YA Runs a 5K!

Tips for New Runners from Experienced Runner Rachel Toorby Rachel Toor—YA Runs a 5K? Oh yeah!If you ask me, the giant boom in running and marathoning can be traced back to one person: Oprah. When she ran the Marine Corps Marathon twenty years ago (and finished under 4:30) Oprah said to women (and men) all over the world: If I can do this, so can you. You might not be able to get Oprah’s hair, or her shoe collection, or have a personal chef cook meals for you, but you can run a marathon. Anyone can.First you have to commit to the idea of running. You have to get over the thought that you can’t do it, stop believing you’re too weak or too jiggly or too busy or too short or too noisy or too anything. The most important muscle to develop is the will. Nothing can stand in your way once you make the decision to start running.Next, you don’t have to run. Not the whole way. Start out slower than you think you can go and hold that pace for as long as you can and then walk. You might run for a minute and then walk. You might run for four minutes. You might find, if you start out slowly enough, you can run for twenty. Don’t push it. Just get your butt out the door.  And then do it again. And again.Some people get by with a little help from their friends. Some people enjoy having time alone. Know yourself and what motivates you and then go. Stop making excuses. Go. Go knowing that you can do this—anyone can.My YA novel is debuting this month and I’m as scared as I’ve ever been. What if no one likes it? What if reviewers say mean things? What if readers think Walter is disgusting? I’m vulnerable and exposed and, well, terrified.Exactly how many people feel about pinning on a race number. We owe it to ourselves to do the things that frighten us; that’s how we grow. If I can publish a YA novel, you can run a 5K.And when you do, tell me about it. Because you know what? You might like running. You might want to sign up for another race. You might realize that someday, like Oprah, if you chose to, you could run a marathon. Anyone can.—Rachel Toor is a prolific running writer for magazines like Running Times and Shape, and she is also associate professor of Creative Writing at the Inland Northwest Center for Writers in Spokane, the graduate writing program of Eastern Washington University.ON THE ROAD TO FIND OUT is her YA debut, about a high school senior who faces real rejection for the first time in her life and reaches redemption through running.You can WIN a copy of ON THE ROAD TO FIND OUT if you donate to our First Book fundraiser! Learn more here!