Run with Amby Burfoot

Get Started Running!

Welcome to RUN WITH AMBY, home of the internet’s most-intelligent and customized training plans for beginning runners. New: Half Marathon and Marathon training plans.
In fact, this is the only web site where you can receive a personalized Beginning Running Plan that’s tailored to your age, weight, sex, and current exercise routine (or lack thereof). There are no one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter plans here. Just the perfect, individualized plan for you!

Simply fill in a short form–don’t worry, it takes only 60 seconds–and we will deliver your customized plan. You’ll also receive a free, downloadable Start Running Guide that’s full of the shoe, nutrition, hydration, injury-prevention, and additional tips you need to get started on the right foot.

When you sign up for the RUN WITH AMBY Beginning Runners Plan, you’ll begin receiving a daily email to remind you of your workouts the next two days. Plus, you get access to a private, members-only message board, where Coach Amby Burfoot will answer your questions.

For more information about RUN WITH AMBY, please check out our FAQ page, calendrierdestrails.com, and the other pages listed above in our navigation bar.

Want to know more about RUN WITH AMBY before you sign up? Send a specific question to Amby, and he’ll respond promptly. You can email him at: Amby@RunWithAmby.com.

Start running now with a personalized Beginning Running Plan!
Only $24.95

About Amby

Amby Burfoot, the creator of RUN WITH AMBY, won the Boston Marathon in 1968, and has been a Runner’s World editor or writer since 1978. He has enjoyed more than 100,000 miles on the roads, and believes that regular, modest running can improve the mental and physical health just about everyone.

At Runner’s World, Burfoot wrote or edited hundreds of training plans. More importantly, he observed first-hand how slow, steady progress can produce miraculous results over four to six months. He understand the obstacles that all runners encounter, and how to work around them.

Burfoot and his son launched the Internet’s first interactive training tool, SmartCoach, in 2007. While SmartCoach was intended for veteran runners, and is no longer available, Burfoot’s Beginning Running Plan at RUN WITH AMBY brings the personalized, interactive approach to beginning runners for the first time. There’s no better way to get started on a lifetime of health, fitness, and high energy.

Amby Burfoot has been runnning strong and healthy for more than five decades. He won the 1968 Boston Marathon, ran it again 50 years later (in the tempest of 2018), and has completed 55 consecutive Thanksgiving Day races in Manchester, CT.

His “Run With Amby” plans are beginning programs personalized to each individual through a 30-second interactive questionnaire.

His KISS (Keep It Simple & Smart) Running plans for half-marathoners and marathoners are tailored for first timers, intermediate runners, and come-backing runners. Each plan title fully describes the plan. For example, Half Marathon 12-4-3 (13-24) “translates” to “a 12-week program with 4 runs a week, the first one covering 3 miles. The plan begins with a 13-mile training week and reaches a high of 24 miles.”

The KISS plans for half marathoners and marathoners include a unique “EnduroPeaking system” to help you reach your goal without injury or burnout. Too many runners falter in the second half of their programs when the mileage builds to an unsustainable level. Amby’s plans avoid this with a simple-but-effective twist on the normal training progressions.

Why Run?

Literally thousands of research articles in the best medical journals support the lifelong benefits of running and high-level fitness. Running has been shown to decrease more than 20 chronic diseases including overweight/obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and depression.

Many people mistakenly believe that running causes joint issues in late-life. In fact, the opposite is true. On average, runners encounter knee arthritis, low back pain, and the like more than 10 years later than non-runners. In other words, they stay young and energetic beyond their years. This happens because running is Nature’s best anti-aging plan.

Running is the nearly perfect exercise because: (1) you can do it almost anywhere; (2) the equipment costs are minimal; (3) there are no physical skills involved (just determination); and (4) it takes little time. Indeed, major medical groups worldwide advise that you need to run as little as 75 minutes a week to receive the same benefits as 150 minutes of walking.

Marathon Plans

I have recently added Marathon Training Plans to my “RunWithAmby” Beginning Plans on FinalSurge.com. These plans are designed for beginning and intermediate marathon runners, and for those on the comeback trail. They will help you achieve a successful race, though not necessarily your fastest ever. Advanced runners should look elsewhere.

These Marathon plans are based on what I call the KISS system of running: Keep It Simple and Smart. These KISS plans last 16 weeks, and ask you to run just 3 or 4 times a week. You can begin with a first training run as short as 3 miles.

Each KISS Marathon plan has a “name” that tells you everything you need to know about the plan.This will help you pick the plan that’s exactly right for you. For example, the Marathon 16-3-3 (10-26) Plan lasts 16 weeks, includes 3 runs a week, and begins with a run of 3 miles. It has a total weekly mileage of 10 miles in week one and 26 miles during the highest-mileage week.

Similarly, the Marathon 16-4-5 (21-42) Plan lasts 16 weeks, includes 4 runs a week, and begins with a run of 5 miles. It has a total weekly mileage of 21 miles in week one and rises gradually to 42 miles in the highest mileage week.

All KISS training plans follow a pattern that I call the “EnduroPeaking” system. This system guides you to avoid the injury and overtraining problems that many runners face toward the end of their traditional training programs.

Here’s how the EnduroPeaking system differs from most typical training programs. Other programs get harder and harder as the weeks roll past. The total weekly mileage increases, the length of long runs increases, and even the midweek runs get tougher. Many programs include a recovery week or two, but this barely interrupts the program’s ever-rising difficulty.

This upward climb of total mileage, long runs, and midweek runs is great … until it isn’t. Often these programs work well for about two months. But then the training load becomes too much. You get injured or overtrained. All the hard work you’ve done fails to bear fruit.

My KISS-based EnduroPeaking programs are different. Yes, the long runs keep getting longer, because long runs are essential to marathon training. But the total weekly mileage “flat lines” about midway through your program. How is that possible? It’s possible because the midweek runs actually get a little shorter (and faster).

As a result, you stay fresh while you build endurance and speed. Doesn’t that sound like the way a training program should work?

I think it does, and I believe you will too. Just consider it for a few moments: You train less, you feel stronger, and your chances for success on race day increase dramatically.

If EnduroPeaking makes as much sense to you as it does to me, check out my Marathon Training Plans, and to pick the one that looks best to you.

Half-Marathon Plans

I have recently added Half-Marathon Training Plans to my “RunWithAmby” Beginning Plans on FinalSurge.com. These plans are designed for beginning and intermediate half-marathon runners, and for those on the comeback trail. They will help you achieve a successful race, though not necessarily your fastest ever. Advanced runners should look elsewhere.

These Half-Marathon plans are based on what I call the KISS system of running: Keep It Simple and Smart. These KISS plans last 12 weeks, and ask you to run just 3 or 4 times a week. You can begin with a first training run as short as 2 miles.

Each KISS Half Marathon plan has a “name” that tells you everything you need to know about the plan. This will help you pick the plan that’s exactly right for you. For example, the Half Marathon 12-3-2 (7-16) Plan lasts 12 weeks, includes 3 runs a week, and begins with a run of 2 miles. It has a total weekly mileage of 7 miles in week one and 16 miles during the most difficult week.

Similarly, the Half Marathon 12-4-4 (17-28) Plan lasts 12 weeks, includes 4 runs a week, begins with a run of 4 miles, and has a total weekly mileage of 17 miles (week one) to 28 miles (the toughest week).

All KISS training plans follow a pattern that I call the “EnduroPeaking” system. This system guides you to avoid the injury and overtraining problems that many runners face toward the end of their traditional training programs.

Here’s how the EnduroPeaking system differs from most typical training programs. Other programs get harder and harder as the weeks roll past. The total weekly mileage increases, the length of long runs increases, and even the midweek runs get tougher. Many programs include a recovery week or two, but this barely interrupts the program’s ever-rising difficulty.

This upward climb of total mileage, long runs, and midweek runs is great … until it isn’t. Often these programs work well for about two months. But then the training load becomes too much. You get injured or overtrained. All the hard work you’ve done fails to bear fruit.

My KISS-based EnduroPeaking programs are different. Yes, the long runs keep getting longer, because long runs are essential to half-marathon training. But the total weekly mileage “flat lines” about midway through your program. How is that possible? It’s possible because the midweek runs actually get a little shorter (and faster).

As a result, you stay fresh while you build endurance and speed. Doesn’t that sound like the way a training program should work?

I think it does, and I believe you will too. Just consider it for a few moments: You train less, you feel stronger, and your chances for success on race day increase dramatically.

I think it does, and I believe you will agree. Just consider it for a few moments: You train less, but your chances for ultimate success increase dramatically.

If EnduroPeaking makes as much sense to you as it does to me, check out my Half Marathon training plans, and to pick the one that looks best to you.

FAQ

Below, you’ll find answers to the most common questions about RUN WITH AMBY.

Do I need to be running before I start the Beginning Running Plan?
No, you don’t need to be running at all. The most basic beginner plan requires only that you can walk for 30 minutes at a comfortable pace.

How much will I have to run in my first week of running?
On week 2 of the most basic Beginning Running Plan, you’ll be running for just 15 seconds at a time. Then you’ll walk for 45-seconds before running again. You will continue in this manner until you have reached 30 minutes. All our plans follow the proven run-walk method. They differ in the ratio of running to walking you’ll do each week, and in the number of weeks it will take you to finish the Plan.

How much will I be running at the end of my plan?
You’ll be running for 30 minutes. All the Beginning Running Plans end at this point. They follow a gradual, consistent progression that guarantees you’ll get fitter and stronger every week. Once you have reached 30 minutes, it’s up to you to decide your next step. You could hold steady at 30 minutes three-times a week for a perfect lifetime fitness plan. Or you could increase gradually to run more minutes, and perhaps enter a 5K, half-marathon, or your ultimate goal.

How long will it take me to get to 30 minutes of running?
That depends on your starting point, which is determined by our simple introductory questionnaire. Our longest plans last 24 weeks and our shortest, 8 weeks. Please remember that the aim is not to complete the Beginning Running Plan as fast as possible. The aim is to follow a gradual, appropriate schedule that guarantees success. Running is a Tortoise and Hare proposition; the Tortoise always wins.

Why is 30 minutes such a big deal?
Our plans end when you can run 30 minutes at a time, three days a week. That gives you a total weekly running total of 90 minutes.The American Heart Association, the World Health Organization, and other sports-medicine organizations have concluded that 75 minutes of running/week is sufficient “for overall cardiovascular health.” For good measure, we edge you slightly higher–to 90 minutes.

I don’t run now, but I’m in my 30s, and I play tennis and basketball quite regularly. I’d like to aim for your 8-week program. Is that a good idea?
It might be. Or it might not. Please take 60 seconds to complete our interactive questionnaire. Then you’ll know for sure.

Free Guide

In addition, when you sign up for the Beginning Running Plan by RUN WITH AMBY, you also receive a free Start Running Guide written by Coach Amby. This Guide includes much simple, useful advice about nutrition, running shoes, weight loss, injury prevention, entering your first 5K, and more. It makes the perfect complement to your Beginning Running Plan.


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