Whether your skill level is that of a serious jogger, an Olympic athlete or someone who's neglected their gym membership for many months, Dick Telford says there's a runner in all of us.
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"I've always felt that everybody has got a chance to be a reasonable runner," he said.
The Canberran has spent decades training Australian runners, famously coaching Lisa Martin to a silver medal in the marathon at the Seoul Olympics, and is still training many elite athletes.
Mr Telford said while it may be two months away, it was not too early to start preparing for this year's Canberra Times Fun Run.
"The earlier you start, the better it's going to be for general health and fitness," Mr Telford said. "Runs like The Canberra Times Fun Run are good because they can give people a goal to be physically active."
This year's fun run on November 10 will see runners take on a course of two, five, or 10-kilometres, starting from King Edward Terrace and finishing at Rond Terrace.
While competitors may be feel motivated to start training with a large run, Mr Telford said doing things gradually was the key.
"What you always try to avoid in running is making any rapid changes," he said.
"You don't want to start training more than you've done before suddenly, or making any sort of change that your body can't handle."
Mr Telford said the approach was the same for Olympians training for their next marathon, or first-timers looking to complete their first fun run.
It also meant those doing the training wouldn't end up feeling too stiff and sore for days afterwards.
"If someone hasn't done a lot of running before, it may well be that going out for something like a 30-minute walk with small intervals of jogging for a minute is all that's required to increase fitness quite dramatically.
"Everyone is going to be different and their program won't be the same as someone else's."
The running coach said those training for this year's fun run should aim to train at least three to four times per week.
"Try to do something every second day," he said.
- The Canberra Times Fun Run is on November 10. Register at canberratimesfunrun.com.au