Regarding going from Walking to Running, really depends on your current level of fitness and BMI (Body Mass Index) etc. Have a look at this calculator and if you've a BMI over 25 then you need to really take your time getting into it. If you're under then you can start easy and just run a little each day or every other day. Run at a speed that you could talk easily enough as you're running. For the 1st few weeks it will feel like you're not getting anywhere and you should feel like you're running too slow, this is the correct way to do it, if you're out of breath when you finish and it takes you a few minutes to recover your breath then you're running too fast and you will get injured.
Try to get up to a few miles without stopping over the next numberX No. of weeks.
We "suggest" to join the clubs Meet & Train group that you are able to run 3 miles comfortably before starting with the group. This is not a rule just a suggestion because we find that people who come up without being able to run at all get very intimidated by every body else going of on the run and getting left behind very early. We will be commencing training for the Women's Mini Marathon in Early April (Men & Women welcome), so we might suggest that you get going on you're running easy until the end of March then come and join with us for the training sessions for the Women's Mini Marathon and let the WMM be a target for you to June. Gents we’ll give you a target of a similar 10km race around that time.
If you'd prefer to just get straight into it and don't mind being left on your own once we start running then feel free to come along to the club. You can get a lot out of being involved with the group by chatting and stretching before and after running. It really motivates.

Our coach in this section of the club is Declan Ryan, who was a juvenile member of the club back in the 1980’s, then took a little break from running for 18 years, and started back running in 2005. Since then he’s run various 10km, ½ Marathons & Full Marathons. He’s made all the mistakes while running at these distances and is most happy to share his experiences. He has been trained to Coaching Level II on the Athletics Ireland Training Program on Endurance running. He believes as adult runners we can have 2 maximum 3 training peeks per year, and works loosely around the Lydiard method. He is a huge fan of heart monitors for adults running and learning what the heart can telling us when we run at different intensities. He will be happy to work on training programs with anybody who is attending training regularly (3+ times per week). There are no rules about how many sessions you must attend and all are welcome to attend whenever they can..
As this group develops within the club his vision is that the group will learn from each other about running based on experience and share with others who want to learn. Within 2 years of structured training you will be able to make out your own training schedules with confidence having spent the time learning about your body and how it responds to various training levels.

"I will always listen to my coaches. But first I listen to my body. If what they tell me suits my body, great. If my body doesn’t feel good with what they say, then always my body comes first" - Haile Gebreselassie.

Any runner with aspirations of moving from Adult Meet & Train to run at senior elite level will be supported within the group and then moved to the elite section of the club when they are ready for it. Any runner who wants to run and improve steadily over the years will also be supported to do so. Probably the bed rock of Adult running is stretching & strengthening, while we all hate putting time into it, without it our body gets injured especially as we age. Our group starts each session with everybody together, every level, we all settle into our own rhythm from there. In this way it’s easier for new people joining the group to settle into a position they are comfortable with.

From the first Tuesday in April we will be commencing the 8-9 wks training program for the WMM. You are most welcome to join us in Marlay Park. Marlay Park [Locate with Google Maps] (It’s the Stables Courtyard in the Centre of the Park) Training times will be Tuesday & Thursday 6.00pm (Out Running by 6.25) Saturday 11.am & Sunday 10.30am. There will be a mixture of sessions depending on your ability, coaching will be undertaken by Declan & Caitriona Ryan who are both Qualified Athletics Ireland Coaches. The group will meet each training day and do a little stretching before starting running. It is intended to all start running together and let people settle into their own pace. In this way you can quickly establish yourself if you want to run with Caitriona in an 8.45 - 10.00 mins per mile group or with Declan in an 6.30 - 8.45 mins per mile group. We suggest that you have a read of our "Brand Newbies" section if it applies to you and try do what it advises for a few weeks before coming down to join us. It is by no means a requirement and you’re welcome to just come down and join us. If however you’re able to run at least 1 Mile without stopping before coming down to us, you’ll see huge improvement in your ability if you do the training 3-4 Days per week, you’ll fly the WMM 10km and be searching for the next one. Cost: €25.00 for 8-9 wks coaching 4 days per week, then running with our main group all summer, 4 days per week to September. Then you can join the above Meet & Train membership in October if you wish to continue. See [Club Registration Forms] please fill in and post into along with your fee to the requested address. Please tick Meet & Train Group box, and write in "WMM Training". Our club registrar will then advise us who has submitted. The club DSDAC we hope you agree are providing an excellent value for money training & coaching facility to all for the WMM, we therefore ask that you submit your form before joining the group, there are NO free tryouts beforehand.

Without targets it’s very hard for most us to commit to getting out running on a cold winter night. Understanding this, we have in this group 2 training peaks per year in readiness for the endurance running season. Our 1st peak is April each year in readiness for late spring/summer races. Our 2nd peak is October each year in readiness of autumn racing. Typically we will allow 4 months training to each peak. So a typical training year will look something like this.