What is the best race for beginners?

Which race should you pick when you're starting from zero? 👟

Your first race isn't about beating a time. It's about making you want to run a second one. For this bib-pinning baptism, three criteria make the difference: a short distance, a fast, flat course and a well-oiled organization. Choose an event close to home: you'll sleep in your own bed and cut down on race-day stress (from experience 🤓). When it comes to preparation, there's no need to aim for the moon. The famous Couch to 5K program, born in the United States in the late 1990s, takes a sedentary person from the couch to 5 km in 9 weeks, alternating walking and short bouts of running. No need to cross America like Forrest Gump: your goal comes down to one word, finish.

5 km, 10 km or trail: which distance should you choose? 🎯

The 5 km ticks all the beginner's boxes. Short, it forgives poor pacing and is often finished in under 40 minutes. Many organizers add it to the program of their half marathon or marathon: you'll get a taste of the atmosphere of a big start without paying the muscular bill the next day. The 10 km reigns over road running 🛣️, it demands more base fitness, so save it for your second or third official outing, once the 5 km has been tamed. On a flat course, it will become your best gauge of progress. To follow the news of the big road races, Marathons.com breaks down every event. Do you prefer trails to tarmac? Intro trails, often under 15 km with modest elevation gain, take you into nature or the forest 🌳. The soft terrain is easy on your joints, walking uphill is part of the game and nobody will blame you for catching your breath on a leg-busting steep climb 😁. Running on trails is also less traumatic for the body, so you reduce the risk of injury when getting back into it. On MyTrails, you'll find what you need to climb the steps one by one.

Where to pin on your first bib? 📍

Finishers' running race calendar lists thousands of events. Filter by distance, region or theme to find the 5 km closest to you. Neighborhood races, end-of-year corridas or small formats attached to big events: you're sure to find a pressure-free first race, carried by fervent supporters.

Block off your November, and take part in one of the two distances of Give me FIV, the very first race in France dedicated to medically assisted reproduction (MAR). It takes place at Parc de Parilly, between Vénissieux and Bron, in the metropolitan area of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. If not, why not take part in the Corrida de Noël d'Issy-les-Moulineaux? Every December it gathers thousands of runners, many of them in costume. The Trail de Haute-Provence offers you the "THP10", a perfect race for new trail enthusiasts! On the program: 10 km and 330 mD+ 👣. A warm-up set to music will get you in the mood before you launch onto the course! 😉 The Lisbon Marathon offers an 8.5 km, on a route that feels more like a seaside stroll than a crossing of a big city 🇵🇹. It is part of the European Marathon Classics circuit. In the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Marathon lines up a 7.5 km alongside the half marathon and the 42.195 km, enough to bring the whole family along. For a longer-term dream, the Paris Marathon or the BMW Berlin Marathon are perfect for visiting a capital city on the run. A member of the World Majors, Berlin is considered the fastest marathon in the world and schedules a 5 km road race the day before the main start 🥨. That way you can pin on your first bib in the streets of Berlin, then come back a few seasons later for the 42.195 km.

On Finishers, filter the running race calendar by distance and region to find the event closest to you.