The ART beginners thread???

hunnymonster

You know the way they say people who live together eventually start to act and look alike? Well the same happens to mods - I've started thinking about stuff out on runs just as Amadeus always had.

The latest thought to come to me was that we get a lot (and are likely to get more when the new years resolutions roll in) of people who are complete beginners and want to know how to start. We usually tell them couch25km and introduce them to the search button. Would it be worth putting together a structured thread with beginners advice? It would be quite a bit of work so we could divide it up into sections with different people taking sections?

Headings (off the top of my head) include
- footwear and gear
- weight and nutrition
- starting running (run walk, effort, )
- clubs - advantages and disadvantages
- races
- moving it up a notch (inroducing speed, marathons,..)

menoscemo

A thread like that would have helped me loads this time last year. I think I put up a seprate thread about most of the above Topics!! You could leave the beginners thread as a sticky and I'm sure it would be most useful to beginners. I think most forums (fitness/Nutrition/poker etc) have a sticky for beginners with links to past threads on beginners topics.

--amadeus--

She might say she's thinking like me... I know she's thinking of me

Good idea, we could have it temp stickied around new years resolution and DCM sign up time when we tend to get an influx of newbies. We must have threads on most of those topics already?

Oryx

It would be very useful, Id say. Everyone starting needs to be told the same basic essentials:

Want to run? Just get out and run.
Walk and run till you just run.
Wear the right shoes and gear.
Set yourself a goal to aim for.
You will enjoy it. Soon.


One of the most helpful things I found when beginning was hearing from other people who were at a similar stage, or had started from zero like me. It gave me faith that I hadnt walked into a room full of just elite athletes, and that I did in fact, belong here. So any beginners thread should carry that kind of vibe, otherwise there can be a tendency to think youll never get to the standard you see among the big boys and gals here.

hunnymonster

I've had a couple of pm's offering to have a stab at particular area's. If anyone thinks they can write a paragraph or two on any area, let me know.


adding to the list...

Headings (off the top of my head) include
- footwear and gear
- weight and nutrition
- starting running (run walk, effort, )
- clubs - advantages and disadvantages
- races
- moving it up a notch (inroducing speed, marathons,..)
-real life examples

scottreynolds

Why not use the Wiki for Boards and point people to that?

tunney

The Wiki? There is a Wiki?

Swimming - how to go from zero to hero (or at least not drown)?

Oryx

tunney wrote: »

The Wiki? There is a Wiki?

Theres a wiki. I went there once, got lost, and took hours to get home.

Swimming - how to go from zero to hero (or at least not drown)?

I need this too. My ambition is to go from a good impression of a drowning person to tumble turns in oh, say 64 easy lessons. I forget theres more to ART than running. I suppose with cycling and swimming having their own dedicated forums, ART get most of the general training and running queries.

hunnymonster

there is a biki, and it would certainly be worth having the info there but people don't check it so much so I'd like something in ART also.

scottreynolds

hunnymonster wrote: »

there is a biki, and it would certainly be worth having the info there but people don't check it so much so I'd like something in ART also.

True, I suggest having one sticky called something like most popular questions and then link to the biki / wiki to the answers. Saves having loads and loads of stickies.

robinph

If there is some info that you guys want up on the wiki/ biki but are scared of editing it then just pass it on to me and I'll bung it up.

Going off topic for begginers a bit, but I seem to remember seeing a good write up on IMRA(?) races a while ago which I thought at the time would be useful to be biki'fied, not sure who did it or what thread it was in now though?

RubyK

Maybe it would be helpful to have a list of abbreviated terms.

Personally, I didn't know what LSR meant for ages, and was afraid to ask. There are few others I see being mentioned that I don't know what they stand for. But hey, that could be just me

robinph

RubyK wrote: »

Maybe it would be helpful to have a list of abbreviated terms.

Personally, I didn't know what LSR meant for ages, and was afraid to ask. There are few others I see being mentioned that I don't know what they stand for. But hey, that could be just me

See the bottom of the A/R/T biki page:
http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Board:Athletics

--amadeus--

General and genuine question...

How welcoming is this place to newbies? Does it come across as being full of fast experienced people, somewhere that could be a bit intimidating or somewhere where all levels can find like minds?

RubyK

robinph wrote: »

See the bottom of the A/R/T biki page:
http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Board:Athletics

200 posts, and I'm only now finding this

Thanks robinph, I'm off to do some studying

Oryx

--amadeus-- wrote: »

General and genuine question...

How welcoming is this place to newbies? Does it come across as being full of fast experienced people, somewhere that could be a bit intimidating or somewhere where all levels can find like minds?

Personally, I went into fitness forum first. Its quite muscle oriented, so from there I learned about ART, which suits me better. By the time I got here, I was already well into a training plan. If I hadnt been, I think this place would have intimidated me quite a bit. Because you do have quite a few really good runners here, and theres lots of info on Athletics events. It does appear to be quite elite. Its only when you get familiar with the regulars here, you realise that there are ordinary folk doing their thing too.

But my main introduction was the DCM sub 4.30 thread, which even now makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I credit the support and advice I got there for getting me through DCM, and with giving me a proper feel for this place and the people in it.

RedB

RubyK wrote: »

200 posts, and I'm only now finding this

RubyK wrote: »

And I thought DOMS was a reference to Dominos Pizza :o

ART is a pretty welcoming place for beginners I thought. Glad I found it but the I don't stray off it now so I didn't know there was a fitness or a swimming forum either

RubyK

Definitely agree with you RebB, as forums go, ATR is very beginner friendly.

robinph

I think that I may have ended up looking in the Fitness forum first back in the day as well. But that was when there was only the A part of here in existence and wasn't what I wanted to discuss, then the M and T parts of here emerged into another forum before all transforming into the combined A/R/T we now know. I have also posted in LTI as well with a related discussion, but they just thought I was wierd and sent me back over here to you lot.

hunnymonster

we'll always take you in robinph. Think of what "that photo" has done for irish running, I'm surprised it's not the aai publicity shot.

Oryx

hunnymonster wrote: »

"that photo"

Curious. What photo??

hunnymonster

Second one in the photo of the year poll
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055775725

robinph

Oryx wrote: »

Curious. What photo??

:eek:

Clearly need to do a bit more work with the A/R/T publicity drive.

I know it's already been linked once, but does no harm to link the page where you can see all the highres gorgeousness, I'm the handsome chap in the middle.

mrflair

--amadeus-- wrote: »

General and genuine question...

How welcoming is this place to newbies? Does it come across as being full of fast experienced people, somewhere that could be a bit intimidating or somewhere where all levels can find like minds?

Im pretty new and I can guarantee Im not intimidated by anyone on boards ie. <Snip> A sub 15 5k is an alternative to the marathon time.

rickyflair

mrflair wrote: »

Im pretty new. The majority with the exception of bazman are talentless old out of date athletes living through their mid life crisis..quote]

A bit harsh dont ya think

MCOS

Very good idea Hunnymonster, I'll help out if needed.