20s but I couldn't run then either - I was always one of the last when we had to do races at school and cross country was torture. I tried to run really fast but still came last and I just couldn't understand why 😂 I'm 5'4 so not particularly short or anything

ShowAndGo · 05/02/2025 23:26

This is so me. I've done C25K so many times it's a family joke. I mean, it definitely works, and I always get to the 'run for 25 mins' stage, but then my complete hatred of running stalls any further advancement. And then the weather turns and I pack it in for another year.

C25K can turn you into someone who can run, just not necessarily someone who enjoys it.

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:35

AnnaAkhmatova · 05/02/2025 23:19

You need running shoes that fit well and give proper support. A decent sports bra. And somewhere nice to run. The surface you run on can make a lot of difference. To state the obvious going downhill is easier.

I have good running shoes, decent ASICS 👍And a sports bra (one that supports my new boobs lol). I'm lucky enough to live in a great area and have a lovely route along a coastal path.

OP posts:

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:39

user2848502016 · 05/02/2025 23:26

Yes! Always have been even as a child. I'm slightly overweight now (40s) but never was as a child or in my teens/20s but I couldn't run then either - I was always one of the last when we had to do races at school and cross country was torture. I tried to run really fast but still came last and I just couldn't understand why 😂 I'm 5'4 so not particularly short or anything

I could never sprint or do long distance at school, I always looked like Phoebe in that episode of Friends where she went running with Rachel 😭

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TheHomeEdit · 05/02/2025 23:42

Have you ever been taught how to actually run? I did a fitness thing recently and part of it was running coaching. I’ve always been a slow plodder type of jogger and never enjoyed it, but I now think that I might actually be able to do it. So I would focus on running technique rather than distance and see if that helps.

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:43

ShowAndGo · 05/02/2025 23:26

This is so me. I've done C25K so many times it's a family joke. I mean, it definitely works, and I always get to the 'run for 25 mins' stage, but then my complete hatred of running stalls any further advancement. And then the weather turns and I pack it in for another year.

C25K can turn you into someone who can run, just not necessarily someone who enjoys it.

I'll try to find that article about people who can't run, it totally validated me 😅 It also said these kind of people will never ever get better at running despite years of practice 😳

OP posts:

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:45

TheHomeEdit · 05/02/2025 23:42

Have you ever been taught how to actually run? I did a fitness thing recently and part of it was running coaching. I’ve always been a slow plodder type of jogger and never enjoyed it, but I now think that I might actually be able to do it. So I would focus on running technique rather than distance and see if that helps.

You can be taught how to run?! Fuckkk...

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suki1964 · 05/02/2025 23:46

I can not run - simple as that, my legs don't know what is means to run and within 100 metres Im done

I walk, I walk really well. I walked my first 26 mile hike last year at 60, and came in , in the top 30 % ( go me ;). )

Im now looking at slow running, you get the benefit of running without the pain and feel of being totally uncorordinated

Slow running is really consistent fast walking. Im working on getting the rhythm right at the moment , as well as getting over the idea I need to be going faster, but even the few attempts Ive made so far I can see the difference in my stats

SabreIsMyFave · 05/02/2025 23:50

YEP. I am a shitty SHITTY runner! I don't even know why!

This is me on the left - in the yellow top! 😆

Original poster

PollyCreo · 05/02/2025 23:52

WyrdyGrob · 05/02/2025 23:24

Humans are persistence predators. We are designed to keep going at a fast walk /very very slow trot for hours.

biomechanically speaking (if that’s the right word) you are doing it correctly,!

i say this as a slow plodder who has come near last in a few 10ks,and has also done ultramarathon distances within strict cutoff times when actually objectively less fit.

Show quote history

I like biomechanically, thank you!

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Gloriainextremis · 05/02/2025 23:53

I do not like running. I've got flat feet and tight achilles, and running is downright uncomfortable after a short while.

I used to do ok at the 100 yards and the 4x100 relay when I was at secondary school, and I only managed that because I could run on my toes. You can't run like that for very long and couldn't do the 400 even. They forced us to do cross country and I was truly terrible at it. Being an undiagosed asthmatic didn't help much either. Only found out years later why I got out of puff so quickly.

Justleaveitblankthen · 06/02/2025 07:15

Talking about height, the fastest runners in my school and athletics clubs were always the shortest, me included 😁
No idea why and this was independent of the race length.
So, 100m or cross country, the shortest kids always won.

retreatingheadlights · 06/02/2025 07:30

Im not built for running. It's interesting to hear if the 5% thing. I can walk miles and miles all day including big hills but running is not something I can do. I can run for a bus or train and hopefully fit my life but it's just not for me and I wish it was. I env runners. Although I fear my face would fall down with gravity.