How to Start Running Again After a Break

Key Takeaways

• A week or two off costs very little. Your heart and lungs keep almost all of what they've gained, and newer runners lose less than athletes. Pick up where you were, or repeat a week.
• After a month or more, step back further. Go back to a week that felt easy, not the week you stopped at. After many months or years, start again from week 1.
• Illness and injury are their own case. Wait until the fever or the pain has gone, start with walking, and move on only when a session feels easy.
• The first run back should feel easy. Slower and shorter than you think you need, with walk breaks.

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Stopping Happens to Everyone

A cold, a holiday, a busy month at work, a sore knee, a winter that never seemed to end. Almost everyone who starts running stops at some point. So the useful question is how to come back without getting hurt or giving up, and coming back is a lot easier than starting from zero.

How Much Fitness Do You Lose When You Stop?

Less than you fear, especially if you're fairly new to running.

• A short break barely dents it. In a small study of trained runners, 15 days off lowered their heart and lung fitness by only 4%. A classic review of what happens when training stops found that over the first four weeks, the losses are smaller in people who started training recently than in athletes.
• A long break takes it back to where you started. After more than four weeks off, the same review's second part found that fitness gained recently was completely lost, back to roughly where people began.
• Endurance drops more. In that study of runners, how long they could keep up a hard pace fell by a quarter, far more than the 4%. So expect your first runs back to feel hard. That's normal, and it comes back gradually as you train again.

Your heart and lungs adapt fastest. The parts that adapt slowly, like tendons and bones, are the reason to build back up gradually rather than jumping straight to your old runs.

How Far Back Should You Step?

There's no official rule for this. The NHS says it's always fine to repeat a week of Couch to 5K and that you can come back to the plan at any time. Here's a sensible starting point, in weeks of a beginner plan:

Then let the first run decide. If it felt easy, move on next time. If it felt hard, repeat that week. Going back further than you need costs you a week or two; going back too little is how comebacks end in sore shins.

If you've never followed a plan, the Couch to 5K plan, week by week is a good place to find your week.

Your First Run Back

• Make it short. Shorter than your last run before the break, with walk breaks.
• Make it slow. You should be able to talk in full sentences. Slower than feels right is fine; there's more on how slow is too slow.
• Don't make up for lost time. Three runs a week with rest days between, the same as before. Adding extra runs to catch up is the fastest way to get hurt, the same rule as after a missed running workout.
• Check in the next day. A bit tired and stiff is fine. Soreness that lasts for days means the next run should be easier.

After a Cold, the Flu or COVID

Let your symptoms decide. Mayo Clinic's advice is a useful guide:

• Symptoms "above the neck" (a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, a slightly sore throat): light activity is usually fine. Swap the run for a walk, or make it shorter and easier.
• Symptoms "below the neck" (chest congestion, a hacking cough, an upset stomach), or a fever, fatigue or aches all over: don't exercise. Rest.
• A few days off won't set you back. Ease back in as you start to feel better.

After COVID or a longer illness, take it slower still. The World Health Organization's guide to recovering after COVID-19 builds back in stages of at least a week each, with running in the later stages. It says to drop back a stage after a setback, to avoid exercise that makes your symptoms worse afterwards, and to stop and see a health professional if you feel chest pain or dizziness.

After an Injury

Follow what your doctor or physio told you first. For the common sprains and strains, the NHS says most feel better after two weeks, and to avoid strenuous exercise such as running for up to 8 weeks. Get help if the pain is severe or getting worse, or you can't put weight on it.

When you're ready, NHS physiotherapy teams use a gentle walk-jog return. The return to running programme from Oxford University Hospitals starts once you can walk briskly for 30 minutes without pain:

• Run every other day, about 30 minutes each time.
• Week 1: jog 1 minute, walk 1 minute.
• Weeks 2 to 5: jog 2, then 4, then 9, then 15 minutes, each with a 1-minute walk.
• Week 6: 30 minutes of continuous jogging.
• If the pain comes back, step down a level. If it doesn't settle, stop and see your GP or physio.

A similar programme from Berkshire Healthcare gives a simple pain rule. Soreness that settles within a day is acceptable. Ease off if pain lasts more than two days, gets worse during a run, is sharp, or comes with swelling. If your shins were the problem, see shin splints when you start running.

After Years Away

If it's been years, treat yourself as a beginner, because your body mostly is one again. Start at week 1 of a beginner plan, or with a few weeks of brisk walking. You do have one advantage over someone who has never run: you know what a run feels like, and that the first weeks pass. The basics are in how to start running. If you're worried about your age, read is it too late to start running?, and if you've put on weight since you last ran, how to start running when you're overweight.

Where Just5K Fits

Full disclosure: this is our app. Just5K is built for breaks:

• The plan waits. Miss a week and your next session is exactly where you left it; nothing resets.
• You can pause it. Tap the status at the top of Home, choose Sick, Injured or On a break, and pick a date. Sessions and reminders stop until then.
• It steps back for you. When a pause ends, under a week changes nothing. After a week or more, the plan repeats a week; after two weeks or more, it goes back two. A "Welcome back" card says what changed, and Keep week undoes it if you'd rather carry on.
• Gentler, if you need it. If the first session back is too much, you can switch to Gentle Start: four easier weeks that lead back into the 5K program.

Just5K is in a free public beta on TestFlight now. After the App Store release, the whole road to your first 5K stays free: Gentle Start and all eight weeks of the 5K program. 5K → 10K after its first week needs Just5K Plus, a one-time $9.99, not a subscription.

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FAQ

How much fitness do you lose when you stop running for 2 weeks?

Very little of your heart and lung fitness: one study of runners measured a 4% drop after 15 days. What drops more is how long you can keep up a hard pace, so the first runs back feel hard. Repeat your last week and you'll be back on track.

Should I start Couch to 5K over after a break?

Not usually. A week or two away means repeating your last week, and up to a month means stepping back a couple of weeks. Restarting from the very beginning makes sense only after months or years off.

Can I run with a cold?

If your symptoms are only "above the neck", like a runny nose, a gentle walk or an easy, shorter run is usually fine. With a fever, chest symptoms or aches all over, rest until you're better.

When can I start running again after an injury?

When your doctor or physio says so, and once you can walk briskly for 30 minutes without pain. Then build up with walk-jog sessions every other day, and step back if the pain returns.

How do I start running again after a long break?

Pick a week that felt easy before the break; after a few months away, that's often halfway back or more. After years, begin at the very start, with brisk walks if you like. Then let the first run tell you whether to move on.

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Breaks are part of running. You've started once, so you know you can. Go back a little further than feels necessary, keep the first runs easy, and the rest comes back.