Hey Everyone, especially Sara,

all good advice, but if i might put in my halfpenny I would say don't worry about being out of breath, it wont do you any harm to puff a bit and you'll soon find the body balances out and legs get tired as well! Good luck and stick with it. You'll be whizzing round by July. I promise. Right guys?

I use a Garmin 305 (distance, pace and HR monitor in one) which looks ungainly but is very good ...and nicely compatible with this site.

Hi Sara, this is sometimes called "the toxic ten", which means that the first ten minutes of running you will expect to be huffy-puffy after which the body regulates the air in the bloodstream and your body aclimatises to a point where breathing is even.

But like everyone is saying beginners should take it easy, but stick with it and you will find this magic point where you are able to run with ease.

Hi sara,i started attempting to run after years of couch potatoe.went out boxing day,made it to the end of road,puffed out. Managed to complete 3miles(walking)time 57mins!. Stumbled across grg site,found it really helpfull and interesting.Decided if i was to make my goal of running 3miles non-stop,  The cigs had to go.18 days still smoke free...however i also struggle to breathe (normally).Go out with intention of completeing 5mins running,end up walking after 2mins!. I have found that after 4wks,and 18 walk/runs av 3miles. my pace is getting quicker boxing day route now 41.36 mins,So fittness getting better,however i do get concerned when i still struggle to breathe normally,this probably lot to do with previous smoking history,any succesfull quitters out there struggle with braething in early days?.Gonna stick with regular runs,gradually pushing myself little bit harder each week until i can manage 1mile non stop.